At the end of our 10 day trip around Iceland, we decided to book ourselves a hotel for a little bit of “luxury” for the end of our vacation. It should probably be noted, this is something we rarely do, as we typically live simple lives and almost never splurge on anything too crazy for ourselves.
When it comes to booking a hotel (just about anywhere) in Iceland, it is important to do so in advance. While we had been planning our adventure in Iceland for about a year, we only made the decision to book a hotel a week in advance. As a result, we had limited options for booking hotels in general, and at Northern Lights Inn all standard rooms were booked – leaving us to try out the deluxe room at a higher cost. By the time we booked, we didn’t care too much as we were just excited to finally go on vacation (it had been about a year since we took off of work!), and we thought to ourselves…”While in Iceland…do as the Icelanders do!”
This last day was really oriented around relaxation, and the proximity of the Northern Lights Inn to the Blue Lagoon was perfect for our needs – as we would be spending a good deal of the evening there for dinner (at Lava) and soaking in the lagoon itself.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by very pleasant employees that checked us in and gave us a tour of the hotel, and the various amenities. There was a real satisfaction from this, as it really helped to lend a home-like feeling to staying here. Due to time limitations, we didn’t take full advantage of all that is offered including spa services, a full self-service bar (the “honesty bar”), free shuttle services to and from the Blue Lagoon, and Max’s Restaurant. They also have a list that you can add yourself to to be woken up if the Northern Lights are spotted. This is a really cool feature to have in Iceland, as the aurora borealis can show up when you least expect it. We put ourselves on the list, but no lights were seen as a result of cloudy and rainy weather – still a cool feature none-the-less.
Upon arriving to our room, we were pretty taken aback and very enthused to see it. There may have been some bias thrown in there, given how excited we were just to see a bed and showers after being on the road for 9 days with minimal levels of comfort, but our room and the included amenities in it were a lovely sight to behold. The bed was very comfortable, our stay included 4 free drinks (2 sodas, 2 waters), and the shower was extremely nice. The shampoo, conditioner, and body washes are L’Occitane brand – which we found to work wonders for us.
All in all, it was a simple room with little additions that really enhanced the stay. From what we understand, by Icelandic standards, this is also very much “luxury,” and it makes sense given that most other lodging around the country tend to be smaller rooms, shared amenities, and group living in hostels with other travelers.
The only real downside that we noticed was the TV lacked any real connection to the outside world, with only a few channels actually coming in. We didn’t care too much as most of our time was spent at The Blue Lagoon this evening anyways, but given that it is quoted as a room feature, it should not have been a noticeable problem. Some travelers may also find the occasional sulfur smells problematic, though it did not bother us in any significant way, and frankly comes with the territory of being in Iceland in general.
The Northern Light Inn is well regarded for us, and we’d be happy to visit again when we make our way back to Iceland one day. It really helped cap off the last night of our trip by allowing us to fully relax and enjoy the finer side of life in Iceland after sleeping in a campervan, not taking too many showers, and going hard to see so much of the country and photograph as much of it as possible.
