Icy Hotel Adventures Up North

Ramsey Qubein is Travelin' Light's on-the-road correspondent.

ProfessionalTravelGuide.com has thousands of hotels bearing expert coverage on the ins and outs of their offerings, but some draw attention more than others for their unique lodging style.

Take, for example, the Hotel des Glaces on the outskirts of Quebec City, the only ice hotel in North and South America. During my recent visit there, I was warmly surprised by the lengths the property goes to create a memorable experience for its igloo-bound guests.

Each room or suite (yes, there are suites) is decorated in Arctic style with artwork carved out of the ice walls and varying degrees of illumination providing thematic interest.

Guests hunker down on the slabs of ice (topped with a mattress) and ensconced in a sleeping bag for the evening. Instructions are given in advance to avoid drinking liquids 4-5 hours before bedtime as the bathrooms are outside (although heated, a plus for the most frozen of visitors). Management encourages guests to sleep in as little clothing as possible since the hearty sleeping bags will make clothed guests sweat leading them to unzip only to freeze again. And lest one think the novelty behind this property stops at the exterior walls, there are hot tubs, sauna, ice bar (complete with vodka-laden drinks in ice cube glasses), and an ice slide to entertain arrivals.

Groups can congregate in the grand lounge for drinks or a night of dancing too! Even the furniture (sofas, chairs, and tables) are made of ice.

The hotel takes 500 tons of ice and more than a month of labor to build and only has a high season as it is completely melted during the spring, summer, and fall months. For a truly cool experience you’ll never forget, book a night at the Hotel des Glaces. And if spending the night doesn’t exactly light your fire, day passes are available to take a peak. Just remember to pack warmly!

CityCenter Las Vegas Taking Reservations

Las Vegas is one of the most complete tourist destinations in the world. There is truly something here for everyone who'd ever want to visit Sin City. Now they even have something for those who don't: another city.

No, Las Vegas didn't buy Reno and have it moved closer... although I wouldn't put it past them. The folks at MGM are in the process of building a self-contained miniature city called, "CityCenter."

The massive development will feature several hotels, condominium-style residences, restaurants, shops, a casino... everything you would normally find in a luxurious resort city... in a desert... in Nevada. Although some of the buildings won't be completed until mid-December (and several after that), two properties have already started taking reservations.

The Vdara Hotel and the Aria Resort & Casino, two properties in the CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip, are accepting reservations.

The Vdara will be the first of CityCenter's properties to open, followed by the Mandarin Oriental hotel and the Crystals retail and entertainment district in early December. The Aria is due to open Dec. 16.

The Vdara's rates range from $159 to $2,000 per night. The 1,495-suite, non-gaming hotel will be connected to the Bellagio and adjacent to the Aria.

One notable aspect of the CityCenter development is its focus on sustainability. According to MGM, each building constructed is aspiring to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The construction efforts have paid special attention to water use, eco-conscious building materials, and indoor air quality. It's still unclear exactly what part of building a city, within a city, in the middle of the desert demonstrates environmental leadership, but the buildings sure do look cool.

Oil Rigs The Next Dubai?

There's been some recent speculation about what to do with 4,000 abandoned oil rigs in the Mexican gulf. The traditional approach is to blow up the rigs, which costs millions in explosives and safety measures, as well as being highly detrimental to the surrounding sea life. Morris Architects offers an alternative solution:

If a deck on one of these rigs is about 20,000 square feet, then there is potentially 80 million square feet of programmable space just off the coast of the United States...

What if these rigs were recommissioned as exclusive resort islands? Could the Gulf be America’s “Dubai” and the rig the artificial island on which to build it? This project examines the possibilities of creating a self-sufficient, eco-friendly high-end resort experience in our own backyard – the Gulf of Mexico.

(H/T: BLDBLOG)

The rooms would be pre-fabricated and stacked, cargo-container-style, on large ships and assembled on the rigs at sea. It's currently unclear whether the project will take off or not, but the idea of potentially bolstering Mexican and U.S. tourism is welcome suggestion in this economic climate.