Mil Estrelles

Ten bubbles in a clearing between Banyoles and Girona

Mil Estrelles has been running since 2012 in the Borgonyà neighbourhood, in Cornellà del Terri, halfway between Banyoles and Girona. It has ten transparent bubbles, each with its own garden closed by hedges so nobody sees you from outside. Six are the Jardí type, the classic version. Three, the Bosc type, are a little bigger and have more garden. The only Sirius adds a private spa area with a jacuzzi and infrared sauna. With Jardí and Bosc you don't choose the specific bubble: they give you the best one free for your date.

All have a double bed, a private bathroom with a bath, and heating and ventilation. They are closed, so the night goes on even if it rains. What does change the night is the sky. With a new moon and no clouds you will see many more stars than on a full-moon night.

How the night is organised

Check-in is from 16:00 and check-out until 11:00; when booking they ask for your approximate arrival time. Parking is free and inside the site. Contact is by WhatsApp; the website publishes no email for customers.

Everything else is added when booking and paid separately. Breakfast is charged per person per night. Dinner is served inside the bubble: dishes to share, a bottle of wine, water and dessert, priced per couple. The astronomy meeting lasts an hour and takes place in a room for six people at most, with an astronomer explaining the sky on a screen; if it is clear, you then go out to look through a professional telescope, and if it is cloudy the talk is extended. In winter it is before dinner and in summer, after. There are also massages with essential oils and details such as cava and petals.

If you go with a child, it can only be one, up to about 6 years old, with no cot or extra bed: book for two adults and tell them by WhatsApp. Dogs are welcome with a supplement per night, and they ask you to pick up whatever they leave inside and outside.

What to know before paying

Rates are non-refundable. You can change the date once with 15 days' notice, by WhatsApp and with a €20 handling fee; if you book with less than 15 days, it can no longer be changed. You pay the whole stay when booking, plus the tourist tax. The website publishes no prices per night: you see them in the booking engine when you choose a date.

From here the Garrotxa is within reach. Besalú, with its fortified bridge, is to the north, past Banyoles, and a little further on is the Fageda d'en Jordà. More ideas in Besalú.