Hotels near The Handknitting Association of Iceland, 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.

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.

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.

A good little hostel with the front staff being very friendly. This hostel is not at BSI bus station which is where fly bus airport transfers arrive and depart. It is a 15 minute walk from BSI bus station, but there are many tour buses that stop here. The kitchen and bathrooms were always very clean and you could see someone always mopping or cleaning. The room was very hot so pack light Pyjamas. Also there are no women only dorms!!! I thought I was booking a women only dormitory but men were in there too. One man had booked a man only dorm but obviously they don't have this either. The website and the trip.com descriptions clearly need udpating.

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.

Very good boss, personally serviced after we arrived, knew that we stayed for another night, gave us a free upgrade, the room was new, and personally sent us into the room, the service attitude was absolutely good.

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!