Fine living in the depths of the countryside in Hotel Reykjahlíð
Hotel Reykjahlíð is a haven of luxury and comfort and situated in the midst of the enchanting region of Mývatn, only an hour’s drive from the little capital in the North, Akureyri.
Embraced by majestic landscape of rare beauty and rich contrasts, the family-run establishment caters to those who appreciate fine dining and luxurious comfort in the very heart of rural Iceland.
Hotel Reykjahlíð is a warm place to call home after a day of exploring the dozens of pseudocraters born in a heated steam explosion that tore the flowing lava apart as hell’s inferno encountered the ice-cold precursor of Mývatn lake some 2,300 years ago or wondering about the tall rock pillars in the deserted and blackened labyrinth of Dimmuborgir, or bathing in the divine Mývatn Nature Bath.
The local bird population puts weary travellers to sleep with soothing lullabies on bright summer nights, then burst into a joyous song as night bids farewell.
This family establishment has passed from one generation to the next and today, the hosts are Pétur Snæbjörnsson and Erna Þórarinsdóttir, and they continue to maintain a seventy year old family tradition of providing first-class hospitality in a place like no other.
The family pioneers, farmer Pétur Jónsson and his wife Þuríður Gísladóttir built Reykjahlíð—a new homestead—in 1942, when the outside world was at war and the old Icelandic way of life was violently fading in a turmoil of social changes on the little island in the far North Atlantic Ocean. They started out with five bedrooms, letting them out to travellers during the short Arctic summer, and offering their guests the use of a spacious living room during their time with the family.
In 1947, the family expanded their facilities to welcome a growing car traffic to the area. A bridge over Jökulsá river opened up the region and the couple’s son, Gísli Pétursson, initiated the construction of Hotel Reykjahlíð but died a year after it opened on 17th July in 1949. For twenty-seven years, the family hotel accommodated guests in 26 rooms and served hot meals in a restaurant with maximum capacity for 100 guests.
When industrialisation came to the region in 1966 with the Diatomite factory, the need to expand the facilities rose once again. The new building was completed in 1968 with a spacious hall, living room, 28 additional rooms, of which eight had a bath. The first country bar licenced to sell alcohol opened in 1970.
In the 1980’s, Hotel Reykjahlíð continued to grow. A new building rose with 18 more rooms with baths—the accommodation now making a total of 46 rooms—and a meeting room with a maximum capacity of 70 people in 1981. Seven years later, the oldest part of the hotel was renovated and seven new bedrooms built in a new building, as well as staff facilities and stock rooms. From 1988 to 1991, Hotel Reykjahlíð accommodated guests in a total of 48 rooms.
The remaining rooms without bath were joined and renovated in 1991, and today the hotel consists of 41 rooms. Hotel Reykjahlíð is a four-star establishment, inspired and enriched by its magical surroundings and the family history is deeply-rooted in the local community, making it an ideal home away from home.
The high level of customer service and the warm welcome each guest is met with is the signature mark of Hotel Reykjahlíð.
The family and the carefully selected staff are at the heart of the operation, and do their very best to make each guest feel welcome for the duration of their stay in the region. Each customer walks away with lasting memories of extraordinary landscape and a taste for authentic rural living.
With superior conference facilities, a function room seating 60 guests, the Myllan restaurant and the Old Farm Café-Bar, Hotel Reykjahlíð is the heart of fine living in Mývatn.
