The Ice Bar operates within the Snow Hotel complex, open from late December when the hotel is rebuilt each year until it melts in late March or April. Drinks are served in cups carved from ice, the walls are sculpted ice, and the temperature inside stays around −5 °C — warm blankets are provided at the door. It sounds like a gimmick, and partly it is, but the craftsmanship on the ice sculptures is genuinely impressive and the atmosphere (candlelit, cold, absurdly remote) is unlike anywhere else.
A single drink and a half-hour inside is enough for most people; the novelty fades after that. Walk-in visitors are welcome during opening hours, which vary by season. The Snow Hotel is about 10 km west of central Kirkenes, so you will need a taxi or your own transport. In winter, the drive out on an icy road in the dark is part of the experience.