At the Edge of the Golden Circle, Hotel Rangá’s High-End Hospitality Anchors a Wild Frontier
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Editor’s Update: The writer’s airfare, ground travel, accommodations and meals were paid for. The organization had no editorial involvement in this story and did not review or approve it before publication.
Leave it to Iceland to be unique in glaciers, waterfalls, little horses and an iconic hotel that manages to be both rustic and luxurious in one fell swoop. Then add in Reykjavik’s cool welcoming vibe, incredible eateries, fun bars and cultural happenings and it’s no surprise that tourists love visiting.
Start with Sky Lagoon
My first visit to Iceland recently began in Reykjavik, with a plan to see the city’s geothermal marvel, known as the Sky Lagoon. Located on a spit of land called Kársnes Harbour just outside the city center, this thermal bath complex is an amazing place, beginning with the lagoon itself.
Warm water enveloped me, after having a quick change and shower on the “Sér” side, where admission includes a private changing room and lockers, the lagoon experience and the seven-step Skjól ritual for $153. Or, use the public changing room “Saman” side for $128 — either way, it’s all about the water and the Zen you can find here.
That Zen is best experienced on an early morning visit as the mists steam off this massive lagoon, with its waterfall crashing down on one side of this infinity pool that’s much larger than an Olympic-size swimming pool. It’s also got nooks and crannies where you can find a private space to hide away. But don’t expect to swim, as the lagoon is only about four feet deep.
But if having a convivial party in the lagoon appeals, I also discovered that the late afternoon at Sky Lagoon is a totally different scene then the early-morning serenity routine. That’s when the Gelmir Bar (built right into the rock of the lagoon) is serving cocktails, wine, beer and nonalcoholic sips in plastic cups and gaggles of friends are gathered everywhere in the water, for a party in this giant hot tub.
Whatever time you visit, make sure to go to the far end of the lagoon, where the seven-step Skjól ritual awaits. Step one is the lagoon, with two being the icy plunge pool, built to reflect Snorralaug, one of the first created long ago in Iceland. Next, enter the Turf House (an ancient way of living here) and slide into the spectacular sauna, with its huge single-pane window overlooking the expansive bay beyond.
Next, feel the cool mist of Iceland’s typical weather, then go on to the body scrub area and exfoliate, then keep that almond-and-sesame-seed-oil scrub on and step into the hot steam room to let it penetrate your skin. Shower off and end with a sip of crowberry elixir, and I promise you’ll feel so utterly pampered you may not want to move again. But know that there’s only one way out, which is back into the geothermal waters of the lagoon to the changing rooms, so move you must.
What’s Cool About Reykjavik
While Sky Lagoon is a definite highlight of a Reykjavik visit, there’s a lot to see and do in the capital city, which is the world’s northernmost national capital. That’s a good fact to know when you’re packing for the trip, as even in late spring when I visited, you’re going to need gloves, a snug hat and a waterproof coat.
For as Icelanders kept telling me, “Iceland has two seasons, winter and summer.” And even on the brilliantly gorgeous sunny days I experienced in May, the icy cold winds that blow across this land are not fooling around, even right in the city center. As I walked out of my home base, the centrally located and comfortable Canopy Hotel, I actually turned around and went back to my room, to add layers, faked out by the sun and high 50’s temperatures.
My new Icelandic friends laughed at me, saying, “Oh, this is what we call ‘window weather’! Looking out at it, it seems warm, but once outside, the wind cuts hard.” I could only imagine what winter must be like here in a place with “ice” in its name.
Dressed for the weather, I found that Reykjavik is a very walkable city, with a preponderance of terrific eateries and bars I couldn’t help but love. Lebowski Bar led the way, cracking me up from the entrance mat embroidered with “the rug really ties the room together” all the way to the bowling alley tucked inside. The bar serves 23 versions of the White Russian cocktail; IYKYK.
