We recently visited the magical land of Iceland and during our road trip went snorkelling between two continents, visited crystal ice caves, saw the northern lights, dined out at one of the finest restaurants in Iceland and took a dip in the world famous Blue Lagoon.

Since we were travelling around we stayed a couple of great hotels and thought we would share our reviews of a couple of our favourites. First up, the Northern Lights Inn.

How was the experience before getting to the room?

Booking the Northern Lights Inn was easy and the hotel was very quick to answer our questions and make amendments to our booking via email. The front desk reception when we arrived was very professional and helpful and sent a message to the kitchen asking them to keep the kitchen open a little longer so that we could eat. (Thank you!)

However, our very first impression of the hotel was quite negative as the road leading to the hotel was very bumpy and strewn with large potholes. Lucky we were in a 4WD but smaller cars may struggle. However their website states that they are building a new site entrance which will hopefully be completed before the busy tourist season starts.

Does it cover the travellers’ basic needs?

Breakfast – Check

Comfy bed – Double Check!

Decent Sized Towels – Check

Fridge – Check

Good Pillows – Check

Parking – Check

Safe – Check

Shower with decent water pressure – Check

Decent Wifi – Check

The Hotel ticks all the boxes and gives you everything you need for a decent nights’ sleep without any frustrations.

What makes your stay feel special?

As the hotel’s name suggest, this is somewhere that is geared towards watching the northern lights. The hotel offers Northern lights tours with an experienced photographer at additional costs. It also offers free wake up calls to guests if the Lights make an appearance. The hotel is directly South of Reykjavik so there is a red glow to the north due to the capital city’s light pollution. This can make for great photos but it will need the northern lights to be powerful to show clearly.

The rooms all have beautifully fluffy but thick down duvets and pillows which are perfect to wrap yourself up in to keep warm. You’ll be asleep in minutes.

Comfy chairs and thick duvets

There is an honesty bar if you feel peckish or thirsty out of restaurant hours, as well as ample places to sit and socialise (if you have time/energy).

Honest Bar

Lounging area

Do the hotel and room make sense?

This is so often the pitfall of many hotels. However there is nothing jarring about the design or layout of the hotel and its rooms. The room design is well thought out, saving space by using the fitted drawers to keep everything tidy. The only quirk is the hotel is a giant one floor bungalow and so if you are staying in a room at the other end of the hotel (like we were) it can be a bit of a hike.

Making good use of the space

Hotel food?

Max’s Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu options are limited but all dishes are very tempting. We both picked the superb French Onion soup and then shared a beef tenderloin and a lamb fillet. Both were beautifully cooked to order and were accompanied by wholesome proportions of sides. The restaurant is very good value for money and will leave you both full and fully satisfied.

French onion soup

Beef Tenderloin

Lamb Fillet

Breakfast is a buffet. Whilst it covers many bases (cereal, fruit, toast, sandwiches, cold meats including salmon, juices and scrambled eggs), it does lack many warm options such as sausages, bacon and beans.

Location

The hotel is just minutes away from the famous and must visit Blue Lagoon. It is also close to the airport which makes it an easy and ideal choice if you have a layover or stopover in Reykjavik.

Best extras included?

The northern Lights are obviously an amazing extra, but you can never guarantee that the sky will be clear and the show will be on.

If you will arrive late or leave very early you can book ahead for some midnight snacks or an early-bird breakfast.

Biggest fault?

The drive leading to the hotel – which is under construction.

In summary….

This is a very well managed and put together hotel that ticks all the boxes. Whilst it doesn’t have many luxury items it is high quality and very good value for money. Its’ proximity to the airport, the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle plus the potential to see the Northern Lights makes it an ideal choice for a short stopover in Reykjavik.

Last modified: 27th February 2017