Iceland

Holidays by Destination Europe Iceland Accommodation 

Traditionally hotels have tended to the old fashioned, or conventionally modern, usually designed to cater to business people. However, as the country becomes more prosperous (and fashionable with tourists), some new, more elegant hotels are opening.

Room sizes tend to be small so with a family some hotels would require you to book two rooms. If you want something less expensive you could consider a guesthouse though standards do vary. In the country there are farm stays which offer anything from full furnished cabins to hostel style dormitories. In both cases meals can usually be provided with advance notice.

Catering to the longstanding interest among Icelanders in exploring their own country, almost every settlement has somewhere, however basic, for visitors to stay and further budget options include hostels, some designated family hostels, though all except one of the Icelandic Association hostels have family rooms. Families should always book ahead. Hostels can arrange activities in their area including rafting, fishing, hiking, riding and glacier or whale or seal watching tours. Some serve evening meals if booked in advance.

Sleeping bag accommodation offers a bare mattress and bed in multi-bedded rooms, on which you use your own sleeping bag. There are generally self-catering facilities but you might need your own cooking and eating utensils. This is available even in Reykjavik but also in mountain huts and in summer hotels, country schools which open in the summer to offer dormitory space or similar. Most have a thermally heated pool in the grounds and there's always a restaurant.

No centre of habitation is more than 45 miles from the sea and the further you venture inland, the less inhabited and habitable the country becomes. Options are reduced to mountain hunts or free camping - which can be hard work. Camp sites, particularly in summer, tends to be an excuse for locals to get thoroughly drunk, so might not suit some families.

Hotel options include:

Icelandair Hotels
Three and four-star around the southern parts of the island.

Hotel Edda
Fifteen two and three-star hotels around the country.

Reykjavik Hotels
Partly new and partly in a building dating back to the 18th century, extremely central and comfortably attractive.
Also Hotel Reykjavik , and Grand Hotel Reykjavik .

Hotel 101
In a 1930s buildings, a design hotel in minimalist style in volcanic black and grays with warm Ammerican oak flooring.

Hotel Borg
Dating back to the ‘30s, one of the few larger, old and elegant buildings in Reykyavik. Just across from the Cathedral and House of Parliament, it describes itself as a moderately priced luxury hotel, suitable for better behaved children.

As the city is not very big, families might prefer to be outside the dead centre which, particularly in summer, can be a bit noisy with your windows open. (Because alcohol is rather expensive one school of thought is that drinkers tend to be middle class kids, who shouldn't get overly rowdy. Another is that it's made up of boozed up shaggy haired youths on the rampage.