Have you ever wondered how it felt like, sleeping under a million stars? We did, which is why on our European trip, we decided to make a quick stop at Iceland. You can read more about it here.
During our stay in Iceland, we stayed in a number of hotels. But our favorite and most memorable one was the Buubble Hotel, otherwise known as the 5 Million Star hotel/igloo.
We booked our igloo, months before. That time, we were able to book the self-drive option. Recently, they removed it for security reasons, perhaps they wanted it to be really private.
After making the booking, you will be receiving an email that will tell you where to go, the numbers to contact, the longitude and latitude that only an Icelandic GPS can read.
So if you do go, make sure to rent a local GPS and bring wifi so that you can contact them. We brought our GLOCALME which served both of us really well.
There are a lot of null wifi spots and during winter, there are tendencies that there'll be a blizzard, which is what happened to us, so you really need to be careful on the way to the hotel.
We were from our Golden Circle tour before we checked in at Buubble. So we already packed all our stuff since we'll be transferring to another hotel the day after since we were set to go to the for our South Coast tour (you can check our itinerary here), and after our self-drive South Coast tour we plan to head back to Keflavik so that it would be nearer to the airport, since our flight the day after tomorrow would be early.
We arrived around 5pm, and talked to the female caretaker. She was very nice!
After we pinned the location and talked to the care taker we decided to buy food since there were literally no shops on site and there was only a kitchen, a bathroom and our "bubbles"
We drove to a gas station 20 minutes away to buy our food and after we drove back, we cooked our food. It was literally camping under the stars.
Here are some photos from my iphone. Although the bathroom and dining are was "shared", we were lucky that everyone else wasn't around yet, so everything was clean when we got here and we were the first to use the bathroom, took a quick shower and Rap cooked our dinner as well.
After our dinner and washing up, we decided to rest for the night and just look at the stars. It was a unique experience since there was nothing or no one that can bother us.
We can hear howling, crickets chirping, which scared me a bit, so if you need to pee, it's best to have a cup or something especially during the late hours since you wouldn't know whats outside.
The view from our bubble. It was cloudy and it was pitch black because if the incoming blizzard. but with the camera you can see the neon green lights. I guess we were asleep when the lights started dancing, nonetheless it is what it is.
We woke up around 8am the next day, we needed to be early since the days are shorter during winter, and we needed to head South.
Beautiful winter wonderland! I used my Sony a6000 here.
We then took some drone videos with our Spark since the strong winds died down.
Here's a beautiful shot from the sky. Buubble is a beautiful place to stay in really.
It's a nice place to bond and get away from it all.
After taking some drone shots and videos, we packed, headed to the common area, washed up and had a quick breakfast.
The Five Million Star experience truly is a must do in Iceland. It's one of the most memorable things I've done my whole life.
We spent around 28,900ISK or around 230USD or P12,000 for an overnight stay at the
Maria Bubble. The blankets were warm, and even though it might look cold, it was actually one of the most comfortable hotels I've ever stayed in.
Important Things to Note
Baggage
-When staying at the Buubble it's best to bring only a few things, which is why we decided to make it the "midpoint" of our Golden Circle tour and South Coast tour. To be able to make things more practical, we didn't book another hotel, instead we placed everything inside the car, and thankfully everything was safe.
Food
-You would need to bring your own food since the common area only contains a kitchen, utensils, two (2) bathrooms and a table. You don't have to worry since the hotel only accommodates limited amount of guests, so it wouldn't be too full either way.
Cleanliness
-If you're a germaphobe like me, it's best to bring your own "lysol" or hand sanitizers. I used it to clean the toilet bowls since other guests would use the same toilet. For what it's worth though, it was extremely clean, so I was actually okay with it.
**
2018 update.
Apparently they no longer offer the self-drive option, so the rates are quite more expensive now at around 59900 ISK per person or P25,000 (484USD) . But there will be a tour that would go with it.
To be honest, I would really do this again , but I would only do it if there was a self-drive option. As for now, for those who are about to head to Iceland, yes it's highly recommended, but as mentioned in my previous post, Iceland is best toured through self-drive. But either way, it was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
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