This guide is built from Iglu-Dorf’s own pages, prices and conditions — what is included, how the villages work and what each igloo is like come straight from the operator, never invented.

Two things with the same word

“Igloo” covers two different products. In Lapland, the term is usually used for glass-roofed cabins or heated domes, built to watch the northern lights from a warm bed. In Switzerland, Iglu-Dorf builds villages of real snow igloos, about four metres across, rebuilt every winter in about 3,000 working hours with balloons, snow ploughs and muscle power. One is a hotel room with a window; the other is a night in snow.

We live in Rovaniemi, so we know winter and we know glass igloos from the outside. We have not stayed at Iglu-Dorf — we researched it and partnered with it — so this comparison deals in what each experience is, not in invented reviews.

What you sleep in

At Iglu-Dorf the temperature inside stays between about −2 and +2 °C. You sleep on a snow bed with thermal mats, thin mattresses and sheepskins, in an expedition sleeping bag with a cotton liner. There is no private toilet (shared dry toilets in the village centre) and no running water in the igloo. A Lapland glass igloo is, by contrast, heated, with its own bed and usually its own bathroom.

Which is better depends on the question. If you want to be warm and see the sky, a glass cabin wins. If you want to sleep in snow, a night that feels like an expedition, Iglu-Dorf wins — and the TinyLodge in Gstaad sits in between as a heated cabin with a panoramic window.

The sky: aurora versus Alps

Northern lights are the Lapland draw, and nobody can promise them — they depend on solar activity and clear skies. In the Swiss Alps there are no northern-lights promises at all, and we would not make any. What the Alps offer is altitude (1,900–2,700 m), big mountain views and, on clear nights, a dark sky with stars. Iglu-Dorf does not guarantee skies either, and neither do we.

What is included

Iglu-Dorf bundles the evening: welcome drink and aperitif tray, igloo tour, all-you-can-eat Swiss cheese fondue, use of the whirlpool and sauna, a night walk or snowshoeing, expedition sleeping bag and liner, morning tea and breakfast, and guide service. Not included: visitor’s tax, travel costs, cable car tickets and extra food and drinks. It is closer to an activity package than a plain room booking, which is why prices are from CHF 438 (TinyLodge), CHF 538 (Romantic Igloo) and CHF 627 for three people (Family & Friends).

Who each one suits

Iglu-Dorf suits couples and families with children from six who like winter, a short snowy walk and a simple, honest adventure. Lapland glass igloos suit travellers who want comfort and the aurora chance, and those who cannot manage a snowy path. Neither suits travellers who need a private bathroom at all hours and a minibar. Our wider view is in is an igloo night worth it.

What a Lapland family notices about the cold

People from warmer countries often ask whether 0 °C is cold. We live where winter nights drop far lower, so we know that the number alone tells you little: dry cold with proper layers is comfortable, damp cold with thin clothes is not. Iglu-Dorf’s advice matches what we would tell our own guests: dry thermals for sleeping, wool socks, two hats, good gloves and winter shoes, a headlamp, and a backpack. The expedition sleeping bag and the cotton liner do most of the work, and the snow walls keep the temperature steady between about −2 and +2 °C even when the weather outside changes.

What surprises first-timers is not the cold but the dark and the quiet. Snow muffles sound, so we would expect a very quiet night, though we have not slept there ourselves and cannot promise it. If calm matters to you, ask Iglu-Dorf about the village you choose.

If you have already done a Lapland stay

Many of our readers have been to Finland, Norway or Sweden in winter and wonder whether an Alpine igloo night repeats the experience. Mostly it does not. In Lapland the highlights are the aurora chance, huskies, reindeer and the slow Arctic light. In the Alps the highlights are the mountain setting, the fondue, the hot tub in the snow and the sense of having slept in a village built from nothing. If you did a glass igloo in Lapland, an Iglu-Dorf night will feel like the adventurous cousin. If you did a snow hotel somewhere else, the structure — shared dry toilets, expedition bags — will feel familiar.

For families, one thing is different: Iglu-Dorf recommends children from six and has no changing tables or childcare, whereas some Lapland cabins are built around families. Check the age guidance before you book and see our family igloo guide.

