Hotels Near Vatnshóll in Reykjavik

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.

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.

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 Alda Hotel had great online reviews which was why we picked it. It lived up to every one of them. Before leaving home, we had cancelled a 10-hour South Shore Small Group Tour due to a horrible weather forecast. We inquired at Alda's front desk about another tour to replace it. Not only did Olga research for us, she found an 8-hour Golden Circle Small Group Tour, booked it for us and also was able to change the day of our pre-booked Covid-19 antigen test. The hotel loaned us a converter when I found ours could not fit into the room’s recessed outlets. Finally, when I needed glue for my hiking boot, Olga found a nearby store that carried it. The breakfast buffets featured all the regular fare plus a few specialties like juice made with apple, beetroot, ginger and lemon (tart and yummy). The entire hotel staff bent over backwards to be friendly and accommodating throughout our stay. The room, though simple, was spacious and comfy. We could not have asked for a nicer, better place for a 3-nite stay.

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 part of a 8 day tour where we spent 4 nights in the hotel. It really was the perfect base for a non-stop, busy trip to Iceland. The location is absolutely perfect - very central to the main tourist spots in Reykjavik but also in a cool, vibrant, modern part of the city itself. The hotel itself is at a great location. We were greeted with warm and friendly smiles. This place is a real gem. The staff is super friendly and eager to help. The room's are also clean and generally in good condition. Very comfortable bed. Everywhere was spotlessly clean. Kitchen was great and so handy after our day trips. Staff are very courteous and helpful. Everything was delightful. Staff was professional, courteous and so helpful. We are thankful to Mariko and Tinna who took great care of us during dayshift and María in the nightshift. Through them, I can see the Icelanders quality of being kind, helpful, and honest. There was some confusion with our sight-seeing tour, which obviously made us a bit worried, however, the staff went out of the way out to help us. We felt so comfortable and peaceful there. We stayed 4 nights, but came back and stayed for 2 more nights on our way to UK after visiting AKUREYRI! But the best thing about Leifur Eiriksson is the people who run it. When we got there we were welcomed, given delicious food, and made to feel right at home. Many thanks, if I choose to go to Reykjavik again, I will definitely go to Hotel Leifur Eiriksson

After initially looking forward to our stay, unfortunately within a few minutes of arrival, the shine was swiftly taken off of the experience by the overall cleanliness/condition of the room. The bathroom ceiling was disgusting and unlikely to have been cleaned in months. On that note, when walking into the bathroom, be sure not to step on the footplate on the door frame, which see-saw's by a couple of inches every time you do (the silicone filler was never going to fix this problem!!). The bed lacks a headboard, as the ceiling slopes low towards this end, meaning that your pillow needs to be at least a foot or so from that end, or else your forehead would touch the ceiling. The result of this (if over 5ft11 like myself, is that your feet hang over the end of the bed (pray you don't want to sit up in bed). Aside from the historical wear, scuffs and marks on the walks & carpets, if given a much overdue deep clean or repaint, this would be a far nicer base to stay for your trip. As is currently stands, it's certainly overpriced as the room currently sits.

We were initially allocated 331 which was in another block and had twin beds, so we swapped to room 301 which was double and we weren't disappointed. It was a clean and spacious, comfy bed .Great to have a ettle, fridge and coffee machine :-) Large walk in shower with constant hot water. Large wardrobe, plenty of storage. We had a 2nd door onto a corridor to other rooms, there was windows in this wall but by opening curtains people on corridor could look in. Only downside no natural light. Relatives across corridor in room 305 had full wall of windows for day light. Breakfast was good choice and plentiful. Reception staff friendly and helpful. Located with walking access to everything. Would stay here again and recommend

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!