I stayed at Hofsstaðir Guesthouse for the night of 27 June 2017. The hotel is in a lovely part of northwest Iceland. The hotel has some wonderful views over the surrounding countryside. I was checked into the hotel by a lovely lady, i.e. a different lady from the waitresses with whom I had my dinner experience as detailed later.
The rooms are large and comfortable with a small patio onto which you can venture to admire the views and catch a nice breath of cold Icelandic air. The bathroom is adequate, though, like many of the hotels in Iceland, there is very little room (shelf space) in the bathroom onto which to unpack your toiletries.
Parking is literally on the doorstep of the room. You can unpack your bags and carry them into the room in the space of five seconds. Make sure you reverse the car into the parking spot so that the nose of the car faces up the hill.
Prior to my arrival at the hotel, while still in Abu Dhabi, and as suggested by Nordic Visitor, my tour operator, I e-mailed the hotel to confirm a dinner reservation for the evening. I really need not have bothered since there was plenty of empty tables available. Around 5:30PM I drove up the hill (yes, I know, incredibly lazy but it was cold and raining) to the reception area / dining room with the intention of enjoying an evening cocktail prior to dinner. I was the only one in the dining room at the time though a few people were sitting outside. There is a plastic tent structure outside the main restaurant – this area is particularly cold so I preferred to stay inside and enjoy a glass of wine. I felt horribly uncomfortable – the two waitresses had a horrible attitude and were quite unhelpful. When I asked for a menu they just gestured towards the hand-written chalk board taking up a prominent position in the restaurant. They were quite unhelpful with wine recommendations too. Upon receiving the wine I was still the only person in the dining area. It was then that I decided I couldn’t take the attitude of the waitresses anymore and moved outside where I enjoyed the company of two other guests.
I then moved back inside and ordered dinner. The food was fine and well presented. But once again I was subjected to the attitude of the waitresses. Nowhere else in Iceland did I experience this lack of hospitality. Upon leaving the restaurant I made it very clear in their comment book that I was unhappy with the service level.
Upon arriving at my hotel in Isafjordur two nights later (see our post here) I received a message that the lovely receptionist from Hofsstaðir Guesthouse had read my comment in their guestbook and was offering a bottle of wine as compensation for my experience at the guesthouse. This gesture was accepted and much appreciated.
Would I recommend this hotel? Overall the guesthouse is lovely and inviting, located with wonderful views over the surrounding countryside. If I was to visit the area again I would certainly choose to stay here. You can find the hotel on Google Maps here. If you have any questions about Hofsstaðir Guesthouse or other aspects of our trip around Iceland, you are welcome to contact us by clicking here. Our video review from Hofsstaðir Guesthouse may be found on our YouTube channel here.
I arranged my vacation to Iceland with Nordic Visitor, linked here. This is not an affiliate link and I will not receive a commission if you arrange your own tour through them. This link is provided for your reference and also as a gesture of goodwill following the excellent work that Nordic Visitor did in arranging my fantastic vacation to Iceland.
Start your accommodation planning in Reykjavik by clicking here with booking.com or here with Agoda.
Booking.comOur other posts on Iceland may be found here.
(Visited in June 2017)