The Arctic air is freezing. Steam drifts up from the hot tub into a star-filled sky.
As you take another sip of wine, the light overhead begins to shimmer: dancing streaks of green and purple. You lean back, sinking deeper into the warm water, your eyes fixed on the sky. You have waited a long time to see this.
Winter is almost here, and with it comes plenty of chances to witness the natural phenomenon known as the northern lights. In some places, the show has already begun.
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"Last night was a wonderful night with the northern lights and the Milky Way lined up together," said Johan Lofgren, owner of the Arctic Gourmet Cabin in Sweden. "But overcooking a piece of reindeer, just to grab a photo, was obviously not an option. I still enjoyed it a little; it's a lovely experience to share with complete strangers or with the person who means the most to you."
If you're chasing the northern lights, your best bet is to escape the city. But that doesn't have to mean giving up on luxury. At these seven hotels, fine cuisine, thick blankets, a crackling fire, and, fingers crossed, an unforgettable light show await you when you check in:
Levin Iglut, Lapland, Finland
There's undeniably something magical about watching the northern lights from the comfort of a cozy bed. To do just that, try one of the 24 glass igloos at Levin Iglut, set on the hills of Finnish Lapland.
While the bed is the centerpiece, dressed in pillows and blankets and adjustable to the perfect viewing angle, each igloo also offers its own bathroom with heated floors, a kitchenette, Bluetooth speakers, and a complimentary breakfast. The "Premium" igloos look out over a snowy valley with unobstructed views.
A great option for a group is the Northern Lights House on the property, an elegant structure of stone and glass built right into the hillside. Here you'll have a fireplace and a private sauna, and you can watch the night sky from the panoramic windows or your own hot tub.
The main viewing season runs from mid-November to mid-April, when you can spend your days skiing at the nearby Levi resort before returning to the lights at night.
Levin Iglut, Harjatie 2, 99130 Levi, Lapland, Finland; +358 50 313 5637 leviniglut.net
Arctic Gourmet Cabin, Kiruna, Sweden
It's hard to find anything more secluded than this pair of cabins, each able to host two guests at a time. Set on the northern edge of Sweden and free of light pollution, the Arctic Gourmet Cabin is a wonderful place to catch the northern lights, ideally between mid-September and mid-April, and ideally from the property's open-air hot tub. Other activities include dog sledding, snowmobiling, and ice fishing.
The cabins are small but modern, and they take a back seat to the real highlight of a stay here: the food, served in a third, four-seat restaurant cabin. Owners Johan and Malin Lofgren met while working at the restaurant of the famous Icehotel; she is a sommelier and he is a chef.
Now they have brought their culinary expertise to a two-table restaurant in the woods, preparing five-course dinners built around local delicacies such as reindeer, moose, and Arctic char, all paired with an eclectic selection of wines.
Arctic Gourmet Cabin, Kaalasjarvi 1100, 98199 Kiruna, Sweden; + 46 73 545 7094 arcticgourmetcabin.se/boende/index
Northern Lights Resort & Spa, Whitehorse, Canada
At this resort in the Yukon, Canada, you won't just have a chance to see the northern lights, you'll be able to chase them Iditarod-style. From November through April, the hotel offers nighttime dog sled runs with a champion musher; an unforgettable experience, whether or not the northern lights come out to play.
Set on 120 acres south of Whitehorse, the property offers sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. For your stay, you can choose from four log cabins, each handcrafted from local timber and radiating romance with gas fireplaces and European bedding.
During the winter season, your stay will include breakfast, lunch, and leisurely family-style dinners in the main house, where you'll have the chance to get to know other aurora enthusiasts. Daytime activities include snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and ice fishing, or you can treat yourself in the resort's Finnish spa area.
Northern Lights Resort & Spa, 1178 Gentian Lane, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 6L6, Canada; + 1 867 393 3780 northernlightsyukon.com
Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge, Iniakuk Lake, Alaska
Getting to this all-inclusive lodge, 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is half the adventure. A private ski plane picks you up in Fairbanks and, two hours later, touches down in the untouched powder of the Brooks Range.
