How to read
an entry

What it was

The earlier use, with a date where a date is known. This is the part the rest of the entry depends on. If a building has had several earlier lives, they are listed in order rather than merged.

What was kept

The fabric that survived the conversion: a rotunda, a cell corridor, a load-bearing brick wall, a jetty, an Expo pavilion, a piece of open ground. Where the answer is “the site and nothing else” — which is true of all four ice hotels — we say so.

What was added

The new work, described as new work. Glazing, towers, capsule racks, gaming floors. We do not describe additions as restorations.

What it is like now

A short, plain account of the experience of being there, tied to the first three answers. It is not a review and it carries no score.

What this guide does not do

• No prices, no star ratings, no scores, no rankings.
• No booking, no affiliate links, no paid placement.
• No promotion of gambling. The casino group is included because those four buildings sit on ground with a history; the gaming floors are described as the latest addition and nothing more.
• No re-enactment. Buildings that were prisons or hospitals are described as buildings, not as stories about the people who were held or treated in them.

Corrections

Dates and attributions are taken from public architectural and municipal records. If something here is wrong, write to us and it will be changed or removed.