If you want something genuinely different from your average Iceland stay, Galaxy Pod Hostel in Reykjavík is worth knowing about. From the outside the building is completely unremarkable — it also houses a car dealership — but ride the elevator up and you step into a sci-fi world of glowing capsule beds with airlock-style doors.
Benjamin Pothier, a 46-year-old scientist and spacesuit tester from France, stayed there recently and told Metro.co.uk the place feels “straight out of a science fiction movie.” Photos from his visit show the dormitories lit in an eerie blue at night, the sleeping capsules looking like something lifted directly from a Star Wars set. “The pods are truly remarkable and surprisingly comfortable,” he said.
The surprise of the location is part of the charm, apparently. “After taking the elevator, you’ll find yourself in the hostel lobby, which doubles as a communal gathering space,” Pothier explained. It’s an odd approach, but it works.
Beyond the pods themselves, the hostel has the easy, sociable feel you’d expect from a good youth hostel. There’s a communal kitchen and dining area, shared bathrooms, and a lobby bar that tends to get people talking.
Nightly rates start at ISK 5,800 (approximately £33) for a bed in a 24-person room. The hostel opened in late 2015 and was the idea of Sverrir Guðmundsson, who took his inspiration from a scene in the 1997 film “The Fifth Element” — specifically the bit where characters played by Bruce Willis and Mila Jovovich sleep in capsule beds on a spacecraft. “Our pods are much cozier,” he said. “There’s a certain romance in this kind of accommodation, especially in a place like Iceland, which often feels otherworldly.”
Pothier stayed three nights before heading out into the Icelandic wilderness to work on a project developing livable habitats for space exploration. He left wanting to come back, calling the hostel “clean, comfortable, and memorable.”
On TripAdvisor the place holds a 4.5 ‘excellent’ rating. Reviewer Sólveig Péturs stayed with her nine-year-old daughter, who had been dreaming of sleeping in space for her birthday. “It’s more than just a hostel; it’s an experience!” she wrote, adding: “I recommend arriving early to settle in, capture all those space-themed memories, and enjoy a movie on your private pod TV.”
Booking details are at galaxypodhostel.is.
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