The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland

One of the best in the world. Not only the unique setting, but the hotel rooms are exceptional. The showers are exquisite. The staff will accommodate nearly any request. I would recommend at least 3 nights here. The in the water massages were a great experience.

Everywhere we turned there was an incredible view of the famous Blue Lagoon water or snowy lava field in the winter. The rooms were tastefully luxurious and relaxing. Walking out in our bathrobe to the private or public lagoon was a major perk. We saw the northern lights from the terrace. The staff at the front desk and spa were fantastic. We also loved our server at the Lava restaurant (tall and bald, sorry didn’t catch the name). He keenly noticed my wife had birthday candles tucked away and brought out a special dessert. Also, there was a gentleman at the front desk who coordinated with Eva to drop off an adapter we left behind for us to pick up in Reykjavik. That extra effort was very much appreciated.

Very beautiful hotel. Slightly overpriced, but hotel guests have a private blue lagoon, which I did not know about until after I checked in, so that was a lovely surprise! The kids and I were able to float around and enjoy more face masks after dinner without having to go back to the public blue lagoon. Staff was very kind. The restaurants are all at the main public blue lagoon and it was so cold and windy we decided to just stay at the hotel and have a cold sandwich. Breakfast was very good. I also greatly appreciated that they let us check in early to go visit the blue lagoon and spend the day there while we waited for our rooms to be ready. We were able to get two rooms next to each other as well.

The finest most intestine and gorgeous hotel I have been to. And I have been around the block. Magnificent location with private access to the famous Blue Lagoon. Once you have luxuriated in the chemical rich warm water, you can scrub off your dry skin slather yourself with silica and lovely rich oil- all included in the over the top room rate. We did not dine at the one star restaurant ut I looked wam and intimate and bay with attentive waitstaff. The room we shared was small but very attractive, complete with mini bar full of wine and beverages included in the room price. The whole experience was delightful. Special mention to Martin, David and Thor.

We stayed at the Blue Lagoon Iceland Hotel for 2 nights, and the experience fell short of expectations. We wanted to book a massage during our stay, but the only time available was after our checkout at 11:45 AM. The issue? Checkout is at 11:00 AM, and we were told that once we check out, we no longer have access to the spa or facilities. I’ve stayed at several luxury hotels in places like the Maldives, Bora Bora, and Seychelles, and they’ve always been accommodating when it comes to using the facilities after checkout. But here, they offered a half-off discount on a locker fee, which didn’t seem like a fair solution when we were willing to spend more money on their services. The room was another letdown. For $1600 a night, it was small, and there was no desk to work from, which seemed out of place for a hotel of this caliber. In other destinations like the Maldives, you can get an overwater villa with a private pool for less, so the value for money here just wasn’t there. When we arrived, we had to wait around 30 minutes for someone to check us in, which was frustrating and set the tone for the rest of our stay. Overall, the service and value didn’t live up to what you’d expect from such a high-end property. I wouldn’t recommend it based on our experience.

After driving and hiking all over the Western peninsulas of Iceland, spending two nights at The Retreat was the perfect way to end our vacation. There were some common concerns about staying at The Retreat, so to address them: Is there an egg/sulfur smell? Yes, but it might be situational. We stayed in the Lagoon Suite which has access to a separate, private lagoon right outside the bedroom. This lagoon is supplied by a pump that runs throughout the day. When the pump runs, it smells. It is strongest in the morning (the pump probably has to work extra hard the first time each day), but it is still weaker to sulfur water at hot springs in the wild. The smell dissipates shortly after the pump shuts off, and given that there are many reviews say there is no smell at all, we think it could be just a Lagoon Suite (and perhaps neighboring rooms) problem. We only smelled it in the room; the rest of the hotel and the Blue Lagoon itself had no smell in our experience. Noise: Noise insulation is not great in the room. Noise from the hallway is non-existent, but if you're on the first floor you can definitely hear footsteps and things being dragged on the floor above. The aforementioned lagoon pumps are loud enough to go into the room and will be bad for light sleepers. They are supposedly set to run 8am-10pm, but our host mentioned we can ask the hotel to adjust the time if we wanted to use our lagoon earlier/later. We heard the pump running at 7-7:30am, so it's possible that the neighboring suite requested their pump to run earlier. There is also a geothermal power plant neighboring the Blue Lagoon, and it occasionally makes noises that sound like a jet is flying directly overhead (not at night thankfully). If these don't feel like dealbreakers (it sounds bad writing it out but it felt more like minor inconveniences in person), then read on for the many positives The Retreat has. The entire staff at The Retreat was the best service we had at Iceland. I don't know if it's a European thing, but at various other hotels/restaurants (including Blue Lagoon store) throughout the country people seemed... stoic? Service was still great, but it just didn't feel warm. The Retreat staff felt like you were seeing genuine emotion and excitement to help you with whatever you needed, from valet parking to check-in/out to bookings and just general conversation (a good number of the staff are League/DoTA players so The Retreat is a bonus recommendation to gamers who have expendable income to burn) Food at Moss and Lava were delicious, and there is breakfast buffets and afternoon tea provided daily in the lobby at no extra charge. The spa massage (we got 60 minute hot stone massages) was the best we've experienced. We weren't even asked about strength level, but somehow it was at the sweet spot. They also have a free 4 step skin care ritual which we're sure is just a big advertising platform for their products, but it's been a few days and our skin is sti