Restaurants range across culinary types, but most have a preponderance of seafood, including the sublime Sushi Social, where astonishingly fresh and incredibly delicious Japanese concoctions made me swoon with delight. Try Matur og Drykkur for a Michelin-recommended spot where local ingredients are the key to their tasty menu, and don’t be surprised when horse and puffin are included in their offerings.
Be certain to see the iconic Hallgrimskirkja Church and the Harpa Concert Hall, and don’t miss zooming out on a fast boat to see Puffin Island out in the bay. Buy a Reykjavik City Card that includes public transportation and free entry to many museums, geothermal pools and more. And if you cannot get all over Iceland on your visit, take time for FlyOver Iceland, an immersive film that will make you want to change your flights, grab a rental car and start exploring the wild parts of the island.
A Unique Stay at Hotel Rangá and the Golden Circle
I took my own rental car advice and set off for Iceland’s famed Golden Circle region, driving near the coastline across empty spaces filled with black volcanic soil and sands, passing the famed Blue Lagoon, whose industrial power-plant exterior reminded me what I was surprised to learn at Sky Lagoon, that it and most of the luxurious lagoons in Iceland are actually man-made spas.
Heading off to one of Iceland’s many concentrations of natural wonders kept me going, with my first goal to check into the famed Hotel Rangá, the luxe-rustic hostelry where everyone from Clooney to Kanye and Bieber to Theron have laid their heads. For nearly 25 years, hotelier Fridrik Pálsson has made this unique, timbered-walled hotel the place to call home here in Hella, welcoming guests with exquisite hospitality and a huge (and real) stuffed polar bear at reception, named Hrammur.
Book into one of the hotel’s eye-poppingly cool suites for the ultimate experience here, as each one’s special style reflects diverse spots across the globe. Stay in the Iceland suite and sleep under the largest Icelandic sweater ever knitted or choose the Africa, Asia, Antarctica, Australia, North or South America suite, each one a whimsical tribute to the world’s diversity. Be sure to notice the beautiful murals and other original artworks throughout the hotel, too, much of it created by Icelandic artists.
The hotel’s restaurant offers a world-class dining experience, either á la carte or included in a room package, so dig into their famed wild mushroom soup, taste the local Arctic Char and try a reindeer steak, all paired with cocktails or wines from their quirkily styled and fully stocked bar. After a meal, slip into a plush robe and head outside in any season to take the geothermal waters in one of their three hot tubs, and you’ll feel like a real Icelander.
This marvelous place sits alone on a slight hill overlooking the Rangá River, with the Eyjafjöll mountain region and the Eyjafjallajokull volcano looming in the distance. There’s a vast plain surrounding the hotel, which makes it a perfect dark sky spot, meaning Northern Lights going off from the fall into the spring, until summer’s 24 hours of daylight precludes that. At the Hotel Rangá Observatory, a wooden structure on property with a retractable roof, you can use one of two massive high-powered telescopes to see the universe.
It had begun to rain my first full day in this Golden Circle region of natural wonders, but that didn’t stop Southcoast Adventure from dressing me from head to toe (including balaclava and helmet) and zooming me out in a wide-open ATV into the wilds of the Fljótshlid valley and the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. It was really cold, it was really wet, it even started hailing, and yet it was still incredible, as we roared through creeks, rattled across rocky terrain, stopped to see where “Game of Thrones” created some of the White Walkers’ frozen lands and, on our return to base, spotted the famed Seljalandsfoss Waterfall.
That was only the beginning, as on my final day in Iceland, I managed to see the other beautiful sights of the Southeast, including the Geysir Geothermal Area, the astonishingly beautiful Gullfoss double waterfall (even in the pouring rain) and the Thingvellir National Park. Plus, I took in the newest geothermal destination, the Laugarás Lagoon, right in the heart of the Golden Circle. That sleekly designed lagoon has something special beyond the steamy waters, with views of Iceland’s famous small, thick-maned horses in a paddock just below. It’s a delightful place.
As I left Hotel Rangá and drove toward the Keflavik Airport, I reflected on how much more I hadn’t seen yet on this island the size of Virginia, and I made a vow to return, to drive even further north and west to discover more about this utterly beguiling country.
