Temperatures in northern Norway are hovering around minus twenty degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) - so what better way to spend a winter holiday then in an ice hotel?.

A night's stay at this unique venue sees guests huddled around ice blocks by candlelight.

It is freezing outside, and in this hotel things don't get much warmer.

The inside temperatures at the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel remain around -4 and -7 Celsius (approx. 25 to 19 degrees Fahrenheit).

This is not due to defective radiators, but due to the fact that the Igloo Hotel is made entirely out of ice and snow.

Set in Finnmark, the largest and northernmost county in Norway, it opens its doors every January until it melts away in early spring.

The structure occupies 2000 square metres with 30 rooms, two bridal suites and a big lobby bar decorated with ice sculptures.

For those who want to tie the knot in an unusual setting, the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel offers wedding services in their ice chapel.

The ice chapel is consecrated each year by the bishop of Nord-Halogaland, and the local parish conducts the ceremony and service here.

Dermot Morrisey and Erengul Yoldas have decided to spend the night at the unusual hotel.

The stay was a surprise Christmas present by Erengul to her partner.

Dermot says that when he told his friends about their holiday plans nobody believed that his girlfriend could cope with the cold.

"North of the arctic circle! Erengul bought this for us as our Christmas gift. So we're coming to spend the night in an ice palace. It's a fantastic place. It's very very cold. And because she is so Mediterranean nobody believed that we would come to this place. But is fantastic! Everybody can see it's really nice," he says.

Erengul says that, even though she had second thoughts after making the reservations, she is now delighted to be able to go through such a unique experience.

"I don't know what possessed me for a start. But it is fascinating coming in here. I wouldn't want just come in and have a look and just go away. I would want to stay in here and that's why we are staying. Ask me the same question in the morning but for now is fascinating," she says.

Ingrid Espegord, who recently graduated from college and rewarded herself with a stay at the Igloo Hotel, is just waking up from a night in the icy temperatures.

She says that sleeping at -6 degrees Celsius (21.2 degrees Fahrenheit) covered with reindeer furs has been interesting.

"I heard about the Ice Hotel and I really wanted to come here. So now I am finally here. It's been really exciting sleeping in the hotel. It's really been a unique experience," she says.

The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is built of large blocks of ice and snow, cemented together with "snice", a mixture of ice and snow that works the same way that mortar does in traditional brick constructions.

Knut Kjelsberg, the "ice architect" behind the construction, explains that, even though the costs of ice and snow are still free, some minor maintenance work needs to be carried out on a daily basis.

"The building costs this year is around one million Norwegian Kroner, that is to say around 100.000 Euro ($136.360 US Dollars). We have used approximately 600 tons of ice to pull it up and around 1.000 tons of snow. It's quite a lot of material. But all these materials are free. So what really cost is the working time and the transport."

Kaja Antonssen, the sales manager of Sorrisniva, the local company owner of the Igloo Hotel, explains that global warming already poses a threat to the success of Igloo Hotel.

The already brief three-month-long season could become even shorter in future years.

"Every year we see that the winter is getting harder to come by. It comes later and goes faster. So the season is shortening, which is no good because is only three months. So we are a bit worried about that but maybe we will have to find other solutions than to get snow. Because the cold is here but the snow is not," she says.

The lobby bar at the Igloo Hotel is also one of the main tourist attractions in the Alta region.

For a fee both locals and tourists can visit the premises and have a drink at the bar. Only blue vodka served in ice glasses is for sale though.

This group of British doctors attending a congress in Alta couldn't miss the chance of tasting a shot of iced blue vodka.

Gwyneth Christianson, a doctor from Lancashire, says she thinks that the Igloo Hotel is one of the many nice surprises she found during her stay in Finnmark.

"I think that it sounds fantastic to spend sometime in Norway's arctic wilderness and see the beautiful sights. And such a wonderful concept with all the lovely sculptures and carvings. Something really different that people can enjoy."

There are four ice hotels in Norway, but Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is the largest and northernmost of them.

The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel has been rebuilt every year since 2000 and receives an average of 2000 guests every season.

Prices range from 2000 NK ($340 US Dollars) for a regular room to 2300 NK ($390 US Dollars) for a bridal suite.

The bathrooms are in a wooden, heated building next to the hotel.

The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is usually open from the middle of January until mid April.