Our final hotel was a typical city-centre tourist lodgings, nothing special but comfortable and clean. Located about 10 minutes from most of the main sights it made for a good base.
The only downside was construction work nearby and the constant usage of an excavator-mounted drill for breaking up rock. They were creating an enormous trench for pipes which must have been for sewage or surface water given the diameter. They seemed to work late, well past 7pm – though not an issue as we were out and they’d stopped by the time we returned.
A really beautiful hotel, and one that deserves Audley’s “First Class” rating….just a shame we were there for such a short time!
Located in a tiny fishing town, Siglufjörður, Sigló Hótel is more traditional than modern, but with some very modern takes. An outdoor hot bath area overlooks the harbour and mountains beyond, big enough for numerous occupants, a restaurant with enormous tables and chairs, and very comfortable rooms, Sigló Hótel is clearly a destination for more discerning travellers and those who just can’t stop working even when away (two seen typing on laptops and making obviously business calls from the bar!)
No need to give your room number at breakfast here, and the barman very happy to make a honey and lemon drink for a sore throat. This place is right up there amongst the best hotels I’ve stayed in.
Another location, another FossHotel. What is not clear is why they call them FossHotels when none seem to be near a Foss (waterfall). This one equally as impressive as the last, squat in the landscape.
Very plush, modern and inviting. This one didn’t have many facilities, unlike the last one. Just a sauna.
We only ate breakfast here. The restaurants appear to produce standard menus, which are fine but very expensive and we found better elsewhere.
Basic. Bog standard traveller’s hotel, nothing remarkable about it at all. In fact it’s so unremarkable that all you’re getting is a few photos. Oh yes, the children’s room was hotter than ours.
An amazing looking hotel, miles from anywhere (nearest supermarket, or even shop for that matter, is more than an hour away) this had great potential.
Rooms are really well presented and comfortable, views incredible (front to the sea, back to the mountains).
The communal areas are numerous, with loads of comfy areas to sit and look out the window (or blog!) Drinks from the bar were disappointing – still looking for the elusive cappucino.
The food was excellent, though very expensive, and restaurant service was terrible. Each night was bad for different reasons – the first night nobody greeted us or even acknowledged our arrival, we waited an hour for main courses, and drinks ordered didn’t arrive until we reminded them; the second night we were greeted quickly, but sat next to two tables of loud Americans who seemed to have something wrong with their chairs or backsides as they kept moving around between tables, taking forks of food with them to deliver to their offspring – for such an upmarket restaurant they knew nothing of table manners nor decorum. I asked at the start of the meal if we could move due to the noise (we couldn’t hear each other talk) – no tables free. 30 minutes in it became intolerable, so I went to the main desk and demanded to speak to the manager – she looked startled, as if nobody ever wants to speak to her, and we were immediately moved. Note this, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon – never allow a customer to have to ask twice for the same thing…..
Our second apartment accommodation was a lot nicer than the first, less prison camp, more Scandy terrace. Vík is an interesting coastal town – comprising the old town (not very big, just a few roads), and the rest of town which is actually a mixture of coastal industry along the shoreline then Hotel Vík and its apartments, a camp site, and a small shopping centre. Behind all of this is the famous church on the hill which makes Vík a popular tourist stop.
The apartment itself was well appointed and spacious – just a little too warm, with unfathomable heating controls that said 23.4 degrees Celsius irrespective of the selected temperature.
The hotel itself, set about 200m from the apartments, seemed nice – we assumed lots of rooms judging by the coaches that kept arriving. Mostly modern decoration, with hints of odd – like the collection of emergency service figurines.
Odd wasn’t only in the main hotel building. We had a washing machine (and tumble dryer). Fortunately exactly the same one we have at home, as the program labels around the control dial were all in (what we presumed to be) Icelandic. I’m sure that ‘Supersnabb’ isn’t a program we have at home, and that ‘Urpumpning’ sounds anything but clean.
Hotel Stracta is a big hotel with c100 rooms. We have one of six 2 bed apartments. It is a bit tired, but clean and functional.
There is a small a la carte restaurant downstairs and an enormous breakfast/evening buffet area upstairs. The lovely check in lady would not take a booking for the restaurant or commit to a time it might be quieter, but it was clearly in an effort to avoid accidentally lying to us! She did whisper that the pizza van over the road was very good, so our first night we did that.
The facilities are excellent with resistance machines in the gym, hot tubs and saunas for hire (unless you have an apartment in which case you get a private, if gritty, hot tub) and a glass corridor to view the Northern lights from in the winter.
Our apartment has a double and a twin room, with a sofabed in the lounge/diner. The kitchen has the basics, with a fridge, sink, microwave and hob, although I am on holiday and don’t intend to use anything but the tap and the kettle! The bathroom is more functional than stylish and I am never a fan of bathrooms without windows, but it does the job.
We have our own parking space and a private yard with the hot tub and some seating.
On the second night we ate in the restaurant and the food was tasty with a European feel and Icelandic twists.
However, the apartment from the outside looks a little like a prison camp – but only because the buildings were used as worker accommodation at an aluminium mine elsewhere in Iceland, before being shipped to Hella and turned into a hotel!! The addition of a hot tub helps!
Hotel Geysir is absolutely our type of hotel: beautiful design features and Scandinavian style paired with THE most comfortable mattresses.
The two rooms we had were almost identical – ours with a king sized and the children’s with two twins; their’s with a walk-in shower, ours with a shower over a bath. I think the secret to the comfy beds might be the squishy topper on top of memory foam.
The children particularly liked the motion activated lights in the corridors; Keith wanted to see the plant room as all their power is generated from the geothermal source underneath the hotel!
The restaurant has big windows that allow you to see the geysirs while you are eating (albeit from a distance) and the area is spacious and airy. The lighting makes it tricky to see what you are eating, but a slight tilting of the head is all that is required to reveal your food.
The restaurant at Hotel Geysir was amazing. We had a Romanian waitress (Maria) who was very friendly and clearly thought looking at a paper map over dinner was quaint! Choosing a tasting starter seemed sensible in our first Icelandic restaurant and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Everything we chose was delicious and we ate every scrap.
The reception area is reminiscent of a ski hotel we stayed in Norway with a feature wall of plants and books that I would like to take home and plenty of comfortable looking seats. Danny liked the floating fire (attached by its chimney to the roof) in the bar, but sadly it was not lit.
