Arctic Bath

Arctic Bath, set to open on 15 January 2020, is an extraordinary new floating spa hotel located on the Lule River near the small village of Harads in Swedish Lapland. Built in a circular shape on the water, Arctic Bath floats during the summer and freezes into ice during the winter, offering visitors a unique year-round Arctic wellness experience, with a giant ice bath in the middle, ringed with three saunas, a spa treatment room and hot baths. Together with Treehotel and other local companies, such as Logger’s Lodge, Arctic Retreat and Aurora Safari Camp, Arctic Bath forms part of a unique micro-destination for luxury travellers in Lapland.

Wellness

Situated under the northern lights in winter and the midnight sun during the summer months, Arctic Bath is a unique hotel and spa experience that welcomes guests to immerse themselves in the elements while leaving a minimal environmental footprint behind. At Arctic Bath, the wellness offering focuses on both the inside and the outside. This is part of the four cornerstones of wellness that Arctic Bath encourages; proper nutrition, regular exercise, peace of mind and care of the face and body.

Guests can enjoy a traditional Swedish experience and sample three different saunas, relax in a hot tub with the ultimate hydrotherapy experience, and plunge into the cold arctic bath in the centre of the building for the ultimate wellness experience. Cold baths are part of Swedish Lapland’s culture, helping to ease sore and aching muscles, aid the central nervous system and limit the inflammatory response, especially in combination with the heat of a sauna.

Guests can indulge in various spa treatments in the private treatment room, ranging from massages to facials to body treatments, using natural products from botanically-based Swedish skincare brand Kerstin Florian, containing high levels of antioxidants, minerals and essential fatty acids. Arctic Bath’s signature ‘Spa Ritual’ is to be enjoyed by guests at their own pace in the Arctic Spa, using luxurious Kerstin Florian skin products for the body and face. Guests are provided with an Arctic Spa Kit, which includes body peeling, a facial mask, foot treatment, face cream and a dry brush, together with detailed instructions for the process. Kerstin Florian is from Sweden and learnt about the use of traditional herbs during a trip to Northern Sweden to meet with mediator of Sámi culture and natural medicine, Laila Spik. Artic Bath will showcase the local Sámi heritage and culture in the spa offering; techniques such as stone massage and botanical extracts like birch oil in the Kerstin Florian range have been utilised by the Sámi for millennia.

Arctic Bath also offers a 50-minute facial treatment with ANDA - a new organic, vegan skincare collection by Kerstin Florian. The rejuvenating facial treatment for instant younger-looking skin starts with mediation, followed by a deep cleanse of the skin and a peeling. Specialised massage using genuine jade tools improve circulation, stimulate lymphatic drainage and release toxins, enhancing skin’s natural hydration. Fascia is released, puffiness reduced, and clarity enhanced, leaving skin smoother, tighter and more radiant.

A visit to Arctic Spa includes a bathrobe, bathing suit or shorts and natural spa products included in the Spa ritual, all of which guests can take home after their stay as a special reminder of their visit. The eco-friendly bathing suits, shorts and spa robes are all designed by Arctic Bath designer, AnnKathrin Lundqvist.

Accommodation and design

The 12-room floating hotel is inspired by the timber-floating era when felled trees were transported downriver for processing, with the main building being inspired by a ‘log jam’. Constructed using local materials and with very little impact on the environment, there is a flotilla of six floating cabins for couples near the water’s edge, offering private access from the shore via a foot bridge and outside wooden decks, ideal for relaxing under the midnight summer sun or keeping watch for the northern lights. There are also six larger, elevated cabins built on the tree-lined shore, three of which sleep up to five guests and three suites sleeping two people. The land cabins boast glass walls offering perfect views of the stunning landscape and northern sky.

Each room at Arctic Bath has been thoughtfully designed with a high level of comfort and luxury in mind, in keeping with the overall wellness focus. The surrounding nature has been incorporated into the cabins and suites with the use of natural, sustainable materials with a rich history such as wood, stone, leather and luxurious textiles. Arctic Bath has collaborated with Input Interior in Lulea and a number of Swedish design brands for both furniture and lighting; Atelje Lyktan has produced bespoke lighting - called Kvast - for the hotel, lounge furniture has been supplied by karl Andersson och Söner, Stolab and Swedese and beds are by Carpe Diem.

The floating part of the hotel - including the circular cold bath and six guest rooms - has been designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi, who were also involved in the design of the nearby Treehotel.

Ann Kathrin Lundqvist, a Swedish designer educated at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco with expertise in fashion, accessories, furniture and interior, has designed all of the six land cabins.