The Best Glass Lodges and Bubble Hotels in Iceland (2026)
Views for days in a new class of accommodation popping up across Iceland.
There's a particular fantasy that draws people to Iceland's glass lodges and bubble hotels: lying in a warm bed, watching the northern lights move across the sky directly overhead, with no need to leave the comfort of the room. The good news is that fantasy can now come true at several great options across the country.
What follows is a quick roundup of Iceland's best glass lodges, mirror houses, and bubble hotels, three sub-categories that get bundled together in most aggregator content but actually differ meaningfully in what they offer. These are my top choices — there are others to find and discover, but I’ve selected the most reputable and well-regarded options locally instead of the one-off Airbnb conversions. Note that a night at these accommodations can be seriously expensive, and you’ll need to book far in advance if you’re going to secure the date that actually works with the rest of your itinerary.
Which glass lodge or bubble hotel in Iceland should you book?
If you want the short version: Panorama is the all-rounder and the original; ÖÖD is the one to book for a family or if design matters most; Aurora Igloo is the cheapest, and one of the few options if you're heading north; Buubble is the most authentic bubble experience; and Glacial Glass Cabin is the most private.
| Property | Type | Price | Location | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panorama Glass LodgeBest all-rounder · the original | Glass lodge | $$$$ | South (Hella) & West (Akranes) | Check rates |
| ÖÖD Hekla HorizonBest for families & design | Mirror house | $$$$ | South (Hella) | Check rates |
| Aurora IglooCheapest · only northern option | Geodesic dome | $$ | South (Hella) & NW (Hvammstangi) | Check rates |
| BuubbleThe classic bubble experience | Inflatable bubble | $$ | South (Selfoss) | Check rates |
| Glacial Glass CabinMost private | Glass cabin (single rental) | $$$ | South (Hella) | Check rates |
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1. Panorama Glass Lodge — Akranes (West) and Hella (South)
The category-defining property and the benchmark every other glass lodge is measured against.
Before the bubble hotels and mirror houses started to pop up across the country, there was the original: Panorama Glass Lodge. It’s still one of the best in class for a night or two, with eight glass cabins across two locations: four in South Iceland near Hella (Alva, Freya, Odin, Thor — named after Norse deities) and four in West Iceland near Akranes (Frigg, Heimdall, Njord, Skadi). The defining feature is of course the glass wall and glass roof, with a custom king-size bed positioned in the centre of the room facing the view. The premise is simple: this is one of the best views in Iceland you can enjoy from the comfort of your bed, whether it’s the northern lights flickering across the sky or a dreamy light-filled summer evening.
Other features in each cabin include a private outdoor hot tub on the terrace, a fully equipped kitchen, a rainfall shower with Icelandic Sóley Organics toiletries, and a hammock net for daytime use. There are also saunas to use, although they’re shared between two adjacent lodges in two-hour timetabled slots, unless you’ve opted for one of the more premium lodges that come with their own (Frigg in the west, comparable in the south) which have their own private saunas. The west location's Frigg Lodge is the family option, sleeping up to five with a separate bunk-bedroom; everywhere else, these are couples-focused properties.
Choosing between the two locations? The South Iceland location near Hella faces Hekla volcano and the highlands, putting you 1h40min from Reykjavík and well-positioned for Golden Circle, South Coast, and Landmannalaugar day trips. The West Iceland location near Akranes faces ocean and the Snæfellsnes peninsula mountains, is 55 minutes from Reykjavík, and gives you closer access to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, Langjökull glacier, and the Westfjords. The west tends to feel more remote; the south has easier access to Iceland's most-visited regions.
2. ÖÖD Hekla Horizon — Hella (South)
The design-led newcomer with a meaningful family option.
ÖÖD Hekla Horizon opened more recently than Panorama and takes a different architectural approach: instead of fully transparent glass cabins, ÖÖD uses one-way mirrored glass on the exterior. The result is a property that visually disappears into the landscape — the cabins reflect the moss-covered lava fields and Mount Hekla's silhouette — while still giving you floor-to-ceiling windows facing the view from inside. There are seven mirror houses in total, ranging from 21sqm standard cabins (Sky, Moss, River) for couples, to 26sqm extended cabins (Lava, Volcano) with private hot tubs and shared saunas, to 41sqm family cabins (Glacier, Geysir) sleeping up to four, each with a private sauna and shared hot tub access at the Northern Lights Lounge.
Where ÖÖD outperforms Panorama is in the larger options; the Glacier and Geysir cabins are among the only properly family-sized glass-house options in Iceland, with two bedrooms and some proper kitchen space, making it a unique (albeit expensive) choice for a family to base themselves for a few nights while exploring the surrounding areas. The location is much closer to Hekla than the Panorama Glass Lodge as well, so if you’re after that remote feeling but in a South Iceland location, this is a great choice.
3. Aurora Igloo — Hella (South) and Hvammstangi (Northwest)
The accessible bubble-hotel option with two different locations.
We jump now to a slightly more affordable option for a bubble hotel, the Aurora Igloo, offering transparent geodesic dome accommodation at two locations: one near Hella in South Iceland, one near Hvammstangi in the Northwest. The latter is one of the few in this category outside the south, so if you’re interested in exploring North Iceland for a few days, a night at the Aurora Igloo is a good choice for an igloo hotel in that region. The domes are smaller and simpler than both Panorama Glass Lodge and Hekla Horizon, with basic furnishings, but there is 360-degree sky visibility, which is more than you’ll get at the destinations mentioned in the list above.
