Best Hotels near Þvottalaugarnar, Reykjavik

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 really liked this place, a friend recommended it and it didn’t disappoint. it was very clean and the staff helpful and nice/always smiling. I chose a 6-bed room and made a lot of girl friends in one week staying there! It’s close to the city centre and it has a lovely view on the church (not all the rooms I reckon!) . It was warm inside and given my long stay they offered fresh towels/bed sheets which I refused since I was mostly out all day. I’m not sure I liked the fact a male would take care of the turndown service since because of that I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping or lying down in my pj or underwear, maybe being that a female dorm I would’ve sent a lady to knock first and THEN anybody else, but it wasn’t the end of the world! I’ll surely book here should I visit Reykjavik again!

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

The hotel is very well located, there is little room to park. But with a little patience we can get there. Just a bemol on the soundless rooms, the doors that clack all night.

Outstanding budget option in a city that could use inexpensive lodging. The upside include: comfy bedding, warm environment, well maintained, solid breakfast with self choice, and great windows letting in light. Bath surrounding is clean and easy to manage. This is a hostel but our room was a one bedroom space with king size bedding. Best beef of our trip! The owners were great; super helpful. Questions: if you cannot get passed the hostel issue, then .... Maybe not the place. The guests were quiet, mindful, and considerate. Not a party hostel.

Check-in was pretty smooth. I was allocated the room just above the main entrance as such, it can be quite noisy whenever people get in or out of the hostel with the door slamming and some vibration felt! The bathroom and wc are fairly clean and tidy. Very cosy common area to mingle and make new friends. Kitchen has all the basic necessity. I especially like the small area right outside my room where i can have a light meal and nice view of the surroundings. Bought the unlimited bus rides ticket via the Klappid app for travel within the Reykjavik capital city and bus svc 12 is just few steps away. If time permits, you can even walk to the coastal area for sight-seeing. Overall, i am very satisfied with my 8 nights stay at Laekur hostel!

Entrance to the guesthouse is via glassdoors; need to press the buzzer to be let in. Click on elevator button for 3rd Floor lobby.; Immediately right, the office is there man'd by owner (Migrated to iceland 20+ years) Showed around by the guesthouse manager + wifi connection PW pasted on the wall next to the manager room. Layout of area = typical of a shared bathroom/toilet guesthouse. Furniture: if you ever want to experience all things IKEA, this entire hostel Tables, Chairs, Cupboards, toiletries, bed frame, curtains, sink...etc etc are 99% Ikea , even the bed covers and mattress (spring coiled) are from Ikea. Single room size: Enough to park a large size sedan with enough room for your to cycle around on a unicycle, My room came with a sink/ mirror, cupboard (1.5metre wide), single bed with spring pocket, side table with lamps. Heated metal next to bed for cosy night. Toilet is clean and acceptable - no piss stains or poopy smells ( i suspect it is cleaned often). Shower area is lowly lit for some showers and some are larger with mirrors (brightly lit) - best to check which showers you want to use. Some shower room tiles seem to be covered with ”slime” but further check - seem to be covered with sulphur scales.. Water shower smells like rotten egg but its natural sulphur volcanic water occuring and gets some time to get used to it. (yicks) 101 Guesthouse is centrally located near 24/7 Grocers called 1011 which is similar to 7-Eleven (Food drinks, fresh fruits, bananas, bread, ham, cheese (enough stuff for family outing). Apart from grocers, it is next to bustop 10 which is listed in the tourist pickup point if you want to travel to see geysars or hiking tracks. there are about 9 Asian restaurants located within 10-150meters of the area; they are always fully packed - expect some noise from them during meal times . Asia restaurants = Vietnamese, Laos, Middle east, Burger joints, Pizza, italian, Japanese). Wifi connection in rooms are very weak - very strong in the pantry area. Fast for Zoom calls and games. Pantry: large Fridge, electric portable stove, many many plates, 2 pairs of fork / spoons, at least 20 teaspoons. Only 1 small bowl, electric kettle, TV. Clean tables and floor / chairs. Pantry need more bowls and spoons for cereal (owners do take note)

Location is very good. Walking distance to all places. Rooms are small but ok. We stayed 3 nights. First night we arrived 2 am and was put in a strange room in the next adjacent building which had no elevator to join. We had big bags traveling from very far to reach Iceland. Immediately I notified trip.com assistant and also ask to change room which was done next morning. Thank you to the hotel & trip.com The reception staff was very nice and helpful Breakfast was good enough

The guesthouse itself was nice enough. Note that if you stay in one of the economy rooms, you will only have access to one bathroom per 5 rooms (unless you are willing to walk back to the main house and use one of the bathrooms there). This was not an issue during my stay, but I woke up super early to avoid it becoming an issue. The real issue for me was the lack of communication. I ended up needing to spend an extra 50 dollars on long distance calls because this business failed to check their email or Facebook messages. On top of that, I had to call twice because I was given incorrect information the first time. Note that booking this property is a risk if you book through a third party (Expedia etc) because you may not receive the email with instructions on how to check in (this is why I had to call repeatedly after they failed to answer my emails).