Hotels Near Mermaid mural 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 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.

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.

Great location. 10 minutes walk to the church/city centre. Free parking in the neighbourhood. If you book the small room with shared bathroom you realy get a tiny room with hardly any space to open your suitcase. Everything was clean. The kitchen is well equipt and all day free coffe or tea. Magdalena is the best. She keeps the hostel running and is the soul of the house. Tak ferier.

The hotel boasts a fantastic location in a bustling area, offering convenience for guests. The reception desk is exceptionally helpful, and the restaurant staff, particularly during breakfast, are outstanding. Wish the breakfast had more hot food variety and also better coffee options (only had filter coffee), neverthless still a great breakfast spread.The hotel comprises a modern half and an older section, but both segments provide all necessary amenities. Easy access to taxis and the nearby bus stop, which is ideal for convenient Iceland tour pick-ups. Overall, a comfortable stay with excellent service and accessibility.

This hostel has a practical and functional location only. The only reason to stay here is for it’s convenient pickup and drop off stop for tours and the airport. The room was a 4 bed dorm and was stark. Located opposite the kitchen and above the main entrance meant it was quite noisy too. The bunks are very, very basic. There aren’t charging points at each bed in this particular dorm (3) and the blanket provided is a decorative throw. The cleaning left a lot to be desired. Regularly had to ask reception for hand soap in the toilet, paper towels and toilet paper. The Wi-Fi is non-existent and the reception staff are totally ambivalent; they are pleasant but absolutely no desire to help. Plausible deniability comes to mind. You only stay here for the location that allows you access to all that Iceland has to offer.

My wife and I recently spent a very pleasant 5 nights at this hotel. It is nicely situated in the marina area slightly away from the city centre, but still with many local restaurants. Our room (on the top floor as specifically requested) was small but perfectly formed with an excellent view over the Marina. The bed was very comfortable, the shower was powerful and the the wi-fi was excellent. The room had all we needed, really, apart from, perhaps, some drawers for clothing. There was space on some open shelves but we prefer to have our clothes 'put away' and not on show. We had no problem with noise entering our room either from the outside or from neighbouring rooms. We took breakfast on a couple of occasions and it was a decent buffet affair, albeit pricey. The hotel staff were friendly, welcoming, polite and very helpful in arranging excursions and advising on things to do in Iceland. We didn't take dinner in the hotel, but we did find an excellent gastropub literally over the road from the hotel.

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.

This is a good option if you don’t want to stay in Reykjavík centre and just a few minutes drive out, but in a very secluded location through an upmarket residential area and down on a little peninsula on its own. It is so quiet. There are cosy basic rooms or superior rooms. I’d booked a standard triple room and when we arrived we found it was under the rooftop hot tub and sauna and feared noise so we called the number given for assistance and requested a room change. We had to upgrade however are so glad we did as the superior room had a sea view and was so much bigger. It was organised within minutes and extra bedding bought over for the sofa bed and we paid the additional cost over the phone. Great service thank you. I would definitely recommend the superior room, however we didn’t hear any noise fr the hot tub at all so I think people are very respectful. It’s a really quirky quiet place without any service such as reception bar breakfast etc but would happily stay again. Got a great sunset view and I imagine if Aurora played ball it would be stunning here. There is no check in, rooms are left unlocked so it’s very easy.

The scenery from the room was beautiful, overlooking a lake.. hotel staffs were all very friendly. Breakfast and dinner were good! The room is a bit gloomy due to the color theme..This place definitely ideal to spot for northern light although we didn't see any during our stay as it was cloudy. The hotel has a deck for northern light observation. overall we enjoyed our 2 nights stay.