Review: Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg Hotel, Longyearbyen
This review details my experience at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg Hotel in Longyearbyen on the Norwegian island of Svalbard.
Longyearbyen hotel
After a comfortable flight from Oslo with SAS Scandinavian Airlines I had arrived in Longyearbyen on the island of Svalbard.
The airport is located just a few miles out of Longyearbyen and there are both taxis as well as buses available for arriving passengers.
The Longyearbyen airport bus costs 8 euro (payable by card on board the bus) and stops at every major hotel in town.
As there road network on the island of Svalbard is basically limited to the town of Longyearbyen only, hiring a car is not something which you would do as a tourist here.
In winter all transport on the island is done by snow mobile, while in summer it is mostly done by boat or ATV.
My hotel, Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg, was the first hotel in town where the airport bus halted.
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg
The reason why I had selected Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg was simple: It had the cheapest rooms of all hotels in Longyearbyen when I booked my trip.
While Norway is already expensive in general, hotel prices on Svalbard are even higher.
For my rather small single room at the Polarrigg with shared bathroom I paid 98 euro per night.
Of course, you can also opt for a larger room with en-suite bathroom at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg, but given that it would double the price I didn’t opt for it.
Other hotels and lodges on Svalbard had room rates of around 200 euro per night while the only top-end hotel in town, the Radisson Blu, would have cost at least 350 euro per night on the days I was visiting.
Check-in
The reception at the Polarrigg is open 24/7 so even though I arrived late at night, there was still a hotel employee on site to check me in.
After a smooth check-in process by a very friendly Polish receptionist, I got the keys to my room.
The Polarrigg is basically a compound of several old wooden miners’ barracks which have been converted into a hotel.
Because of this, Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg has a rather unique character and special atmosphere.
In the corridors of the hotel you will find a lot of decorations and props that remind you about the history of the place.
You will encounter polar bear heads and maps on the wall, as well as mining tools such as an old oxygen generator.
Because of this, walking through the hotel corridors almost feels like you are stepping into a museum.
Room
My room at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg featured a single bed and a desk – and that was about it.
With blank walls and not having any decorations whatsoever apart from a single painting of two puffins and a polar bear with her cub, my room felt more like a basic cabin on board a ferry.
Even though my room was rather small and undistinguished, it was perfectly comfortable.
The heating worked like a charm and I had a nice view from my window over the mountains of Svalbard.
There were power sockets in the room and Wi-Fi internet was fast and reliable.
All of the cheaper rooms at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg have shared bathrooms – something which seemed to be common among all of the cheaper hotels in Longyearbyen.
This didn’t turn out to be a big deal at all as there seemed to be a bathroom with en-suite shower for every two standard rooms or so.
In practice, I never had to wait to visit the bathroom or to take a shower.
Throughout my stay, the bathrooms remained perfectly clean.
Hotel facilities
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg has a couple of shared rooms and facilities that you can use as a hotel guest.
There is a nice common room next to the reception where you can work or socialise with other travellers.
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg also has an on-site bar and restaurant, as well as a game room with a pool table, darts and foosball.
Hotel guests can also make use of a shared kitchen if they want to cook their own food.
Breakfast
Breakfast was included in my room rate and was served in a nice-looking atrium full of flowers and plants.
Although the breakfast buffet wasn’t the most extensive ever, I thought the quality was quite good.
The bread was of great quality, there were fruits and veggies, plenty of cold cuts, as well as some hot dishes such as sausages, potatoes, beans and eggs.
Each day I started with a full English breakfast to ensure I had all the energy needed for some arctic exploration out in the cold.
Conclusion
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg is a great budget hotel option on Svalbard.
It being Svalbard, you should however not expect that “budget” equals cheap, as I still had to pay 98 euro for a basic single room with shared bathroom.
Hotel prices in Svalbard’s capital of Longyearbyen are high due to the remote location of the archipelago and the inhospitable climate, so this is something that you just have to accept when you travel here.
Although my room was pretty basic, it was warm, comfortable and clean.
Even though the shared bathroom looked like a minor inconvenience, in reality it wasn’t much of a problem as there seemed to be a bathroom for every two rooms and I never had to wait in order to go to the toilet or take a shower.
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg also serves a quality breakfast buffet that will definitely get you started for a full day of arctic exploration.
Moreover, the hotel has a good location as it’s only a short distance on foot to the town centre and main shopping street of Longyearbyen.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘Snow Seeking in Svalbard: A Winter Trip Into the Arctic‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Low-Cost Travel to Norway: Oslo on the Cheap
2. Review: SAS Business and Gold Lounge Oslo Airport
3. Review: Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg Hotel, Longyearbyen (current chapter)
4. Longyearbyen: A Visit to the World’s Northernmost Town
5. A Svalbard Snowmobile Ride to Barentsburg
6. Barentsburg: A Visit to a Unique Russian Coal Mining Town
7. Pastel Winter: The Famous Blue Sunset Skies of Svalbard
8. The Long Way Home: Three Flights From Longyearbyen
