Reykjavik

[GoldenCirclesAndBlueLagoons]

Hello,

It's DH's 40th in November and I'm thinking about booking a surprise trip to Reykjavik to (hopefully) see the Northern Lights.

Can anyone recommend a good, central hotel? I've had a look but there are loads to choose from. They're all quite pricey so I want to pick a good one. Clean, safe and central are my must haves but a bit of luxury wouldn't go amiss either (although that's not as important as we'd only be going for 3 nights and would be out exploring most of the time).

I stayed at the Hotel Borg. Very central.
Excellent spread for breakfast in a lovely dining room.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu. Would definitely recommend.

How long are you going for? If it is more than 2 nights then consider hiring a car and spending a couple of nights somewhere that isn't Reykjavik. You will have a much better chance of seeing the lights outside the city. Plus you get to see some of the country.

Sand Hotel - very central, very chic (it's part of Mr & Mrs Smith) and has one of the best bakeries in Iceland next door (and they provide all the breakfast bread/pastries - the rye bread is like crack, addictive!!)

https://www.keahotels.is/sand-hotel?

Thanks for all the recommendations, I'll have a look into them!

@aaron95 we'd only be going for 3 nights (2.5 days) as we have 2 very young DC who my parents would be looking after. I've had a look at organised tours which take you out into the middle of nowhere to hopefully see the lights. It's a 4hr trip that stops at various points. Reviews are pretty mixed as to whether you see them or not but I suppose it all depends on the weather.

We've just come back from a similar trip. We stayed at the Marina hotel in Reykjavik harbour - about 5 mins walk from downtown which was lovely. We saw the Northern Lights on a night time boat trip into the harbour - cost / time efficient and an experience in itself !

The lights

I stayed at Hotel Holt last year. It wasn’t luxury (decent 3+/4 star, I’d say), but it was quirky, characterful and cosy, so if any of that is your bag it’s worth considering. I’d definitely stay there again.

I've stayed further south where apparently there was a better chance of seeing the lights (sadly didn't) and the hotel was insane, amazing rooms and food, Hotel Ranga. I think wherever you stay you'll have a great time! It's an incredible place. In the city centre I did think the food was quite American (lots of burger/diner type places - they generally serve burgers very pink from what I recall) and it was really pricey everywhere, but the people were so friendly and welcoming wherever I went.

We went for a long weekend last Nov and did a small group tour on our first night and saw the lights. This photo was taken with just my iPhone. The lights were really strong all week. It was very cold though so wrap up well. Handwarmers were a lifesaver.

We had an amazing meal at Apotek restaurant - it was recommended to us by a local and was full of very well dressed chic locals. Definitely upmarket and not cheap but incredible food and great service. I even got to practice my Icelandic on them as they assumed we were both Icelandic (both blond!) so I was very happy (I speak some Norwegian/Danish so I was just guessing but they understood me and I understood them). You need to book especially at weekends.

https://apotekrestaurant.is/en/