Ice Lounge in Dubai, Cool?

I got this piece of information today from a German marketing agency promoting Dubai.

Looking at ever decreasing energy resources this bar in Dubai is surely not on the energy conservation side of things.

But then again if you think about it that Dubai is willing to host one of the next WINTER OLYMPICS this icy bar is just the "icing" on the cake of energy consumption.

What comes next? Air-conditioned motorways? Frozen beaches? Ice skating on the Persian Gulf? Beach resorts at the north-pole? Here ist the article:

Dubai has a new attraction: a chill-out bar entirely made of ice. Patrons step into a sub-zero environment with the walls, tables, chairs and even their own personal glass with a cool mocktail made out of ice.

Chillout will be the first Ice Lounge in the world serving a selection of cold sandwiches and salads apart from a range of beverages such as Asian Mount Everest, Canadian MT Logan, The Chillout Mix, Lawrence of Arabia amongst others.

And it's not easy to build. The ice for the Chillout restaurant will be shipped in freezer trucks from Canada to freezer containers aboard ships in Montreal that will embark on a 6,500-nautical-mile voyage to Dubai. In total, four containers, each holding about 23,000 kilograms of Ontario-made ice, will set sail to the Middle East. It will take nearly a month to get there, and the $150,000 worth of ice will take eight Iceculture workers about seven days to assemble into an 1,800-square-foot eatery. But how will they stop it from melting in the searing heat of Dubai I hear you ask? Chillout will be constructed in a large freezer.

Said Ibrahim Sharaf, chairman of the developers, Sharaf Group, “There are a very few ice lounges in the world, and those mainly at places with a cold climate. So, the idea of building an ice lounge in Dubai was not only intriguing but also challenging.”

When guests arrive at Chillout, they are provided with thermal clothing – a designer parka with hood, one time use hand gloves, and protective footwear.
Next, guests step into an air lock, close the door, and open another door that leads into the Chillout’s frozen inner sanctum. To prevent body heat from damaging the pristine surface of the ice blocks, it has a maximum capacity of 45 visitors.

The ice used in Chillout is made by a special process so that it is crystal clear with no opaqueness providing an immaculate look to the entire lounge. Other ice features at Chillout include a seven feet high chandelier, ice curtains, a coloured ice portrait of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the skyline of Dubai along with other points of interest.