Icy Reception

“This bold new project will add a major activity during the winter period, a time of the year that we need to develop more,” declared Quebec Tourism Minister Maxime Arseneau. The project: a hotel built out of 4,500 tons of snow and 250 tons of ice, scheduled to open in January just outside Quebec City, Que., Canada. The structure is expected to survive three months before it melts. “We’ve already received more than 1,000 reservation requests,” says an Ice Hotel spokesman. “We predict a big success for our first year of operation.” The building will cost C$350,000 (US$227,000) to construct, about a third of which is being provided by the Provincial government, and rooms — complete with ice beds — will cost guests C$165 (US$107) per night, including a hot breakfast. (Reuters) ...Well, not very hot.