by Joe
Iceland has a number of very diverse options for finding a suitable place to lay your head at the end of the day. For a country about the size of the state of Kentucky in square miles but only about 8% of the population, it has many new, old, expensive, B&B, and hostel type hotels. Although there is a wide price range, be prepared to pay more than you would in the USA. There appears to be new ones being built all over the areas we visited which is probably due to the large increase in tourism in recent years. I don’t recall seeing the traditional US chains but I do recall seeing a Hilton listed once when we were researching places to stay. There are other chains that are Iceland based: Icelandair Hotels, Fosshotels, Center Hotels, Keahotels.

My daughter Wendy, her husband Jack, my wife Cindy and me spent 6 days and nights in Iceland recently. We stayed in several areas: by the airport, in Reykjavik, in the southeastern part of the island as well as by the Thingvellir National Park. Although there are many “budget” options available they are limited in facilities and creature comforts. There also appears to be a great camping community at most of the major attractions we visited. We saw many backpackers, campers, hikers and people making their way via bicycles.

We arrived in Iceland late, around 11:30 pm their time, so we chose to spend our first night by the airport. Because the international airport is in Keflavik not Reykjavik the options are a little limited and I think very busy. We stayed at the Icelandic Health Hotel a few miles away. This hotel has a shuttle but it does not run late at night so be prepared to hire a taxi. There are plenty at the airport but they are pricey. Since the shuttle wasn’t running when we got there the hotel offered to split the cost, which helped. This hotel is in the area where military barracks and administration buildings from WW II were located. The hotel appeared to be just that. The lounge rooms downstairs were nice and cozy and a small bar was located in one of them. The common room on the second floor, where breakfast is served, was comfortable but not remarkable. We used the room late that night after arrival to have a drink, snack and unwind a little from the flight. The bedrooms were very basic, clean, but in need of some upgrades. The beds were comfortable and there was enough space to put all of our stuff. Breakfast was included and had a nice assortment of cereals, breads, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, and fruit. This very basic 2 star ran about $220 per night.

Icelandic Health Hotel

Old military buildings

After breakfast we rented our car and headed south and east. We planned to stay at the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon that night which was about 5 hours away not including all of the stops we made along the way to see huge and multiple waterfalls, ocean cliffs, black sand beaches, and a beautiful lighthouse. This lighthouse is available for rent as an overnight. We saw green farms and wandering sheep. Horses, hay bales and small towns dot the landscape. This brand new hotel took advantage of this magnificent scenery and was placed between the ocean and the tall green cliffs behind it. They even had their own waterfall. These rooms were quite nicely done with a warm feeling in color and appointments. The queen bed was very comfortable as was the furniture and the room in general. The large windows brought the outdoors inside. The bathroom was typical in size for a EU type hotel but why they don’t put a door on the shower is beyond me. Water does tend to go all over the floor. The lounge areas were very comfortable as was the bar and restaurant. Be aware that there is not much around so be prepared to eat at the hotel which is also on the pricey side. My wife and I spent about $150 for dinner. Great dinner though. A nice touch was that breakfast was included with the room and it was very good. There was a great mix of hot and cold food including eggs, bacon, sausage, salmon, cheeses, cold cuts, breads of all kinds, fruit and yogurt. This is not a cheap hotel at $350 US but it was one of our favorites.

Next up is the ION Adventure Hotel. We are all looking forward to to this one.

We travelled northwest to the area of the Thingvellir National Park. The ION Adventure Hotel was a hotel we had seen over and over as we were shopping for hotels in Iceland. It has to be one of their more notable ones. We were intrigued even though it was over the high end of what we would normally pay for a hotel room. The rooms were similar in size to the Fosshotel but the bathrooms were a little smaller. Same issue here with the shower, no door, so water does tend to wander out on the floor. The room was very comfortable and functional. It had an espresso machine which was a nice touch. The restaurant is expensive and breakfast is not included. The bar/lounge area was very cool and the views were superb. The drinks weren’t bad either. After dinner we checked out the outside hot tub which looked more like a pool than a hot tub. Even though it had gotten very cool outside, the water felt great and the bathrobes from the room came in handy. We really enjoyed this hotel but I think we all agreed that the Fosshotel was better and much cheaper. The ion will set you back about $450 US a night.

We stayed in the same general area for our next hotel, the Grimsborgir. This was a mix of one and two unit self contained suites which had, in addition to the bedrooms, a small kitchen, separate bathroom, sitting/TV area, a patio, and a private hot tub. It had a full service restaurant and bar. We really enjoyed this hotel. We bought supplies to cook a hotdog meal with potatoes and pork and beans. Worked out great. The hot tub automatically fills itself at 5 PM and drains at midnight. On a chilly evening it was great to sit in our own private hot tub while sipping on a bourbon. Icelanders love their hotdogs and hot tubs! Much more reasonably priced at $680 US for a two bedroom suite.

The last hotel we used was in downtown Reykjavik. The Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina was right on the marina and was also fairly new. It was designed well and even though the rooms were on the small side they were very functional and we had plenty of storage and cubbies to put all of our stuff. The decor was something out of IKEA and nicely furnished. Same small bathrooms and open shower design but at least they admit it. There is a sign in each bathroom making a short joke out of it which was quite clever. However, we were on the street side and it was a tad noisy until about midnight. Be sure to ask for a room on the marina side of the building if you can get it. Most of the things you will want to see are within walking distance. Very quirky but fun hotel to explore. Overall the staff was not as service oriented as one would hope, except for the nice staff at the front desk and coffee bar. This hotel will run about $250 US a night.

As you can observe, the hotel prices will surprise you. But right now the airfares are very reasonable so GO, by all means Go! Where else can you see Iceland except in Iceland.