Absolut Ice Bar in London is one of the 'cool' (literally!) things to do, and I am glad I did.

I pre booked my visit online about 3 weeks in advance, at http://www.belowzerolondon.com/absolut-icebar-lond on/ and the process was very easy to follow. I paid £15 each for a 40 minute slot at 9.30pm on a Saturday night. The price includes entry and hire of coat and gloves, plus your first Absolut vodka cocktail in an ice glass. Although this may seem quite steep, I thought that compared to how much you would/could pay for a drink, say a cocktail, at any other London bar then this would be worth the money since it is an overall experience too.

After a day of shopping and sightseeing we were hit by major delays on the tube meaning we only got to our hotel at Moorgate at around 8pm so I called the bar to see if it would be possible to amend my booking. There was a queue on the phone during which I had to listen to some really cheesy and annoyingly repetitive adverts about the Ice bar and its various other bars and lounges. When I finally got through, the man quickly changed my booking to the midnight slot which was the next available time with spaces. I didn't check my email at the time but when I returned home, I noticed that they had sent email confirmation at the same time too which is efficient.

We were advised to arrive 10-15 minutes early so gave ourselves plenty of time after reading that many people found the bar hard to find. I am no expert on London and was only visiting for the weekend, and I can honestly say this couldn't have been easier to find. Heddon Street is just off Regents street and the courtyard area that the ice bar is in supports the massive ABSOLUT ICE BAR sign above the bar entrance.

We had arrived around 35 minutes early so decided to have a drink in the Wolf lounge bar area first. My boyfriend was going to have a beer but at £4 for a bottle I suggested he should have a cocktail with me...bad decision on my part! He went for a 'purple rain' which was blackcurrant and vodka based, whilst I had my favourite , a mojito, with a tropical twist (it had passionfruit juice and Passoa in it too!) They were both really nice cocktails and good measures too (it came to £15) but my boyfriend's purple rain was served in a Martini glass, which he was a (little!) embarrassed to drink!!

When we saw people forming a queue at the ice bar entrance we went and 'checked in', we had a reservation number with our booking but were only asked for the name on the night. We were then handed a drinks ticket each and we queued to get our coats.

Upon entry to the bar there was a lively atmosphere already, with music playing. The only disappointing thing was that we got in there after 6 minutes had already ticked by on the wall timer (I know I sound picky but you do pay for a 40 minute slot!). The bar was a quick experience as we had already checked out the menu of around 15 choices. The drinks were quite small but it was fun drinking out of the ice glass..... until I placed mine on the shelf and watched it slide away! Thankfully the glass didn't break though and I was able to purchase a topup for £6, I think replacement glasses are £4. The overall experience was fun and surprisingly not that cold. We had a bit of a dance and took plenty of photos before leaving (4 minutes early as the music was turned off after the cd started skipping!).

Other than the time that was wasted out of our allotted slot, it was a very fun night and I would recommend it to anyone. I liked it (and the drink) and I don't even like vodka!