Best Styles of Accommodation in Iceland — Biggest Selection & Lowest Prices Guaranteed

Styles of accommodation in Iceland range far wider than the hotels in Iceland most first-time visitors picture, and choosing the right one shapes the whole trip. The same road can put you in five-star suites in the capital, grass-roofed cabins in a lava field, or family-run guesthouses in Iceland with a shared kitchen and a hot tub out back.

Style matters more here than in most countries because distances are long and towns are small. Travelers on self-drive tours in Iceland often change style every night out of necessity, moving between a design hotel in Reykjavik and whatever single property exists near the day's destination.

Pairing your stays with a car rental in Iceland opens up the countryside properties that sit closest to Thingvellir National Park and Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon.

Budget is the other half of the decision. Nightly rates in Iceland average around 121 USD (14,900 ISK) at the budget end, 211 USD (26,000 ISK) in the mid-range, and 363 USD (44,700 ISK) at the luxury end, so the style you pick moves your accommodation spend by a factor of three.

If you are still weighing overall costs, it helps to know how expensive Iceland is before locking in a style, and where to stay in Iceland region by region.

The eight styles below cover what is actually bookable across the country, with the most reviewed properties in each. Read on to find the one that fits your trip.

Best Luxury Hotels in Iceland

Luxury hotels in Iceland deliver spa facilities, full restaurants, and standout settings, and they are the one style where the property itself becomes part of the itinerary. The country's luxury hotels cluster in Reykjavik and beside the biggest natural draws, so you rarely trade location for comfort.

• Hotel Jokulsarlon: A four-star hotel at Reynivellir in southeast Iceland with two outdoor hot tubs, a sauna, and a 180-seat restaurant, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the glacier lagoon.

• Siglo Hotel: A four-star hotel on the harbour at Siglufjordur in north Iceland, with sea-view balconies, a sauna, and a hot tub, 219 yards (200 meters) from the town center.

• The Reykjavik EDITION: A five-star hotel on the old harbour at Austurbakki 2, with a wellness spa, hammam, and outdoor pool, a short walk from Laugavegur Shopping Street.

• Kerbyggd Luxury Houses: Self-catering houses at Braedratunga near Kerid Crater, each with a hot tub, private terrace, and full kitchen, well placed for Golden Circle driving days.

Best Boutique and Design Hotels in Iceland

Boutique and design hotels in Iceland are small, architecture-led properties where the rooms and public spaces are the point, and almost all of them sit in Reykjavik or a single striking rural location. Boutique hotels in Iceland suit travelers who would rather have character than a chain's predictability.

• Exeter Hotel: A four-star contemporary design hotel at Tryggvagata 12 in Reykjavik's old harbour district, with a sauna, restaurant, and sea views from some rooms, 400 meters from the city center.

• Hotel Laxa: A design-led hotel beside Lake Myvatn in north Iceland, with lava field and mountain views and a locally sourced restaurant, a five-minute drive from the Skutustadagigar pseudocraters.

• Kvosin Downtown Hotel: A four-star boutique hotel on Kirkjutorg Square behind Reykjavik Cathedral, with unusually large rooms, kitchenettes, and balconies, and Parliament a few minutes' walk away.

• The Greenhouse Hotel: A 49-room boutique hotel on Hveragerdi's main street, occupying the two floors above the Matholl Sudurlands food hall and its restaurants and bar.

Best Budget Hotels and Guesthouses in Iceland

Budget accommodation in Iceland means guesthouses, small hotels, and rooms with shared kitchens, and it is the style that most often includes breakfast and free parking. Budget hotels keep nightly costs near the 121 USD (14,900 ISK) average rather than the 211 USD (26,000 ISK) mid-range figure.

• Konvin Hotel: A three-star, 138-room hotel at Keilisbraut 762 near Keflavik Airport, serving breakfast from 4 AM and running an airport drop-off shuttle for early flights.

• Loa's Nest: A family-run 12-room guesthouse about 3 miles (5 kilometers) outside Hella, with private bathrooms, a shared kitchen, a games room, and complimentary homemade waffles.

