Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2019
Operating activities:
Net income (loss) attributable to Americold Realty Trust	$ 48,162	$ 47,985	$ (608)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	163,348	117,653	116,741
Amortization of deferred financing costs and pension withdrawal liability	6,028	6,177	8,604
Amortization of above/below market leases	151	151	151
Loss on debt extinguishment and modification, non-cash	0	28,446	400
Foreign exchange (gain) loss	(10)	(2,882)	3,591
Loss from and impairment of investments in partially owned entities	111	1,069	7,859
Gain from sale of partially owned entities	(4,297)	0	0
Share-based compensation expense (Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units)	12,822	8,639	2,358
Share-based compensation expense (Modification of Restricted Stock Units)	3,044	2,042	0
Deferred tax benefit	(10,701)	(3,152)	(3,658)
Loss (gain) from sale of real estate	34	(7,471)	(43)
Loss (gain) on other asset disposals	870	(152)	(107)
Impairment of long-lived assets and inventory	13,485	747	11,581
Multi-employer pension plan withdrawal expense	0	0	9,134
Provision for doubtful accounts receivable	1,218	2,324	1,229
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(3,681)	(1,940)	1,597
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	841	(5,219)	18,202
Other	4,764	(6,246)	(13,704)
Net cash provided by operating activities	236,189	188,171	163,327
Investing activities:
Return of investment in joint venture	2,000	0	0
Proceeds from sale of investments in partially owned entities	14,250	0	0
Proceeds from sale of property, buildings and equipment	1,151	19,513	10,163
Business combinations, net of cash acquired	(1,319,905)	0	0
Additions to property, buildings and equipment	(217,214)	(145,216)	(148,994)
Net cash used in investing activities	(1,604,934)	(125,703)	(138,831)
Financing activities:
Distributions paid on common shares	(135,443)	(76,523)	(20,214)
Proceeds from revolving line of credit	100,000	0	34,000
Repayment of revolving line of credit	(100,000)	0	(62,000)
Proceeds from stock options exercised	10,204	14,842	0
Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of certain stock awards	(7,063)	(12,680)	0
Payment of underwriters’ costs	0	(8,205)	0
Reimbursement of underwriters’ costs	0	8,952	0
Repayment of sale-leaseback financing obligations	(3,161)	(2,595)	(2,100)
Repayment of financing lease obligations	(13,339)	(10,360)	(8,429)
Payment of debt issuance costs	(2,062)	(16,563)	(4,212)
Repayment of term loans, mortgage notes, notes payable and construction loans	(10,392)	(1,522,347)	(56,868)
Proceeds from senior unsecured notes	350,000	600,000	0
Proceeds from term loans	0	525,000	110,000
Proceeds from construction loans	0	1,097	19,671
Net proceeds from initial and follow-on public offerings	1,206,627	586,275	0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	1,395,371	84,942	(18,604)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	26,626	147,410	5,892
Effect of foreign currency translation on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(110)	(3,276)	1,141
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash:
Beginning of period	214,097	69,963	62,930
End of period	240,613	214,097	69,963
Supplemental disclosures of cash flows information:
Acquisition of fixed assets under financing lease obligations	30,416	13,290	18,614
Acquisition of fixed assets under operating lease obligations	12,492	0	0
Interest paid – net of amounts capitalized	68,016	85,595	106,557
Income taxes paid – net of refunds	2,207	5,509	11,854
Acquisition of property, buildings and equipment on accrual	51,335	18,799	20,942
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the consolidated balance sheets to the ending cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances above:
Cash and cash equivalents				$ 234,303
Restricted cash				6,310
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	240,613	69,963	62,930	240,613
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment		13,800
Additions	269,164	0
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Goodwill				318,483
Series A
Financing activities:
Distributions paid on beneficial interest shares – preferred – Series A	0	(134)	(16)
Series B
Financing activities:
Distributions paid on beneficial interest shares – preferred – Series B	0	(1,817)	(28,436)
Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Operating activities:
Net income (loss) attributable to Americold Realty Trust	48,162	47,985	(608)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	163,348	117,653	116,741
Amortization of deferred financing costs and pension withdrawal liability	6,028	6,177	8,604
Amortization of above/below market leases	151	151	151
Loss on debt extinguishment and modification, non-cash	0	28,446	400
Foreign exchange (gain) loss	(10)	(2,882)	3,591
Loss from and impairment of investments in partially owned entities	111	1,069	7,859
Gain from sale of partially owned entities	(4,297)	0	0
Share-based compensation expense (Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units)	12,822	8,639	0
Share-based compensation expense (Modification of Restricted Stock Units)	3,044	2,042	2,358
Deferred tax benefit	(10,701)	(3,152)	(3,658)
Loss (gain) from sale of real estate	34	(7,471)	(43)
Loss (gain) on other asset disposals	870	(152)	(107)
Impairment of long-lived assets and inventory	13,485	747	11,581
Multi-employer pension plan withdrawal expense	0	0	9,134
Provision for doubtful accounts receivable	1,218	2,324	1,229
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(3,681)	(1,940)	1,597
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	841	(5,219)	18,202
Other	4,764	(6,246)	(13,704)
Net cash provided by operating activities	236,189	188,171	163,327
Investing activities:
Return of investment in joint venture	2,000	0	0
