Best Luxury Hotels in South Iceland

Located in Selfoss, the ION Adventure Hotel is a remarkable modernist structure that sits on stilts, cutting an impressive outline in the already dramatic landscape. Once a spooky abandoned inn, it’s now a 45-room (choose between standard and deluxe) boutique hotel with outlooks over Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant or across the lava fields towards Thingvellir National Park. As with ION’s City Hotel, there’s a clear presence of salvaged materials in the design with the exterior mimicking the brutal conditions of Icelandic winter. Sigurlaug Sverrisdottir is behind the concept and manager to the ION brand. Once air cabin crew, she’d also created a business, arranging adventure tours -and there’s many wonderful excursions to be enjoyed from here. Adventure Hotel juts out on Mount Hengill as a secluded and sustainable retreat for those wishing to get off the beaten track.

If visiting the south of the island, stay at Hótel Kría in Vik. This opened in the summer of 2018, a cool new addition to the area with black sandy beaches just a five-minute walk away. Light wood panelling, charcoal tones and glass feature heavily in the modern design, both inside and out. Meals are taken in Drangar Restaurant, with lamb and fish being especially popular. Innovative creations such as avocado chocolate pudding, skyr and cucumber crystallised white chocolate with dill and merengue appear on the pudding menu – you won’t want to skip dessert at Hótel Kría.

Found between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon is one to add to your Icelandic road trip. The 125 contemporary rooms have a minimal peaceful design, with huge windows looking out onto the local wilderness and the country’s highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur. High ceilings add to the sense of peace and serenity that this hotel embodies. The hotel’s large restaurant is decorated in a geometric style, with dishes inspired by its natural surroundings. The highlight of this property is, of course, its proximity to the Fosshotel Glacier, providing fantastic hiking on the doorstep.

One of the most beautiful mountain ranges in Iceland is the backdrop to the UMI hotel. The hotel presents bare-foot luxury at its best and is rooted with a deep connection to nature that flows throughout the design, décor and overall experience of the hotel with only 28 simple yet stylish rooms, offering mountain or ocean views, guests will never feel over-crowded. Stunning vistas can also be enjoyed from the hotel’s top-class restaurant which serves Nordic and Icelandic cuisine with a Japanese twist in a warm and welcoming atmosphere and the lounge and bar is the ideal spot to take in panoramas of Eyjafjallajökull, the famous subglacial volcano. For guests wishing to enjoy more than the beautiful views, many action-packed activities such as glacier hikes, kayaking and ice-cave adventures can easily be arranged by the team at the hotel. For those who love nature and adventure, this is the hotel for you!