Hotels Near Beach stone pyramids Galicany in Reykjavik

Kex… Ugh such a frustrating review to write. I really wanted to like the Kex hostel it has its good points, but overall was the worst hostel stay I have had in Iceland. I’ll give you my very detailed opinion. The Bad… -Lacking in the toilet paper department!!! We were on floor 4 there were several private bathrooms with showers and also separate locker room style bathrooms. At 7:30 AM I ran to the bathroom after finishing my business realized there was no TP! Ugh. Anyway afterwards I looked through the different open stalls with toilets. Only 3 toilets on the whole 4th floor had TP! To me having adequate TP is an essential thing. The bathrooms weren’t restocked until 10AM ish. And we aren’t even in peak tourist season. We mentioned the issue to the staff and they said “just call next time you need something” kinda hard to “just call” when you have already done your business in the bathroom and you need something to wipe with! They need to have staff check the bathrooms more frequently. -The kitchen is sad in the “equipment” department. One of the reasons we stay at hostels is to cook our own food. Maybe they are trying to push buying food from their restaurant. I get that they get a lot of traffic. But the cooking pan selection is -Terrible- nasty old pans that the thrift shop would discard. Janky handles, and interior coating mega gouged out. Don’t come here expecting to cook at least on level 4. -No way to make coffee!!! Again they probably want you to pay for their breakfast. But there is no option to make coffee. No coffee pot, machine, or way to make a filter pour over etc. Don’t bring coffee grounds expecting to make your morning brew. There was an electric kettle, but again no way to make coffee unless you brought instant. -The showers need a good bleach and scrub. The walls had black mold growing on them. Considering the fact that Kex was our most expensive hostel in Iceland (we paid 20,906 for a private double, with linens, and shared bathrooms…or $153 US) compare Kex to the Svjarborg in Stykkisholmer $90 US or Halfdan HI Hostel $63 US ( in both we had a private double & shared bath) but both were awesome and had a fully equipped kitchen with decent quality pots, options to make coffee, and plenty of toilet paper. I understand that being in the city we can expect to pay more. BUT I expect that price to include: -enough toilet paper -a means to make coffee -decent cookware. The good… -The location is great. Easy walking distance to the main shops/streets. And the ocean right across the highway. -Awesome “vibe” cool decor, lots of couches/lounge areas. -Entertaining/Social. In the evening there was group song trivia in the main area, and in another a live band. -Our room a private double with shared bathroom was large, and we slept well. (Note: I have never stayed in a “quiet” hostel so I always travel with a sleep soundtrack on my phone and a melatonin) -The staff was all polite In conclusion, I have traveled on 4 contine

The Alda Hotel had great online reviews which was why we picked it. It lived up to every one of them. Before leaving home, we had cancelled a 10-hour South Shore Small Group Tour due to a horrible weather forecast. We inquired at Alda's front desk about another tour to replace it. Not only did Olga research for us, she found an 8-hour Golden Circle Small Group Tour, booked it for us and also was able to change the day of our pre-booked Covid-19 antigen test. The hotel loaned us a converter when I found ours could not fit into the room’s recessed outlets. Finally, when I needed glue for my hiking boot, Olga found a nearby store that carried it. The breakfast buffets featured all the regular fare plus a few specialties like juice made with apple, beetroot, ginger and lemon (tart and yummy). The entire hotel staff bent over backwards to be friendly and accommodating throughout our stay. The room, though simple, was spacious and comfy. We could not have asked for a nicer, better place for a 3-nite stay.

My husband, teenage daughter, and I stayed in a room on the first floor for two nights, and we wish that we hadn't. On the positive side, it was clean and centrally located as advertised. In addition, the kitchenette with a fridge was nice. However, it felt really awkward having to walk through a restaurant to access the room each time, and initially we were worried that we wouldn't receive our entry code in time for our check in. This is not a hotel at all, but a kind of Airbnb equivalent. We never saw a real staff person. We decided to cancel our final night in the room and booked a room at another hotel down the block.

This was our first stop in Iceland and was our base in Reykjavik for 2 nights and it was a good choice. This was our first meeting with the very friendly people of Iceland, the staff were patient and helpful with us. They stored our luggage and we lit out to explore the beautiful city with its many sights, restaurants, bars, plentiful shopping and everything was within easy walking distance. The accommodations were quite nice, quiet room overlooking the courtyard and a very comfortable bed. The price was very reasonable and it included breakfast buffet which was a huge surprise, I guess I was thinking of U.S.A. Fairfield Inn minimal hot breakfast. Skruggi put out a spread - meats and cheeses, bacon and real eggs, so many breads with local spreads, coffee, cold water and fresh juices, delicious fresh fruit and Skyr, oatmeal with nice toppings, etc and of course there was the castor oil with shot glasses.