Proceeds from sale of investments in partially owned entities	14,250	0	0
Proceeds from sale of property, buildings and equipment	1,151	19,513	10,163
Business combinations, net of cash acquired	(1,319,905)	0	0
Additions to property, buildings and equipment	(217,214)	(145,216)	(148,994)
Net cash used in investing activities	(1,604,934)	(125,703)	(138,831)
Financing activities:
Distributions to parent	(135,443)	(86,679)	(48,666)
Proceeds from revolving line of credit	100,000	0	34,000
Repayment of revolving line of credit	(100,000)	0	(62,000)
Repayment of sale-leaseback financing obligations	(3,161)	(2,595)	(2,100)
Repayment of financing lease obligations	(13,339)	(10,360)	(8,429)
Payment of debt issuance costs	(2,062)	(16,563)	(4,212)
Repayment of term loans, mortgage notes, notes payable and construction loans	(10,392)	(1,522,347)	(56,868)
Proceeds from senior unsecured notes	350,000	600,000	0
Proceeds from term loans	0	525,000	110,000
Proceeds from construction loans	0	1,097	19,671
General partner contributions	1,209,768	597,389	0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	1,395,371	84,942	(18,604)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	26,626	147,410	5,892
Effect of foreign currency translation on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(110)	(3,276)	1,141
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash:
Beginning of period	214,097	69,963	62,930
End of period	240,613	214,097	69,963
Supplemental disclosures of cash flows information:
Acquisition of fixed assets under financing lease obligations	30,416	13,290	18,614
Acquisition of fixed assets under operating lease obligations	12,492	0	0
Interest paid – net of amounts capitalized	68,016	85,595	106,557
Income taxes paid – net of refunds	2,207	5,509	11,854
Acquisition of property, buildings and equipment on accrual	51,335	18,799	20,942
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the consolidated balance sheets to the ending cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances above:
Cash and cash equivalents				234,303
Restricted cash				6,310
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	240,613	69,963	$ 69,963	240,613
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Goodwill				318,483
PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc.
Investing activities:
Acquisitions of property, buildings and equipment, net of cash acquired	(86,810)
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets	4,620
Additions	854
Cash and cash equivalents	1,594
Other assets and liabilities, net	(17)
Operating and finance lease obligations	(4,620)
PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc. | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Investing activities:
Acquisitions of property, buildings and equipment, net of cash acquired	(86,810)
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets	4,620
Additions	854
Cash and cash equivalents	1,594
Other assets and liabilities, net	(17)
Operating and finance lease obligations	(4,620)
Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Land				65,074
Building and improvements				706,795
Machinery and equipment				162,389
Assets under construction				16,974
Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets				1,336
Cash and cash equivalents				4,977
Restricted cash				526
Accounts receivable				22,959
Goodwill				132,371
Other assets				7,127
Accounts payable and accrued expenses				(45,000)
Notes payable				(3,878)
Operating and finance lease obligations				(1,336)
Unearned revenue				(3,536)
Deferred tax liability				(9,626)
Total consideration				1,325,408
Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Land				65,074
Building and improvements				706,795
Machinery and equipment				162,389
Assets under construction				16,974
Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets				1,336
Cash and cash equivalents				4,977
Restricted cash				526
Accounts receivable				22,959
Goodwill				132,371
Other assets				7,127
Accounts payable and accrued expenses				(45,000)
Notes payable				(3,878)
Operating and finance lease obligations				(1,336)
Unearned revenue				(3,536)
Deferred tax liability				(9,626)
Total consideration				1,325,408
Customer Relationships
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Additions	266,633	0
Customer Relationships | Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Acquired identifiable intangibles				266,633
Customer Relationships | Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Acquired identifiable intangibles				266,633
Trademarks and Trade Names
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Additions	1,623	$ 0
Trademarks and Trade Names | Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Acquired identifiable intangibles				1,623
Trademarks and Trade Names | Cloverleaf and Lanier Cold Storage | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price to business combinations:
Acquired identifiable intangibles				$ 1,623
Land | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc.
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	23,439
Land | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc. | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	23,439
Buildings and improvements | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc.
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	41,913
Buildings and improvements | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc. | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	41,913
Machinery and equipment | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc.
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	19,027
Machinery and equipment | PortFresh Holdings LLC and MHW Group Inc. | Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P..
Allocation of purchase price of property, buildings and equipment to:
Property, plant and equipment	$ 19,027