Travel

Winter travel: our top picks

Follow our winter travel series for the best places to voyage to in the coming season – starting with the Hotel of Ice in Transylvania

This is probably the only time we’ll suggest you should definitely put your travel plans on ice. The region synonymous with tales of vampires and gothic castles, Transylvania – nestled in central Romania – also has a chillier string to its bow.

Transylvania’s Ice Hotel, reachable only by cable car, is situated at 2034m in the heart of the Fagaras Mountains. Built entirely from snow and ice blocks, the hotel is built in the space of a month by ice artists who construct a series of igloo rooms.

The ‘ice beds’ feature multi-layer blankets for thermal comfort, while the hotel’s restaurant serves up traditional Transylvanian cuisine and drinks to warm you up in the colder temperatures. There’s also a winter park with activities such as snowmobiling, sledging,and snow tubing.

The hotel will reopen on 24th December for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with the season expected to run until 16th April. 

Image credits: Untravelled Paths

Untravelled Paths offer a 4-night Ice Hotel experience, which includes 2 nights in Bucharest, visits to the Peles and Bran Castles, 1 night in the medieval old town of Brasov and 1 night in the Hotel of Ice. Prices start from £427pp