A fantastic Stay at the Frost and Fire Hotel on the Banks of Varmá River in South-Iceland

After a refreshing hike to Reykjadalur valley, we stayed at a lovely romantic hotel, Frost and Fire (Frost og funi in Icelandic) on the banks of the river Varmá in Hveragerði town.

This lovely little hotel is hidden from view from the road leading to the starting point of the Reykjadalur valley hike. A hidden gem indeed in beautiful surroundings.

Top photo: The Frost and Fire Hotel on the Banks of Varmá River in South-Iceland

Our room

When we got the key to our room, we were also given a tour of the facilities, the hot pools, and the spa. The view from our room was beautiful as we were right by the river.

There is a porch in front of all the rooms in this part of the hotel, where we could sit and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the mountains and the valley.

All of the rooms at the Frost and Fire hotel are en-suite and elegantly decorated with a big flat-screen TV and big windows with this lovely view. There was free WiFi in the room (no password was required).

Our room

On the other side of the river Varmá, were similar hot springs as I was so mesmerized by in Reykjadalur valley, the clicking hot springs!

This happens when the hot springs are located under a cliff and when they boil they touch the wall of the cliff and make a clicking sound.

The clicking hot spring by the Varmá river

These hot springs by the river Varmá only came alive after the big earthquake (6.3 on the Richter scale) in this area in May 2008.

You can read more about this earthquake in my travel-blog about Mt.Ingólfsfjall and Ingólfsskáli.

I am so mesmerized by these clicking hot springs that I took a video and put it on You Tube :)

Above the Frost and Fire hotel are mountains, and on a hillside, you will find a geothermal area with hot springs and mud pools.

These hot springs also appeared after the big earthquake in this area in May 2008. 

There are steam vents all over the place, making this a fascinating area to visit.

The geothermal area above Hveragerði

To reach this area, you cross the bridge over the river Varmá by the hotel and turn right on the hill.

It is just a short hike from the hotel. Be careful here as there are mud pools hidden from sight, so it is easy to step right into them. 

The geothermal water is boiling! So let's stay within the boundaries of this geothermal area.

As you can see in my photo below, there is a hot spring in between the trees, making it look like the forest is on fire. 

The geothermal area above Hveragerði

The owners of the Frost and Fire hotel have made use of these hot springs and geothermal water, and by the river behind the hotel, there are two hot tubs.

It was heavenly sitting in a hot tub so close to the river in such beautiful surroundings. Very romantic settings.

It must be fantastic soaking in the hot tubs in the wintertime by the river when the Northern lights light up the sky!

Soaking in a hot tub next to the Varmá river

Our room was situated next to the 12-meter-long swimming pool, so we could exit from a glass door straight from the room and take a dip in the pool.

The hotel provides fluffy white bathrobes, which was very much appreciated as we were wearing these bathrobes for most of the night when we were trying out the hot tubs and the swimming pool - and the spa! 

The swimming pool was next to our room

It is possible to bathe in the river Varmá in the summertime, as then the water can be as warm as 18 degrees C.

But after soaking in the warm river in Reykjadalur valley earlier that day, we felt only like soaking again in the hot tubs  (38 degrees C) on the bank of the river.

We also soaked in the lovely warm swimming pool next to our room :)

Trying out the indoor spa

When we visited the hotel was fitting in mud baths, which is something I have always wanted to try. Too bad I was there only a week before the mud baths were ready for use. But we did try out the Kneipp baths at the indoor spa.

The Kneipp baths are foot baths, one cold and one hot, and switching between them is supposed to be healthy for the feet. There are also lounge chairs in the indoor spa. It was ever so lovely relaxing in the lounge chairs with candlelights in the darkness after trying out the Kneipp baths.

There is a restaurant at the hotel called Restaurant Reykr, like the river by which the hotel is situated. We had been invited to dinner at my sister's house in the neighbouring village Stokkseyri, so we missed out on the food at the hotel.

The restaurant

I am sorry we missed dining at the restaurant as the reviews I read on Tripadvisor are excellent. They serve local food such as smoked goose breasts, reindeer steak, arctic char, and ptarmigan soup. Next time for sure.

The morning after we had breakfast in a lovely conservatory restaurant, overlooking the river and the clicking hot springs. Breakfast consisted of a wide selection of food, including rye bread cooked in a geothermal hot spring in front of the hotel.

It is a traditional Icelandic bread, so do try it out, it is ever so tasty.

Hot spring bread - seytt rúgbrauð

Also, if you want a cooked egg for breakfast, you can cook it yourself in the hot spring in front of the hotel! You get a small fishing rod with a net at the end and put the net into the hot spring.

You get a soft-boiled egg in 10 minutes and a hard-boiled egg in 15 minutes if I am not mistaken.

Cooking an egg in a hot spring in front of the hotel

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Frost and Fire hotel and can recommend it to anybody, be it after a hike to Reykjadalur valley or just as a lovely place to stay in South Iceland on your travels in Iceland.

The hotel is located 45 km away from Iceland's capital city, Reykjavík.  

You can also rent a car in Reykjavík and drive to Hveragerði yourself. 

If you want to check out the surroundings, then Hveragerði town is a lovely little hot-spring town sitting on top of a geothermal area.

Here you will see greenhouses in abundance and in the middle of the town, there is a geothermal park.

Have a wonderful time in Hveragerði town :)