The practical rules in Switzerland

Meeting times are fixed and you ride a cable car or railway; read how to get to the igloo villages. The season runs from late December to 4 April 2027 (Zermatt from 19 December, Gstaad from 25 December, Davos from 26 December).

Our reader code covers stays from 4 January to 4 April 2027, Sunday to Thursday nights only, in practice Sunday and Thursday in Davos and Zermatt, and Sunday, Monday and Thursday in Gstaad.

Money and value, honestly

Price comparisons across such different products are slippery, so we only use what Iglu-Dorf publishes: from CHF 438 for the TinyLodge for two, CHF 538 for a Romantic Igloo for two and CHF 627 for a Family & Friends Igloo for three, with each additional guest charged separately. For that you get the full evening: aperitif, fondue, hot tub and sauna, a night walk or snowshoeing, sleeping bags and breakfast. Travel and cable car tickets are extra, and drinks beyond the included ones are billed on site.

The 5% reader discount is applied only when you book directly with Iglu-Dorf and enter the code at checkout. Iglu-Dorf’s terms also say that discounts are not cumulative, so you cannot stack the code with another offer. Cancellation is free up to 60 days before the stay; after that fees step up to 10%, 50% and 100%. If you want more flexibility, a later date is easier to book than a first-weekend one.

Our pick for first-timers

For a first Swiss igloo night we suggest Gstaad: shortest walk, showers nearby and the TinyLodge fallback. For the view, Zermatt. For a big lively village, Davos. See our igloo hotel guide.

How to book your igloo night with HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5

Bookings are tracked by the code only — there is no special tracking link — so the code is the only way your 5% and our small commission get registered. We are Iglu-Dorf’s affiliate partner; it costs you nothing extra. Here is the whole process, in order.

1. Pick the village and igloo. Open Iglu-Dorf5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, or go straight to Romantic Igloo — Gstaad5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5.
2. Open Iglu-Dorf’s own booking page (the link above, directly on iglu-dorf.com) and add your guests. The date calendar appears after that.
3. Choose a night between 4 January and 4 April 2027, Sunday to Thursday. In practice that means Sunday and Thursday in Davos Klosters and Zermatt, and Sunday, Monday and Thursday in Gstaad. The live calendar shows exactly which nights are open — if a date is not offered, it is not bookable.
4. Scroll down the checkout page. You will see two boxes: “Voucher” and “Promo-Code”. Use the Promo-Code box, type HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, press Add and check that the 5% reduction appears before you confirm. (Not the Voucher box — that one is for gift vouchers.)
5. Fill in guest details, pay as the checkout asks and confirm. Cancellation is free up to 60 days before the stay; after that Iglu-Dorf’s staggered fees apply (10%, 50%, then 100% inside the last week), so a travel insurance is worth a thought.

FAQ

Our Honest Final Word

If you want the northern lights, come to Lapland — we will happily point you to Rovaniemi. If you want to sleep in snow in the Alps, Iglu-Dorf is the original and the one we chose to partner with. They are different experiences and neither needs to beat the other.

For the Alps, book directly with Iglu-Dorf5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, enter HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 in the Promo-Code box and take 5% off a Sunday-to-Thursday night between 4 January and 4 April 2027. More in our igloo hotel guide.

5% off · code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5

Where we would sleep in an igloo

Tap an igloo to see live dates and prices on Iglu-Dorf’s booking page. Enter HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 at checkout for 5% off — stays 4 jan – 4 apr 2027, sunday to thursday nights.

Gstaad · sleeps 2Romantic Igloo — Gstaadfrom CHF 538 per night for 2 (as shown on iglu-dorf.com, Nov 2026)Check dates with 5% off →Gstaad · sleeps 2TinyLodge — Gstaadfrom CHF 438 per night for 2 (as shown on iglu-dorf.com, Nov 2026)Check dates with 5% off →Zermatt · sleeps 3–4Family & Friends Igloo — Zermattfrom CHF 627 per night for 3 people, each additional person charged separately (as shown on iglu-dorf.com, Nov 2026)Check dates with 5% off →

Code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 gives 5% off the public price when you book directly with Iglu-Dorf (Stays 4 Jan – 4 Apr 2027, Sunday to Thursday nights; Friday and Saturday nights excluded). We are Iglu-Dorf’s partner and earn a small commission when you book with our code. Our igloo guide →