September 12-22, 2025 -- Lara and I stayed 9 nights in Iceland, at 7 different places. The total cost was about $2000, a little over $200 per night. Some of the places had private baths. Some didn't. Some had breakfast. Some didn't. We usually had twin beds, sometimes a double bed that was really just two twin beds pushed together. Some of the places had contact-less check-in -- you received information via email. Others had reception desks. Most of the nights I slept really well.
We spent our first night in in Selfoss at the Hotel South Coast. Selfoss has a population of 9,000, which is "big" by Icelandic standards. We went to a food court for dinner. I had pizza (so-so). Lara had pasta.
Hotel South Coast (not my picture)
We spent our second night at Guesthouse Edinborg in South Iceland, about 35 kilometers from Vik. I hadn't been able to find an affordable place to stay in Vik, so we had to backtrack. It was located in a very scenic area with a mountain behind it.
Guesthouse Edinborg
Vagnsstaðir Guesthouse was the next place we stayed at. It was another property located in the scenic countryside of South Iceland, close to glaciers and the ocean.
Vagnsstaðir Guesthouse
The most interesting place we stayed was Arbakki-guesthouse near Egilsstaðir. We got there after dark. The place was in the middle of nowhere. The main door was locked. Fortunately, I found an unlocked door. It opened into the laundry room that was full of junk. There was a door to the kitchen, then the hallway where four rooms were located. We were the only ones staying there. We had the whole house to ourselves. It was a little creepy, but overall a decent place to stay. Recently renovated.
Arbakki-Guesthouse
Nothing around but horses and a cow
Our best accommodations were Öndólfsstaðir Farm B&B in Lauger in Northeast Iceland. It was a sheep farm. They had horses and goats, too, and a friendly Border Collie. We stayed two nights. I wish we could have stayed longer. Breakfast was fantastic. All of the dishes were Polish pottery. I asked the proprietors a lot about sheep production in Iceland. They invited me to visit with them (in the barn) while they were making culling decisions. They had about 100 ewes.
Öndólfsstaðir Farm B&B
Icelandic sheep
Við Hafið was a guesthouse/hostel located in the coastal town of Ólafsvík in West Iceland. We were on the top floor and had a view of the sea. Our room was okay. Bathrooms were shared. The place smelled like curry. We had to take our shoes off which was weird. It was fine for one night. We ate at a gas station-like place next to the hotel. It was probably the worse food we had in Iceland. We explored the town the next morning.
Við Hafið Guesthouse
We spent two nights in Reykjavik at the CityHub. It was a modern pod hotel, unlike any place I had stayed before. Our pod had bottom bunks, with a partition between the beds. There wasn't much room. We left are big suitcases in the car and packed for the airport in the parking garage. The bathrooms were shared, but very nice. There were even bath robes for us to use. There was a lounge where you could relax and buy drinks. We used a bracelet to open our door. The place was in a very convenient location. I'd stay in a pod hotel again. It was similar to the hotel I stayed at in Paris, but considerably smaller.
CityHub Reykjavik
Pods
Cozy
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