Hotels near Safnahúsið / House of Collections, 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

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.

My friend and I shared a room during our stay in Reykjavik. Two twin beds were very comfortable and so were pillows. Quiet location. Black out curtains worked well. Location close to sites and restaurants. Immaculately clean property. Staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was perfect. Limited parking spots on property but nighttime street parking is free from 6:00pm to 9:00am.

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.

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.

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.

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!