Located on a small hill to the north of the town centre, Hotel Arctic is a welcoming, cosy hotel offering a range of comfortable rooms, suites and igloo pods, all with harbour views. The hotel’s restaurant (described by one reviewer as ‘the world’s wildest kitchen’) is regarded to be one of Greenland’s best, and a relaxed bar and café add to the hotel’s inviting atmosphere. A regular shuttle bus runs to the tourist office in the centre of town, from where many of the excursions start.
Eat
Restaurant Ulo provides stunning views over the ice floes that dot Ilulissat's harbour, and some stunning cuisine too. As far as possible the kitchen uses local ingredients, with gloriously fresh seafood a mainstay of the menu. Special buffets and barbeques take place on Mondays and Sundays.
Sleep
The rooms are charming, spacious and tastefully decorated, with circular motifs in the upholstery recalling the Greenland flag. For a contrast, try the highly recommended aluminium igloo cabins found right by the shoreline. All the rooms however have picture perfect views of the harbour and floating icebergs beneath a watercolour sky.
Do
Set out onto the ice for a dogsledding adventure, coasting through the glorious scenery of ice-filled fjords, glaciers and mountains, the ever-glinting surface refracting a spectrum of colour over the scene. In town, shopping for local handicrafts is always fun, especially the range of warm garments on offer, while the Knud Rasmussen Museum teaches all you need to know about polar exploration.