• Laekjaborgir Guesthouse: A small countryside guesthouse at Kalfafell in Skaftarhreppur, roughly 16 miles (26 kilometers) east of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, with a shared kitchen and communal lounge.

• Hotel Skogafoss: A 16-room hotel a few steps from Skogafoss Waterfall, with buffet breakfast, private bathrooms, and family rooms with bunk beds.

Best Unique Hotels and Accommodations in Iceland

Unique accommodation in Iceland covers properties whose building or setting has no real equivalent elsewhere, from cabins with turf roofs to a hotel on a working horse farm. Unique hotels and accommodations in Iceland tend to be small, so they sell out earliest.

• ION Adventure Hotel: A four-star Design Hotels member on Mount Hengill at Nesjavellir, built on stilts above the lava, with a geothermal lava spa and views over Thingvallavatn, 25 kilometers from the national park.

• Magma Hotel: Individual grass-roofed cabins beside a lake in a moss-covered lava field near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, with private patios facing the Vatnajokull Ice Cap.

• Skalakot Manor Hotel: A 14-room manor hotel on a seventh-generation Icelandic horse breeding farm at the foot of Eyjafjallajokull, where guests ride the farm's own horses from on-site stables.

• Seljalandsfoss Horizons Lodges: Eight self-catering lodges with floor-to-ceiling panorama windows at Eystra-Seljaland, around 1 mile (2 kilometers) from Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and surrounded by open farmland.

Best Romantic Hotels for Couples in Iceland

Romantic accommodation in Iceland trades size for privacy, and the strongest properties are small rural hotels and suites where the view from the room does the work. Romantic hotels in Iceland also tend to sit far enough from towns that the night sky stays dark.

• Black Beach Suites: Studio suites at Nordur Foss about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Vik, each with kitchen facilities and a private outdoor area, minutes from Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach.

• Hotel Geysir: A four-star hotel directly across the road from the Geysir Geothermal Area in Haukadalur, with mountain views, extra-long beds, and an outdoor fireplace.

• Hotel Stafholt: A quiet 17-room hotel at Stafholtsveggir in Borgarbyggd, west Iceland, with a restaurant and bar, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Glanni Waterfall.

• Hotel Kriunes: A small hotel overlooking Lake Ellidavatn on the edge of the capital region, with free parking and an in-house restaurant, roughly 13 kilometers from central Reykjavik.

Best Family Hotels in Iceland

Family accommodation in Iceland comes down to two things that Icelandic rooms often lack: beds for more than two people and a kitchen. The best family hotels in Iceland offer proper family rooms, children's meals, and something for kids to do when the weather turns.

• Hotel Selfoss: A four-star hotel at Eyravegur 2 beside the Olfusa River in Selfoss, with a spa and sauna, children's meals, and canoeing and golf nearby, within an hour of the Golden Circle.

• Reykjavik Residence Apartment Hotel: A four-star apartment hotel across several historic buildings at Vatnsstigur 2, with full kitchens, living rooms, family rooms, and cribs, 875 yards (800 meters) from the city center.

• Hotel Kria: A three-star hotel 600 meters from the center of Vik, with family rooms, children's meals, and table tennis, billiards, and darts for rainy afternoons.

• Hotel Klaustur: A three-star hotel in the middle of Kirkjubaejarklaustur Village, with children's meals, special diet menus, board games, and packed lunches for long driving days.

Best Hotels with Spas and Hot Tubs in Iceland

Hotels with spas and hot tubs in Iceland let you use the country's geothermal water without queuing at a public lagoon, and after a cold day outdoors, that access is worth paying for. Hotels with hot tubs in Iceland are far more common in the countryside than in the capital.

• Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon: A four-star hotel at Hnappavellir in Oraefi with a sauna and hot tub free to guests, about 30 kilometers from the glacier lagoon and 20 from Fjallsarlon.