From that moment on, you'll be completely surrounded by the Alaskan wilderness, including its famous northern lights. And if you book the five-day photo safari led by seasoned Alaskan photographer Nathaniel Wilder, you're guaranteed to come away with stunning shots. The tour is available in February and March, when aurora activity is at its peak.
The lodge, handcrafted from local white and black spruce, runs on 100% solar power, providing round-the-clock electricity, hot showers, and a sauna. Its simple rooms have flannel sheets and thick blankets that invite you to curl up with a good book; at other times you can take part in activities like snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, or simply chat over home-cooked meals beside the cozy wood-burning stove.
"Alaskan guides will entertain you with stories and adventures from life in the Arctic, giving you the chance to create your own," explained owner John Gaedeke, a second-generation guide who grew up on Iniakuk Lake.
Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge, 1785 Iniakuk Ave, Fairbanks, AK; +1 907 479 6354 brooksrangewintertours.com
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel, Alta, Norway
Another country, another igloo hotel, but this one isn't made of glass. Set on the banks of the Alta River, Sorrisniva claims to be the largest and northernmost ice hotel in the world.
Carved anew each year from snow and ice, including artistic details like chandeliers and sculptures, the hotel spans nearly 27,000 square feet.
If you spend the night in one of the 30 rooms, you'll rest comfortably in an "extreme" sleeping bag topped with reindeer hides, before warming up with a morning visit to the on-site sauna.
For a unique view of the northern lights, you can set off on a reindeer sled tour with an Indigenous Sami guide. Beyond hunting for the aurora, you'll learn about your guide's culture and the life of a reindeer herder.
The hotel is open from December 18, 2017 to April 8, 2018, with closures for Christmas, New Year, and Easter. If you visit before January 17, 2018, you'll experience the "Polar Night," a period when the sun never rises, which, according to the hotel, can be a special time for watching the northern lights.
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel, Sorrisniva 20, 9518 Alta, Norway; + 47 784 33 378 https://sorrisniva.no/
Hotel Ranga, Hella, Iceland
Although it's conveniently located just two hours from Iceland's main airport, this hotel is still remote enough from the city to offer excellent views of the northern lights from September through April.
In fact, it's tailored to aurora seekers, offering a wake-up call when the lights appear, jumpsuits to help you stay warm outdoors, and blankets and benches that invite you to lie back and watch the show. Or, if you'd rather not head outside, you can watch the lights from the hotel's observatory, which has a resident astronomer and several telescopes.
Of the 51 rooms, seven are suites decorated with themes inspired by different continents. For a truly luxurious experience, the Royal Suite offers an in-room hot tub and a private terrace. Even so, we hope you'll spend most of your time outside, either in the hotel's three geothermal pools or off on snowmobile and dog sled adventures.
Hotel Ranga, Sudurlandsvegur, 851 Hella, Iceland; +354 487 5700 hotelranga.is
From $472 per night
Seal River Heritage Lodge, Churchill, Canada
This remote lodge in the Canadian province of Manitoba offers you the finest immersion in nature. To reach it, you'll fly 30 minutes from Churchill to the shores of Hudson Bay. This region is not only considered one of the best places in the world to watch the northern lights, but it's also a haven for wildlife.
For a good chance of seeing the aurora, visit in October or November, which, luckily, is also the prime season for polar bear watching. If you book the lodge's "Polar Bear" photo safari, these majestic creatures will take center stage; the northern lights will be a bonus. Each day you'll travel across the tundra to photograph bears, Arctic foxes, wolves, caribou, snowy owls, and ptarmigans.
When you return to the lodge, you can relax in your wood-paneled room, wrapped in a heavy blanket, before enjoying a hot meal in the panoramic dining room. Then, at night, take out your camera again, because it's time to photograph another natural wonder.
Seal River Heritage Lodge, 26 Selkirk Street, Churchill, MB, Canada; + 1 204 878 5090 churchillwild.com/about-us/our-lodges/
