We all travel for different reasons. Sometimes we want to be pampered and refreshed but sometimes we want to push boundaries. Sometimes there are unique stays that are worth spending a little extra on to maximise your enjoyment.
Introducing Unique Stays. Places that made us say “wow, we have to stay there”. And first up we’re looking at Jordan’s bubble hotels. We visited Jordan in December and fell truly in love with the country. We’ll be writing much more about Jordan and how it’s such an underrated destination.
When most people talk about visiting Jordan, and as we said that’s a really great idea, they talk about the ancient city of Petra. The sense of history and theological significance is ever-present in Jordan but Petra is the most historic of all of these. Incredibly well preserved, the ancient trading city of Petra built into a martian landscape and is on the bucket-list of many travellers.
Petra is in the middle of the mountainous desert region so there are no large cities nearby. We drove there from Aqaba for around 2 hours. There are some traditional-style hotel options which are just outside the entrance to Petra catering to history fanatics and hikers alike. These range from 4-star to basic 2-star accommodation. There is a cheap alternative too, with dessert Bedouin-style camps set up not far from Petra. These usually offer a hearty breakfast and dinner and provide basic, low-frills accommodation in a simple pre-fabricated structure made to look like a Bedouin tent. They are a cost-effective option often used by biblical pilgrimage tours who visit the many sites in Jordan of religious importance to all Abrahamic religions.
Then there’s the luxury option - spending the night in an insulated igloo or bubble tent as they are popularly becoming known. These are now growing in popularity with the glamping trend at sites of natural beauty. Seven Wonders Luxury camp is the one we chose to go with after some deliberation. There was also an option to stay in these in the middle of Wadi Rum, a wide completely Mars-like landscape between Aqaba and Petra.
The original bubble hotel experience, also known as UFO luxury camps, were in Wadi Rum, however we thought to maximise our time and stay in Petra. At Seven Wonders they have both a smaller luxury camp with bubble tents and then a larger bedouin-tent style cheaper area. We were the only guests at the luxury camp as we managed to sneak in just before the Christmas holidays, so had our meals at the bedouin camp. They also had an area for shisha smoking and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed with different types of travellers from across the world meeting in the Bedouin tea tent which was mercifully packed with heaters.
Seven Wonders cost us £170 for one night, however, the majority of nice hotels around Jordan cost around £50 or £60 a night so it’s possible to arrange your hotel choices in such a way that the outlay balances out.
The bubble itself was isolated-enough and resembled a gigantic golf ball. They were sturdy and had a reassuring pattern of poles going all the way up to the vaulted ceiling that made us feel safe even in the face of some strong dessert winds at night. Inside is a minimalist’s dream. The entire hemisphere was lined on the inside with a brilliant-white quilted insulation material save the large curved window carved out at the front of the tent, revealing the caved mountain at the camp which had been lit up with lanterns. As we had already splashed on the bubble tent we had to skip Petra at Night, a nocturnal exploration of the ancient city after dark. However, the experience and view at Seven Wonders made us feel like we had not missed out.
The tent had more than everything you would need. Lovely soft bedding, cosy lights, air conditioning and heating which we certainly needed at night and your own en-suite with shower. We were pleasantly surprised at the eco-measures used including harnessing the incredible power of the desert sun to heat the hot water and provide electricity to the remote camp. Plastic waste was a slight issue when we visited, however, the problem is due to the scarcity of water and plastic bottles make up the bulk of the waste in Jordan. It’s a global problem and one we hope will be solved soon.
The tent is truly unique. It’s great if you enjoy camping and the outdoors but for those who are less used to that or want a less rugged experience while still getting to enjoy the landscape and beauty, the bubble tent is a great experience.
Seven Wonders was the right choice for us but there are more camps popping up as Jordan is trying to attract more tourists and raise its international profile. We saw some more elaborate glass-type houses being made in the hills near Petra and there are more being built in Wadi Rum. If you plan on visiting Jordan, consider splashing out on a bubble hotel experience.
Soon, we will also tell you about another way you can live in a bubble for less in Switzerland of all places. The experience is designed to be quite different and brings you much closer to the land you are exploring.
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