The Minus 5 Ice Lounge in Las Vegas has been causing quite a stir since it opened last September in Mandalay Place, the shopping area that connects Mandalay Bay Hotel (book a room) to the Luxor Hotel (book a room).  Minus 5 Ice Lounge is an icy wonderland of intricately handcrafted ice sculptures and architecture where the temperature is a constant minus 5 degrees Celsius (that's 23 farenheit for us stateside folk).

It took more than 18 tons of ice to create this special concept bar. Everything within the ice lounge is made entirely from ice from the walls to the seats and even the glasses you drink from. Upon arrival, guests are served ice glasses filled with exotic vodka-based cocktails and invited to relax on ice couches. This week, the Lounge announced that they have opened a new area called the Lodge to complement the successful ice bar. Minus 5 Lodge, a warm, rustic pub featuring ironwood beams, river stones and leather seats, is the place to warm up before or after experiencing the sub-freezing temperature of Minus 5 Ice Lounge.

The Minus 5 lounges are actually a franchise that started out in Auckland, New Zealand back in 2002. The Las Vegas version which opened in September of 2008 is the 5th and largest one of the bunch for Fusion Hospitality and Mr. Craig Ling, Fusions principal founder. Other locations are in Auckland, Queenstown (NZ), Sydney, Gold Coast and Portugal. Plans for expansion include Dubai, Singapore and India. The concept stemmed from a legend of a New Zealand explorer who got stranded while on an artic expedition to the North Pole and came back to New Zealand with a thirst for ice cold vodka which he apparently survived on during the long cold artic winter.

Hours at Minus 5 Lodge are 10 a.m. – 3 a.m. daily.
New hours for the Minus 5 Ice Lounge are Monday – Thursday, noon – 3 a.m.; Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 3 a.m.
Visit the Minus 5 Lounge website for more info.

Coming to Las Vegas soon?
Book a Flight
Book a Room
See a Show