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Tag: Iceland Hotel Guide View All Tags

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Iceland's Pain Is Your Gain at the Hilton Reykjavik

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Sudurlandsbraut 2, Reykjavik, Iceland
October 13, 2008 at 4:24 PM | by Tim L. | 2 Comments

Last week we ran an Iceland Hotel Guide series and the prices we quoted have already dropped from there. Iceland is having a financial system meltdown that makes the U.S. one look like a minor annoyance. As a result, their currency has tumbled and what was once one of the most expensive destinations for Americans has become a great bargain.

Icelandair just dropped fares to Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, to $400 round trip from New York City or Boston, good for travel November through March.

Here's the real kicker though: if you travel there in November, Icelandair is offering a 3-night-stay at the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica, with daily breakfast, for only $149 more per person double occupancy--total. That makes the whole three-day weekend only $549 (plus another $76 to $90 in taxes). You must book by October 21 at the promotion page of www.icelandair.com.

If you thought the land of geysers, bubbling hot springs, 10,000 waterfalls, and a giant glacier was out of your price range, here's your window of opportunity.

[VOX restaurant at the Hilton photo by tonwesseling]

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Iceland Hotel Guide: Sweet Suites at The Hotel Borg

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Posthusstraeti 11, Reykjavik, Iceland
October 10, 2008 at 10:45 AM | by Tim L. | 0 Comments

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is braving the erratic weather of Iceland and reporting on the local hotel scene this week. Most hotels are listed in euros or kroners, but prices have been converted into dollars, which are actually worth something there right now.

There are no frightening alien cyborgs at Reykjavik's Hotel Borg, which is in most respects the best in the city. When most hotels say they "combine old-time elegance with modern style" it means they couldn't afford a full renovation.

In this case, they really did marry the old with the new seamlessly. The 2006 renovations turned the entire 1930s building into a stylized Art Deco palace, but using updated leather furniture, new electronics, and modern plumbing.

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Iceland Hotel Guide :: A Killer View from The Blue Lagoon

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 240 Grindavík, Iceland
October 9, 2008 at 10:46 AM | by Tim L. | 0 Comments

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is braving the erratic weather of Iceland and reporting on the local hotel scene this week. Most hotels are listed in euros or kroners, but prices ave been converted into dollars, which are actually worth something there right now.

We'll admit that this is one of the strangest "killer view" pics we've run, but there are not all that many places in the world where you can gaze out your window and see mossy lava rock fields stretching to the horizon.

The famous Blue Lagoon near Iceland's international airport is a unique place where you soak in milky geothermal sea water and slather silica mud on to exfoliate. It's also good for treating all kinds of skin ailments, so there's a clinic here where people stay for ongoing treatments. Attached to the clinic is the Blue Lagoon Hotel where anyone can stay.

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Iceland Hotel Guide: Given the Cold Shoulder at Hotel 101

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Hverfisgata 10, Reykjavik, Iceland
October 8, 2008 at 9:14 AM | by Tim L. | 2 Comments

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is braving the erratic weather of Iceland and reporting on the local hotel scene this week. Most hotels are listed in euros or kroners, but prices here have been converted into dollars, which are actually worth something there right now.

Hotel 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland has a reputation of being reminiscent of a velvet rope Studio 54 in the early 1980s. Staffers are condescending, fashion obsessed, aloof, and just plain rude. Even though nightly rates are the highest in the country, the service at this hotel is still quite frosty.

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Iceland Hotel Guide: Glymur Resort Has Killer Views and Themed Chalets

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 301 Akranes, Hvalfjordur, Iceland
October 7, 2008 at 1:00 PM | by Tim L. | 0 Comments

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is braving the erratic weather of Iceland and reporting on the local hotel scene this week. Most hotels are listed in euros or kroners, but prices have been converted into dollars, which are actually worth something there right now.

The owner of Glymur Resort freely admits she "knew nothing about running a hotel" when she bought a building that was formerly home to six failing businesses and turned it into an inn seven years ago. The "hidden people" -- fairies said to populate the hills around here -- must have blessed her, though, as this is now regarded as one of the best hotels in Iceland.

When you've got a view like this, it's easy to be happy with your stay. The hotel is perched over Whale Fjord, a dramatic area carved out by glaciers, but less than an hour from Reykjavik. Meals mix in lots of fresh ingredients and a number of local dishes, with an emphasis on seafood and lamb. The restaurant and lounge both overlook the water, as do the two community hot tubs that are filled with running geothermal water. There are hiking paths behind the resort up into the hills and the staff can arrange kayaking, fishing, or whale watching.

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Iceland Hotel Guide: Hotel Reykjavik Centrum

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Adalstraeti 16 , Reykjavik, Iceland
October 6, 2008 at 10:20 AM | by Tim L. | 2 Comments

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is braving the erratic weather of Iceland and reporting on the local hotel scene this week. Most hotels are listed in euros or kroners, but prices here have been converted into dollars, which are actually worth something there right now.

The "centrum" in this hotel's name is the main selling point. Located a few steps from hot restaurant The Fish Market, Hotel Centrum is also just a few blocks away from other fine dining shrines like Orange, The Lobsterhouse, and The Seafood Cellar. It is two blocks from Tjörnin Lake and the National Gallery.

Otherwise it's your basic business hotel, with intermittent WiFi you have to pay for, predictable furnishings, and a minibar with prices fit for an expense account. The style is pseudo-Scandinavian, with showers meant for skinny people and what one guest described as "the smallest toilets I've ever sat upon." Floor space is also tight in the standard rooms, so you may want to book a "double double" or a junior suite if there are two of you.

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