Panorama Glass Lodge
Ahhhh I saw this hotel on IG and knew I absolutely had to stay here. A glass lodge in the middle of Iceland and the chance to sleep under the stars and see the Auroras in bed without camping? Yes please. I will say this lodge completely lived up to it’s hype. And it absolutely was one of the top experiences of my life. Yes, my life… thus far lol
THE PROPERTY
We stayed in the Panoroma Glass Lodge West they have two locations so be mindful when booking. They are equally as stunning though. As soon as you drive into the property it’s stunning. It’s very easy to find and nestled right at a base of a mountain. Literally a jaw dropping view. On the other side of the lodge you look out into the ocean which is the main view. There are a few lodges on the property but they are spread out enough that you feel like you’re in your own private space and you don’t even notice your neighbors. There was one neighbor to our right (an actual house where someone lived, not a lodge) but we didn’t see anyone during our stay. It is a glass lodge so you do have to be ok with being seen a little lol. The lodges do encourage guest to not walk out in front of other lodges and they do a good job to maintain privacy as best they can with fences on either side of you. The lodges also have blinds if you want more privacy but to me this would defeat the purpose, I wanted the full experience of the glass house but this option is nice to have. Each lodge is slightly different but I loved the Frigg Lodge we stayed in because it had it’s own private hot tub, outdoor seating, and it’s own private sauna. Some of the lodges have to share saunas so it was nice to have our own. The sauna is also mostly glass so you can enjoy the view while you sweat. I really loved the outdoor daybed as well and it was fun to cozy up with the girls on it and take in this most magical place.
THE ROOM
We stayed in the Frigg Lodge which was very family friendly. It was was the first lodge when you drive into the property. It of course had the open view of the ocean with glass roof which I expected, but I was so in awe of how they managed to fit so much in a small space. When you walk in you’re met with the gorgeous view where a queen bed faces out to the view with a four person dining table behind it with the kitchen to your right. The kitchen is stocked with just about everything you need from coffee, tea, pots and pans, seasoning, a fridge, toaster, cooking utensils, bowls cups, cutting boards, you name it. Also I need to mention the floors are heated in the entire lodge! To the right of the kitchen is a full bathroom with a shower that has a waterfall spout and also a handheld spout (ideal for kids). It as handicap equipped with a fold down seat from the wall. I really loved all their design choices and functionalities. The coolest part about the bathroom was that there was a changing table that pulled down from the wall and inside it had shelves with diapers, cream, books, and a rattle. It was such a thoughtful touch for families traveling with small children. They also provided us with plenty of towels, robes and a slippers. When you walk back out, to the left of the entrance is the second bedroom ideally for children. It has a double bed on the bottom bunk bed style with twin bed on top. This room had a large window out to the view but I loved that it had a covered roof so the kids could really sleep at night and not be distracted. The ceiling was adorned with tiny lights that emulated the stars which was a cute touch. Also in the kids room were draws full of toys and books and board games. When my girls saw them they literally jumped for joy. When I tell you they thought of everything, I mean EVERYTHING. We didn’t have to entertain the kids at all, they were LIVING. And there was nothing we lacked.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD + FOOD
The property is located about an hour north of Reykjavík in a more remote area so there is not much around besides nature and a few houses spread out every few miles. Because of this I would recommend either picking up food beforehand to warm up in the microwave or on the stove (there is no oven) or buying groceries to cook while you are there. We opted for the latter and I’m so glad we did. We headed to Kronan, a popular Icelandic grocery chain, and bought all the necessities for a veggie pasta dinner. It was nice to have a home cooked meal and it was so easy to cook in the kitchen considering it was fully stocked with everything we needed. We also bought food for breakfast including fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola and pastries. It would be easy to cook a full breakfast there but we opted for something simple since we only stayed one night. Eating dinner while looking out into the view was so lovely. It’s also a much cheaper option to buy groceries as Iceland is very expensive especially the restaurants. We ended our evening watching the sunset while we played board games in bed.
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
By the time we headed to our stay here, we had seen the Northern lights more than once (a true blessing), but this by far was our most epic experience. The Northern lights can be hit or miss depending on the weather so it’s so easy to miss them. By only staying one night we were taking a gamble in seeing them in this location but by divine intervention it happened and they came out FULL FORCE. The most beautiful part of this moment is that they first came out earlier than normal, around 9pm, so the girls were able to see them right before they drifted off to sleep. Funny thing about my girls is that with all the beautiful places we had visited so far, they were not very fascinated. But when they saw the Northern lights, they freaked out in excitement. It was so cute to see. After that, some clouds rolled in and I thought my luck had run out but then they came back out around 11pm and then full force around 1:30am. Based on my experience, the best time to see the brightest most colorful northern lights is around 1-2am. This does vary so don’t quote me, but every day we were there they seemed to be the strongest around this time. You also can only see them in the winter so if you come to Iceland to see the Northern lights it must be during the winter season from Dec-March is the best. I watched them for an hour dance across the sky in my cozy bed just feeling the entire presence of the universe around me. It was the most magical transcending experience I have ever been a part of. I didn’t even care if I didn’t get that much sleep that night. I drifted off to the northern lights and slept like a baby under the stars.
I 1000/10 recommend staying here if you can. The price point is a bit high but I think it is completely worth the experience. Ideally I would book at least 2 nights to try to ensure you see the northern lights but even 1 night is worth it. It’s by far the best experience I have had in all my travels and was the absolute highlight of the trip. I’m thinking of trying out their other location in Vik on our next trip. Panorama Glass Lodge, I love you. What an impeccable job the owners did designing this place. No stone was left unturned creating the most magical Icelandic experience.