My trip to the Chillout Ice Lounge!
It is no secret that the UAE is in a desert, and subsequently is extremely hot almost all the time. So with this constant barrage of over 80 degree heat on your face, it is nice to take a cooling break every now and then, and that is why this post I decided to chill in the chilling Chillout Ice Lounge. The ice lounge is located on the Ground Floor of Times Square Center on Sheikh Zayed Rd in Dubai, and although you can find some of its sister locations all around the world, it is the only one located in the Middle East. Opened in 2007 by the Sharaf Group with help from a group of extremely talented, multi-cultural ice sculptors, the ice lounge is one of the smallest attractions in Dubai thus missing in a lot of tourist books.
Finding the mall that the ice lounge resides in is not too difficult, making it a quick and easy place to visit. Upon entering the place itself there is a reception desk to your left and a small room in front of you with cupboards and lots of warm clothing stored in plain sight. I'm not sure if you are required to reserve a spot ahead of time but I believe it is suggested, considering how crowded it can get later in the day on a weekend. In any case with our visit we decided to call in ahead of time thus skipping any possibility of failure to get in. So after we affirmed that we were not lying cheaters, we were led into the small room I mentioned earlier where we were kitted out with all kinds of warm and fuzzy clothing to make us warmer than we already were.
After getting sufficiently clothed we were given leave to pass through the "Styrofoam door of no return", which just so happened to open up in front of the even more intimidating "metal door of no return", which we promptly opened. Now before I continue recanting our harrowing journey, I would like to mention that it was indeed Halloween at the time so you may notice a few skulls and/or ghouls hanging around in the photos that I put here. So, as I was saying, we opened the "metal door of no return" and immediately were attacked by an implosion of the coldest air I think I have ever felt. In front of us was all ice and we turned a corner that opened up into the main lounge; I must say, it certainly did not look bad if you know what I mean. The huge array of insane ice sculptures really is breath taking (and the cold probably also contributes), and I would say that the feeling we got right at that moment was my favorite part of the whole experience.
After taking in the whole area we obviously had to get some cool pics and then find a place to sit down. Now I would like to jump in here again and say that everything in this place, including the seating, is made of ice, excluding the floor and the ceiling. So once we got comfortable (and cold) a nice lady came to our table and offered us the choice of a complimentary hot chocolate or tea and some cake. This ice cafe by the way, is currently the only one of its kind in the world that serves hot foods and beverages from its cafe.
After we finished our beverages we didn't stay for all that long, because after looking at ice sculptures for half an hour you really run out of things to do. So that does it, all in all I very much enjoyed the experience but there were a few downsides that are definitely worth noting. First and for-most is that the price is not exactly cheap, which immediately couples with my other point which is that it is an experience. Before I explain what I just said I would like to make it absolutely clear that I do think the ice lounge is well worth a visit, but as I said it is an experience, and what I mean by that is it really doesn't offer much incentive to come back again (at least for me), especially after leaving with a somewhat damaged wallet. But anyway I still think you should stop by once just for that experience if you have some extra money and maybe even a coupon of some sort. Make sure to check out my vlog and pop back in here for my next post.