Hotel Borg by Keahotels

Rooms and decor

All 99 rooms and suites have been refreshed to blend 1930s Art Deco bones with modern comfort. Ceilings are tall, parquet floors creak in the friendly way old buildings do, and the palette runs beige and cream against dark wood furniture with black-and-gold Deco accents. Beds are soft, linens are good, and bathrooms are done in marble with scented toiletries. Many rooms — especially the ones facing Austurvollur square — open to a view of the Icelandic parliament and the small Domkirkjan cathedral; a thin dusting of morning snow on the rooftops is the cliche photo for a reason. The top-floor Tower Suite has a small balcony with panoramic views of the Reykjavik skyline and Mount Esja across the bay, ideal for couples celebrating something. The overall mood isn't spotless new-build — it's a careful old house with a story in every corner, and people who love historic hotels usually fall for it on night one.

Food and amenities

Two things anchor a stay at Borg: the basement spa and the ground-floor restaurant. The spa has sauna and an Icelandic hot tub that reviewers call the ideal post-walk decompression — quiet, low-lit, water sounds, the works. Borg Restaurant serves contemporary Nordic cooking built on seasonal Icelandic produce: Atlantic salmon, Icelandic lamb, root vegetables from greenhouse farms, and the buffet breakfast — homemade breads, smoked fish, Skyr cheese, fresh fruit — is regularly called the best breakfast in the 101 district. The lobby bar handles the evening cocktail in classic style, and the 24-hour fitness room covers the basics if you need to move.

Location and getting there

Location is the trump card and it's nearly unbeatable. Step out the front door and you're on Austurvollur, the historic square. Turn left and you're on Laugavegur shopping street in under 5 minutes — handmade Icelandic shops, cafes, design stores. A short walk on takes you to Hallgrimskirkja, the city's signature church. Walk the other direction 8 to 10 minutes and you're at the Old Harbour and the glass-honeycomb Harpa Concert Hall on the water. From Keflavik International Airport (KEF) it's 45-50 minutes by Flybus coach or taxi. Staying here means you don't need a rental car to soak in the small Icelandic capital — everything is on foot.

Things to know before booking

To save you a surprise: the most common review note is room size. The building is nearly 100 years old and the restoration kept the original floorplan, so some standard rooms feel snug by modern hotel standards, particularly with large suitcases. Upgrade to Deluxe or Suite if you want more sprawl. Second, noise — Borg sits on Austurvollur square, the centre of the 101 district. Reykjavik's runtur bar-hop culture means Friday and Saturday nights run loud and late, and square-facing rooms catch some of it. Light sleepers should request an interior-facing room or skip summer weekends. Third, price — Reykjavik is one of the most expensive capitals on Earth, and the hotel matches that, especially in northern-lights season; restaurant meals in-house and city-wide aren't budget either, so build a real food budget. Finally, if your trip's main goal is chasing the aurora, this isn't a dark-sky address — city lights mean you'll rarely see it from the window. The concierge books out-of-town aurora tours that take you to proper dark spots.

Our take

After reading hundreds of real guest reviews, the read on Hotel Borg by Keahotels is clear: this hotel sells the experience of sleeping inside a piece of Reykjavik's history better than anyone else in town. The Art Deco landmark, the parliament-square location, the quiet basement spa, the consistently warm service — every detail is calibrated for travellers who care more about character than newness. If the picture in your head is waking up to a view of the Icelandic parliament, grabbing a coffee on Laugavegur mid-morning, hitting the hot tub after a day along the harbour, and finishing with a Nordic dinner in a classic dining room — this is the right answer. If you want brand-new build, large rooms or resort-scale pools, look elsewhere in the same district. Overall we give it 8.7/10 — best for couples, solo luxury travellers and anyone who falls for historic hotels over fresh-build sparkle. Pick Hotel Borg and you'll take a Reykjavik memory home that sticks around.