• Hotel Katla: A 103-room hotel at Hofdabrekka about 3 miles (5 kilometers) east of Vik, with an outdoor geothermal hot tub, open-air bath, and sauna, plus family rooms and a restaurant.

• Sel-Hotel Myvatn: A family-run hotel at Skutustadir next to the pseudocraters, with outdoor wooden hot tubs and a sauna on site, 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the Dimmuborgir lava formations.

• Landhotel: A four-star hotel in the countryside outside Hella with a hot tub, sauna, and wellness area, plus a games room, billiards, and horse riding on the doorstep.

Best Northern Lights Hotels in Iceland

Northern lights accommodation in Iceland works on one principle: get away from town lights and have somewhere warm to wait. These northern lights hotels in Iceland all sit in genuinely dark rural settings and are open through the September to April aurora season.

• Hotel Dyrholaey: A family-run 150-room hotel at Brekkur, ten minutes west of Vik, with sweeping Myrdalur valley views and breakfast included, described as a base for aurora viewing between September and April.

• Hotel Gullfoss: A hotel at Brattholt in the Haukadalur valley, 1.8 miles (3 kilometers) from Gullfoss Waterfall, with a restaurant serving Icelandic lamb and no town lights nearby.

• Hotel Husafell: A four-star hotel in West Iceland's Husafell, with a garden set up for winter aurora watching, 4 miles (7 kilometers) from the Hraunfossar Waterfalls.

• Inni Boutique Apartments: Apartments at Frumskogar 3 in Hveragerdi with two outdoor hot tubs, a steam bath, and a sauna, and low enough light pollution to see the aurora from the property.

How To Choose the Right Style of Accommodation in Iceland

Choosing a style in Iceland is mostly a question of how you are traveling rather than how much you want to spend. Work through it in this order.

• Plan around your route. Outside Reykjavik, Akureyri, and the South Coast, some towns have only a few places to stay. On a Ring Road trip, you may need to mix accommodation styles, so book your most important nights first.
• Decide if you need a kitchen. In rural areas, the nearest restaurant may be a long drive away. Cottages in Iceland and holiday apartments in Iceland often have kitchens, while some rural hotels require dinner reservations in advance.
• Check the number of beds. Many Icelandic hotel rooms are doubles or twins, with fewer options for three or four guests. Larger groups may find apartments, cottages, or a bed and breakfast in Iceland more practical.
• Consider the season. Campsites, highland huts, and some rural cottages close during winter, while glamping in Iceland is mainly available in summer. In winter, extras such as a hot tub or on-site restaurant can add more value to your stay.
• Book limited options early. Small, distinctive properties and popular stays along the South Coast can fill quickly, especially during summer. Booking several months ahead gives you a better choice of accommodation styles.

Where To Find Each Style of Accommodation in Iceland

Availability by style varies sharply by region, and knowing that in advance saves a lot of searching.

• Reykjavik and the capital region: the only real concentration of design hotels in Iceland, city apartments, and hostels in Iceland. This is also where you find the widest choice of price points in one place.

• South Iceland and the Golden Circle: the deepest inventory outside the capital, and the best selection of hotels in South Iceland and Golden Circle hotels across every style, from guesthouses to country retreats.

• North Iceland: Akureyri anchors the region, and hotels in North Iceland include several of the country's strongest boutique and spa properties around Lake Myvatn and Siglufjordur.

• West Iceland, the Westfjords, and the East: guesthouses and Icelandic farm stays dominate, and luxury and boutique options are limited. Plan on a simpler style for these nights.

Pick the Best Style of Accommodation in Iceland For You

Whichever style you settle on, the practical move is to book the nights with the least choice first and fill in the flexible ones afterward. A stay near the coast pairs naturally with day tours in Iceland, while a dark-sky property in winter is worth combining with northern lights tours in Iceland for the nights the forecast cooperates.

For travelers who want the comfort level decided for them rather than the style, the hotels with spas in Iceland and hotels for couples in Iceland collections group properties by what the stay delivers instead of what the building is.