Hotel in Reykjavik

[asnaleah]

Does anyone have experience with the provided hotel in Reykjavik? We are deciding if we want the hotel or the credit because we are coming in a few days before the cruise. Thanks!

[lprp]

On our Splendor cruise at the end of August we were in the Grand. It’s close to the port, but 3km to the centre of town.

We weren’t really enamoured with the hotel, especially as our room faced directly onto the road which was very noisy.
 

If we were going to go there again we’d definitely stay in town, Reykjavik Edition looks lovely, it’s just opposite the concert venue.

[NCCruzQueen]

In August, prior to our Voyager cruise, we stayed two nights (on our own) at the ION City Hotel right in the city.  The hotel had a good vibe, restaurant below, and was nicely appointed.  We had a room that faced the front that was on a closed to cars.  It was near bars so we heard loud, boisterous noises, due to jet lag we fell asleep easily.  Over all, I would recommend.  The city is easy to walk with lots to see.

[hamasgirl]

We have been to Reykjavik a number of times and have stayed in "Regent included" hotels three times.  They are outside of Reykjavik.  One, the Hilton Reykjavik, is pretty much away from most things but the food is very good.  The other, the Grand, is basically around the corner and its food is not nearly as good.

 

I would recommend taking the credit and trying to stay in town since Reykjavik is lovely, has lots of things to see and experience within town and some lovely little spots to grab a bite.  Just a couple of words of caution.  Stuff, in general, is pretty expensive.  And the hotel rooms that we have experienced across all of our stays have been different from any other European hotels that we have enjoyed.  

 

The main thing that is consistent everywhere is that hotel rooms are hot and hard to cool (never experienced air conditioning in our room).  Iceland takes advantage of their geothermal heat and use it everywhere.  Hotel rooms get really warm which will be great in the winter but we have always been there in the summer (cruise season).  And the hotels that we stayed at all had windows in their rooms that opened...but they were small and never did much to help.

 

But Icelandic folks are lovely and Reykjavik is fun to spend some time in.  Enjoy!

[elmwood]

If you take the credit and want an hotel that is within walking distance of most things in the centre, I recently stayed at the Skuggi hotel. I was on a Greenland expedition with Adventure Canada in July and this was one of the hotels they recommended. It's not luxurious but the rooms are stylish and comfortable. It doesn't have its own restaurant, but I walked to many very good restaurants. Just 4 minutes walk away is the Hlemmur Food Hall in what was an old bus station. I found this very good for lunch and snacks.

[golfgirls]

The Canopy Hilton in city Centre is far superior to the Hilton Regent(Nordica?) often includes.  Canopy is perfectly located for walking to great restaurants, Opera house, downtown, etc.  We are taking the hotel credit and staying there in July on points, hotel pricey otherwise.  

[Bruce61]

Let me also ask, what/who do people think has the best flight plans to Reykjavk from the West Coast (of US)?  It seems like SAS may be the most direct routes, but I was thinking of British Air or American from LAX to LHR and then a separate flight on Icelandair to Iceland.  Concerned about connections and bags in London.  What are others doing?

[RELS]

There are non-stop flights to Reykjavik on Icelandair from Seattle and Portland, both about 7.5 hrs. Business class seating on Icelandair is equivalent to domestic first class (no lie-flat). The price is lower than most other business class fares. The food and service are good, and the gin flows freely.

 

 

[asnaleah]

We fly out of Chicago. Iceland Air has non-stop flights, so we chose them. 

[Bruce61]

I did see that I can fly to Seattle and then Iceland nonstop- not really a fan of a redeye without a sleeper seat.  A search found another alternative which sounded better to my wife,  We would fly to NYC from LA, spend a day in NY, and then take a non-stop from Newark to Iceland which is only a 5 1/2 hour flight and avoids the hassle of London.  Return from Heathrow is easy.  And RELS, surprised it is not Vodka flowing easy on an Icelandair flight!

[hamasgirl]

Just be aware that the Newark to Iceland flight arrives in Reykjavik airport around 6:15 am their time (and often a bit earlier if the jet stream is flowing fast).  The airport is about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik.  So all-in-all you will be at your hotel pretty early in the morning.  We always pay for the hotel room the night before so the room is available when we arrive.  We have not yet slept overnight in the 4 times we have taken the Newark to Reyjkavik flight and very little is open that early in the morning in Reykjavik.  We usually take a quick nap, freshen up and then greet the day to explore the sights.

[Bruce61]

Thanks for that information!  Did not think about what we would do with lots of bags and nothing open!  

[asnaleah]

Thanks for all the tips. I made a reservation at the Edition, but will check to see if our Marriott status will give us early check in. Otherwise I will choose to pay for the arrival day. Taking a short nap will be important after flying the red eye.

[Carol From California]

On 11/9/2023 at 3:28 PM, golfgirls said:

The Canopy Hilton in city Centre is far superior to the Hilton Regent(Nordica?) often includes.  Canopy is perfectly located for walking to great restaurants, Opera house, downtown, etc.  We are taking the hotel credit and staying there in July on points, hotel pricey otherwise.  

In 2019 we stayed at the Canopy Hilton and enjoyed it very much. Great location. 

[H2O Polo Willie]

On 11/11/2023 at 7:46 AM, Bruce61 said:

Let me also ask, what/who do people think has the best flight plans to Reykjavk from the West Coast (of US)?  It seems like SAS may be the most direct routes, but I was thinking of British Air or American from LAX to LHR and then a separate flight on Icelandair to Iceland.  Concerned about connections and bags in London.  What are others doing?

Bruce -

I think we are on the same cruise.  We booked through Regent air and they routed us from SFO to SEA on Alaska in first class and then from SEA to KEF on Icelandair.  For us that was better than other options which were flights to the east coast - Newark, Boston, Dulles, etc. -and a change of planes there as that would involve two shorter flights.  The SEA to KEF flight is 7 hours and 25 minutes so we can at least hope to get a few winks.  You are right that the other option would be LAX to a European destination - London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc. - with a connection essentially backward to KEF.  That routing will generate more seat miles and lots more time in the air.  There is a routing LAX to SEA on Alaska that connects to the Icelandair flight to KEF.

[Bruce61]

Thank you Willie.  I was perfectly willing to do the LAX to SEA to KEF trip.  But a one-way flight from LHR home was over $11,000 per person and we did not have enough miles for two one-way business class tickets.  So, I booked LAX to LHR nonstop on American Flagship business and then a one-way from LHR to KEF on the 23rd.  Not ideal but worked for us.  We did not book with Regent Air.

 

Looking forward to the cruise.   

[2SailingNomads]

Stayed at the Marina first time - one and done.  Next time we stayed at the Edition, great in so many ways. Probably the only place I would stay at again.

[flare3192]

We have one night in Reykjavik before the cruise on July 20 I need to find a hotel for. I have considered the Sand hotel and the Hilton Consulat or the Iceland Parliament. I know the Canopy is favored but I was trying to keep cost less than $500 for the night. Feedback and suggestions are appreciated

[Bruce61]

We booked the Hotel Borg.  Looked like a good location and was fairly reasonable compared to others.