Before you book, there are also some things to know. The standard igloos are more affordable but share bathroom facilities in a separate building a short walk away, so while you’ll save significantly on price, you will have to brave the elements and walk outside to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. The private igloos are the class above and include their own en-suite bathroom and are significantly more comfortable, particularly for travellers who want the dome experience without the camping-adjacent compromises. Although important to note these aren’t available as of writing at the location near Hvammstangi.
4. Buubble Hotel — Selfoss area (South)
The original bubble accommodation and the most rustic of the category.
Buubble Hotel, which is also marketed as "The 5 Million Star Hotel", is the original bubble accommodation in Iceland, with two separate locations near Selfoss, each in a quiet forest setting: Hrosshagi and Ölvisholt. Both feature transparent inflatable bubble tents (genuine bubble tents, not geodesic domes) with a double bed and basic furnishings, sharing a service building for bathrooms, showers, and kitchen facilities.
This is the most rustic option on the list by some distance. There's no Wi-Fi, no TV, no in-bubble bathroom, no kitchen of your own, and the bubbles themselves are inflatable structures rather than rigid construction — they're warm and comfortable inside but don't offer the architectural permanence of a glass lodge. What you get is the most direct version of the "sleep under the sky in a clear bubble" experience, in the privacy of a beautiful forest, at one of the more affordable price points in the category. The forest settings have less open-sky visibility than the glass lodges but considerably more atmospheric character, as falling asleep surrounded by trees with the stars visible overhead is a rare treat in Iceland.
Best treated as a one-night experience rather than a multi-night base. The shared facilities and the lack of in-bubble amenities mean comfort levels are notably lower than the rest of this list.
5. Glacial Glass Cabin — near Hella (South)
The single-cabin private rental option.
Glacial Glass Cabin sits at the opposite end of the category from the multi-cabin properties. This is a standalone glass cabin around 30 minutes from Hella, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, mountain and Hekla views, an outdoor hot tub, a fully equipped kitchen, and heated floors. It’s just the one cabin, which makes it the most private option on this list with no neighbouring guests, no shared saunas, and no service buildings to walk to. There are some unique features as well, like the shower that opens to the outdoors so you don’t have to give up those views for the sake of hygiene, and a bubbling stream that runs through the property. It also sits on a rise, with the glass wall looking out over a sharp drop that makes the view feel more expansive as it frames Hekla.
If you want privacy and remoteness over services, this is the pick. The one practical thing to flag is that this is just a single cabin, so availability here is the biggest challenge. You may have to tweak your itinerary to suit a stay here, rather than the other way around.
Glass lodges and bubble hotels: your questions answered
Can you actually see the northern lights from a glass lodge?
Yes, when the conditions cooperate, which is the part no one can promise you. Every property on this list is built around an unobstructed view of the sky from your accommodation, and all sit in low-light-pollution rural locations that helps a lot. But the aurora needs darkness (roughly September to April), a decent solar forecast, and clear skies on the night you happen to be there. Plenty of guests have a wonderful stay and see nothing overhead but cloud.
What's the difference between a glass lodge, a mirror house, and a bubble hotel?
They're three different structures that aggregators tend to lump together. A glass lodge (Panorama, Glacial) is a rigid cabin with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and usually a glass roof. A mirror house (ÖÖD) is also a rigid cabin, but the exterior is one-way mirrored glass, so it reflects the landscape from outside while you see out from within. A bubble is a transparent dome, either an inflatable tent (Buubble) or a rigid geodesic dome (Aurora Igloo), and these are the simpler, more pared-back end of the category.
Which is best for families?
ÖÖD Hekla Horizon. Its 41sqm Glacier and Geysir cabins are among the only properly family-sized glass houses in Iceland, with two bedrooms and enough kitchen to base yourselves for a few nights. Panorama's Frigg lodge in the West is the other option, sleeping up to five. Everything else in this category is built for two.
How much does a glass lodge or bubble hotel in Iceland cost?
Expect roughly €430 a night and up for the premium glass lodges and mirror houses (Panorama, ÖÖD), with ÖÖD's family cabins climbing well beyond that. The bubbles are the more affordable end: Aurora Igloo's standard domes can drop to around €110–160 a night off-peak, and Buubble's bubble-only rate runs roughly €180–340 by season. Prices swing hard with season and demand, so the figures here are ballpark rather than quotes.
Are there any options outside South Iceland?
A few. Panorama has a second location in West Iceland near Akranes, about 55 minutes from Reykjavík, facing the ocean and the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Aurora Igloo has a site near Hvammstangi in the Northwest, one of the only properties in this category that far north, which makes it useful if you're building a trip around North Iceland rather than the south coast. Everything else clusters around Hella and Selfoss in the south.
Do you need to book far in advance?
For the single-cabin and small properties, yes. Glacial Glass Cabin is one cabin let to one party, so availability is the binding constraint — you'll likely shape your dates around it rather than the reverse. Panorama and ÖÖD have more inventory but still book out in peak aurora season. If a specific date matters to your itinerary, treat these as the first thing you lock in.