The hostel was clean and warm, the rooms were well laid out, with a safe for each person. It's such an odd looking building, but that's definitely part of the charm! The large kitchen/common area looks cool both from within and from the street looking up at it: the huge windows, and the warm coloured, up-lit walls make it so cosy! The hostel is spitting distance from Hallgrimskirkja, you can see it from the common room windows. This means you're in the heart of the city - great if you have no transport! It does mean you're in the heart of the tourist traps too... so any shop nearby (with the exception of Kronan stores) will be more expensive than those further afield. The staff leave you to do your own thing, the cleaners are all super friendly, the showers are always hot, and in decent condition. It really exceeded my expectations. I might have wished for an onsite bar or cafe for socializing, but everything is so expensive in Iceland that I was glad of the lack of temptation! And if you do need that sort of diversion, the B47 Hostel, which occupies the lower floors of the same building, has something like that. I'm sure it would have been okay to use it.

My friend and I shared a room during our stay in Reykjavik. Two twin beds were very comfortable and so were pillows. Quiet location. Black out curtains worked well. Location close to sites and restaurants. Immaculately clean property. Staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was perfect. Limited parking spots on property but nighttime street parking is free from 6:00pm to 9:00am.

The hotel has two doors, one front door and one back door for pick-up and drop-off for various booking activities (when booking activities such as Aurora or sailing, it is best to confirm the address with the travel agency. The address on Ctrip is sigtun28, but the pick-up and drop-off is at sigtun38. It should be the back door address) On the first night we saw Aurora, we had been waiting at the front door. We called the travel agency and found out that the driver had been waiting at the back door. When we ran to the back door, the driver had already arrived at the front door... It took a while. … The hotel has a large free open-air parking lot, which is very friendly to self-driving travelers. You don't have to worry about finding a parking lot. It's about 5-8 minutes' drive from the cathedral and other attractions, and about 15 minutes' walk, which is not very friendly in the winter. The breakfast was quite satisfactory, in line with the general standard in Iceland (similar to the Hilton I stayed at later). There was freshly squeezed orange juice by yourself, which was quite delicious (maybe because it was squeezed by yourself...) There are many medals hanging in the hotel restaurant, so it should be an outstanding restaurant in the local area. However, due to time constraints, I was not able to have a meal, which is still a pity. If you have time, you can try it. The room size is acceptable, and the bedding is relatively comfortable (maybe because of jet lag and being too tired, but I slept extremely well). The bathroom has a bathtub and shower room. The heating is a radiator installed under the window sill. If the curtains are drawn, the effect is not very good. By the way, this hotel has disposable slippers, which are placed directly in the room drawer, which is relatively rare in Europe.

This hotel has a lot going for it, but it's held back by the fit and finish of many of the hotel's spaces. Overall, the hotel just feels dated. The red carpet in all of the halls is faded and stained, the wood floor in the room had a lot of damage, and the spa is way past its prime. On a positive note, the furniture in the room has been updated recently and the pieces were nice plus I found the bed to be very comfortable. Also, breakfast was really good! The service at the hotel was also great. But that spa, ugh. It's a perk of being a gold/diamond member, but the spa is just not in good condition. Most urgently, something needs to be done about the steam room, it smelled awful while we were there and even made other parts of the spa smell. But overall, the spa was just not in good shape with damage everywhere. Also, the location of this hotel isn't great if you're looking to explore Reykjavik but, if like us, you want somewhere with free parking for you to explore the rest of Iceland, then this is a great location for you.

I will start with the negative. Part of the hotel is a half flight of stairs from the main. This means no direct elevator service. While it's only half a flight, this could be a problem for some travelers, particularly with heavy luggage. We were not asked/told at the desk. This aside, the rooms are decent size with good storage. Included breakfast was great. Plenty of parking on premises. Nice view. Heavy blackout blinds. Very friendly staff at the desk. Comfortable beds. We enjoyed both of our stays.

A five minute ride to the airport. Hotel offers one way rides to the airport but you need to book in advance if you are staying here. Rooms were spacious and clean. Bathroom was excellent. Breakfast timings accommodate very early travelers. Overall, great place to stay!