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Bell Underest

Ice Hotels

Four Icelandic houses are gathered here. They are not built of ice, and this guide does not claim they are: they are winter properties in cold, open country, where the season decides what is running and what is shut. Each entry sets out the house, the ground it stands on and the things worth asking about first.

A vaulted room carved from snow and ice, lit in blue, with ice sculptures along the walls.

What these four share is distance. All of them sit outside towns, on farmland, lava heath or valley floor, and all of them depend on roads that weather can close. The seasonal part of each site is described plainly rather than promised.

The entries at a glance

01 / 04

Hotel Rangá

Hella, Iceland

A dark log lodge with green gabled roofs and a glass ground floor on a grassy slope.

In brief

Hotel Rangá stands in open farmland in the south of Iceland, near the town of Hella and close to the East Rangá river. It is run as an independent country house rather than as one address of a chain. Most guests come for the setting: the land around the building is flat and dark at night, and the hotel keeps an observatory and a wake-up service for the northern lights.

The building

The main house is a long timber building with a steep roof and a central hall of exposed logs. Guest rooms run off wings to either side, and a group of themed suites is described by the hotel as being fitted out around the continents. Public rooms include a restaurant, a bar and hot tubs set out on the riverside lawn.

Things to note

Northern lights depend on weather and darkness, so nothing about them can be promised in advance. The observatory and the outdoor tubs may be shut in poor conditions. Ask the hotel which rooms belong to the themed group, since that part of the house is a small share of the whole.

02 / 04

ION Adventure Hotel

Nesjavellir, Iceland

A long concrete hotel wing raised on angled supports above a rocky lava slope.

In brief

ION Adventure Hotel sits at Nesjavellir, on the geothermal heath north of Lake Þingvallavatn. It is the country address of the ION group, which also runs a city house in Reykjavík, so the name alone does not identify the building. The hotel is used as a base for walking, riding and lake trips, and meals are largely taken on the premises.

The building

The guest wing is raised above the slope on concrete supports, so the block reads as standing clear of the ground. The older part of the site was built as accommodation for workers at the neighbouring geothermal field and was later reworked. Inside there is a restaurant, a bar with a glazed end and a spa with an outdoor pool.

Things to note

Roads across the heath can close in winter weather, and the hotel lies well away from the nearest village, so arrivals are easier in daylight. There are no shops nearby. Confirm which of the group's two addresses your booking covers before you set out.

03 / 04

Deplar Farm

Fljót, Iceland

Dark timber lodge buildings with snow-covered roofs at the foot of a mountain.

In brief

Deplar Farm lies in the Fljót valley on the Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland, well away from the ring road. The lodge is operated by Eleven Experience, a company that runs a small group of properties, and stays are arranged around guided activity rather than sold as plain room nights. The valley is used for skiing, riding, fishing and walking.

The building

The lodge was made out of a sheep farm, and the low turf-roofed outline of the working buildings still reads from the yard. Rooms were fitted inside the shell, and a spa, a pool that runs from inside to outside and shared sitting rooms were added. The setting is a broad valley floor with mountains rising on both sides.

Things to note

Access depends on northern roads and on the weather, and the drive from Akureyri takes a while. Activity is booked through the lodge rather than arranged locally. Because stays are usually put together as packages, ask what a night includes before you settle on dates.

04 / 04

Buubble — The 5 Million Star Hotel

Ölfus, Iceland

A transparent dome on a timber platform among trees, lit from inside at dusk.

In brief

Buubble, sold as The Five Million Star Hotel, is a set of transparent domes pitched in woodland in the Ölfus district of southern Iceland. Sleeping happens in the domes, while washing, cooking and sitting happen in a service house shared by everyone on the site. The operator has used more than one wood, so a booking should name the location.

The building

Each dome is a clear inflated shell on a raised platform, fitted with a bed, a heater and a door that locks. There are no solid walls and no plumbing inside. The service house holds showers, lavatories and a kitchen, and stands a short walk away along a path through the trees.

Things to note

The site is seasonal and weather decides a good deal, so domes are moved or closed when conditions require it. A torch is worth carrying for the walk to the service house. Ask the operator which wood your booking covers, since the domes have stood on different sites in different seasons.

Before you use this page

Bell Underest is an independent reference and sells nothing. Everything here comes from published sources and from the operators' own material, and any of it can change without notice. On winter sites in particular, what stands open varies from season to season. The guide has no connection with any hotel listed. Confirm every detail with the property before you travel.

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