Ice Hotels

Borealis Basecamp is a group of fibreglass domes on a wooded ridge outside Fairbanks, each with a curved clear panel turned towards the sky. The domes are heated and serviced, with private bathrooms, and a central lodge holds the dining room. The site is a winter lodge on solid ground, not a building made of ice, and it works through the coldest months.

The site lies north of Fairbanks in interior Alaska, up a gravel road through spruce forest and away from settlement lighting. Fairbanks and its airport are a drive to the south, and the land around the ridge is forest, muskeg and low hills rather than farmland.

Winter arrivals depend on road conditions, and the drive itself is part of the stay. Nights outdoors are cold, and the site publishes its own guidance on clothing. Meals, transfers and the length of the season are arranged by the lodge, so confirm the details when you book.

Blachford Lake Lodge sits on a rock shelf above Blachford Lake, east of Yellowknife, and it is reached only by air. Guests fly in by float plane in the warm months and by ski plane once the lake freezes. Accommodation has been divided between a main building and separate cabins, and guided winter activity runs from the site.

The lake lies in the Northwest Territories where boreal forest meets the rock of the Canadian Shield, and no road reaches the property. Yellowknife is the departure point for flights. Water, stone and spruce surround the site, and the nearest neighbours are seasonal camps rather than settlements. The lake freezes solid for much of the year.

A wildfire destroyed the main building, and rebuilding has been under way since, so confirm what stands and what is open before planning. Flights depend on weather and can shift by a day. Baggage weight, season dates and what the operator supplies are decided by the lodge.

Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps is one house in the KAI group of hot-spring inns, and the group runs others under the same name elsewhere in Japan. This one stands in the Omachi hot-spring area of Nagano, below the northern Japanese Alps. Rooms follow ryokan form, with tatami floors, and the house draws on local springs.

The inn sits in the hot-spring settlement above the town of Omachi, in the mountains of northern Nagano. Forest and ski slopes surround it, Lake Kizaki lies below, and the road towards the Tateyama Kurobe crossing passes nearby. Snow falls heavily here through the winter.

Confirm which KAI house your booking names, because the group keeps many of them. Meals usually form part of a stay in inns of this kind, and dining hours are fixed. Bathing customs apply in the spring rooms, and road access in winter depends on clearing.

Zaborin is a small house at Hanazono in Hokkaido, built as a set of separate villas in a wood of birch and fir. Each villa has indoor and outdoor hot-spring baths of its own, fed from a source on the property. Meals are served in the main building, and the house stays open through the winter.

The site lies north of Niseko, in the hills below Mount Yotei and Annupuri, along a quiet road through the forest. The ski areas of the Niseko region are a short drive away and the nearest town is Kutchan. Snow lies deep here from late autumn until spring.

Villas are booked as whole units, and there are few of them. Meals follow set times and are prepared for the day rather than ordered freely. Winter driving on the approach road calls for the right tyres, and transfers, cancellation terms and season dates are set by the house.