The Reykjavik EDITION

Rooms and decor

Walk through the glass doors of The Reykjavik EDITION and the first thing reviewers consistently note is the calm — like stepping into a pine cabin in the woods, but in luxury form. The 8-storey building is the work of New York studio Roman & Williams (the same team behind the Ace Hotel and The Standard), and here they leaned hard into native Icelandic materials. All 253 rooms and suites sit on a palette of cream, soft grey, and beige, cut with warm pine, hand-woven wool throws, and thick sheepskin rugs. A neat walk-in wardrobe opens into the sleeping area, where the beds draw reviews calling them the deepest sleep of the Iceland trip. Large windows pull in natural light all day — in midsummer that means 24 hours of it, so blackout curtains are essential, while winter brings dramatic snowstorms framed through the glass. Bathrooms are pale marble paired with pine, fitted with underfloor heating (non-negotiable in Iceland) and large rain showers. Deluxe categories and up on the bay side look straight at Faxaflói Bay with snow-capped Mount Esja behind — many reviewers say the upgrade is worth it.

Food and amenities

The heart of this hotel is its shared spaces, and they are laid out with real care. Lobby-level Tides carries a Michelin Guide recommendation and leans into seasonal Icelandic ingredients — fresh cod, wild lamb from the north, foraged seaweed, and wild berries. Reviewers praise the kitchen's creativity and plating; the room itself uses dark wood and hand-blown glass pendants to feel like dinner in a wealthy Icelandic home. The all-day Lobby Bar works for laptop mornings and pre-dinner glasses of wine. But the venue everyone talks about is The ROOF, the 8th-floor rooftop bar — floor-to-ceiling glass opens a 270-degree view of Faxaflói Bay, the Old Harbour, Harpa, and Mount Esja in a single frame. Summer means midnight-sun cocktails until 01:00; winter means aurora-watching with a drink in hand. Downstairs, the Spa & Wellness floor hides a hammam, a small warm plunge pool, treatment rooms using Icelandic algae and volcanic-mineral products, and a fitness room open 24 hours. Reviewers consistently say soaking in the hammam at 3 a.m. after a Northern Lights tour is genuine paradise.

Location and getting there

Location is the trump card here, and it is what pushes the score to 9.2. The hotel sits literally next door to Harpa Concert Hall — the honeycomb-glass landmark on the waterfront — and walks straight onto the Old Harbour, where fishing boats and whale-watching boats are still moored. A short stroll along the bay puts you at Sun Voyager, the polished-steel Viking-ship sculpture that every visitor photographs. Up a gentle hill, about 5 minutes on foot, is Laugavegur, the pedestrianised street that is both shopping spine and food hub — restaurants, bakeries, Icelandic-wool shops, and local pubs sit on one continuous block. Another 10 minutes uphill brings you to Hallgrímskirkja, the basalt-column church that anchors the skyline. From Keflavík International Airport, the Flybus coach drops directly at the hotel in about 45 minutes — extremely smooth. Renting a car for the Golden Circle or Northern Lights chases is also easy, with on-site parking. If you are using Reykjavík as your Iceland base, this corner is about as logistically tidy as the city gets.

Things to know before booking

Speaking plainly — the first hurdle is price. Iceland is expensive by default, and The Reykjavik EDITION sits at the top of the city's luxury band. Entry rooms start around $360 a night, and bay-view suites can climb past $630 in winter high season when Northern Lights travelers fill the city. If you are watching budget, compare with the 4-star options in the same neighborhood first. The second thing is the design language — Nordic minimalism reads too restrained to some guests expecting plush 5-star opulence. The cream and soft-grey palette can feel cool in certain room types, though if Scandinavian calm is what you want, it lands perfectly. The third is sound — Harpa-facing rooms pick up tour-bus engines and street noise from the bars below in the early evening, especially Friday and Saturday nights when locals are out. Request a high floor on the bay side and you will get both more quiet and the better view. Last note on the spa — the hammam and warm plunge pool are excellent, but this is not a full lap pool. Lap swimmers should walk to the city's Sundhöllin public pool nearby.

Our take

Across Agoda 9.2, Booking 9.1, and a strong run of Tripadvisor reviews, The Reykjavik EDITION delivers cleanly on its promise: warm Nordic luxury in central Reykjavík. Next door to Harpa, walking distance to Laugavegur, a rooftop bar with one of the best views in the city, a Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant, a proper hammam to recover in, and staff who reviewers describe as warm and genuinely helpful with onward trip planning. The clearest fit is couples and luxury travelers flying in for Northern Lights in winter or the midnight sun in summer, looking for a calm base after long days on snow roads. If your trip vision involves coming back to soak in a hammam at 3 a.m. after chasing the aurora and waking up to Mount Esja through the window, this place nails it. If you are tight on budget and don't need the luxury layer, the 4-star options on the same blocks run about half the price. Overall we give it 9.2/10 — strongest for couples, honeymooners, and luxury travelers who want Reykjavík to be the polished start of their Iceland trip.