Great hotel, which is right in the center of everything. Beautiful rooms, to warm for me in all honesty, but that's just a personal thing, so I had the radiator off throughout the night 🥵
Great Buffet Breakfast, with a choice between cooked, cold meats, cheeses, different cereals, choices of milk, Skyr or Greek yoghurt, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, seeds, the freshest Artic Char you've ever eaten, different sourdough breads, pastries, pancakes & either freshly brewed coffee in an urn, or a coffee machine. But also an assortment of different teas etc. Also a choice of different juices.
The Bistro served great food, albeit I ate out the vast majority of times, and at the time of this review, I have only eaten twice in there, but will be dining there on my final day. But what I will say is that it's busy most evenings with mainly locals. As I've eaten in numerous restaurants around Reykjavik, as well as the hotels Bistro, I can tell you it's definitely cheaper than most eateries, plus it's great food too.
Also, I have to mention for the people whom like myself, and in all honesty why I initially chose this hotel, but it also has a decent gym 🏋️♂️ Great Smiths Machine (Hammer Strength), with a decent amount of plates, totaling around 150kg. A doble cable machine, a rack of dumbells, max weight 22.5 kgs. Two adjustable benches, a treadmill, bike and crosstrainer to. Also, exercise balls, foam rollers and matts.
It has a fridge of still and carbonated water, but also bottles of the same at room temperature. It also has flannels in there, as it is hot 🔥
If you've never been to Reykjavik before, believe me it's small. Everything is within walking distance, and even though Iceland itself is covered in a lot of mountainus, hilly terrain, Reykjavik itself only really has one or two hills. The main one is the one that leads to Hallgrimskirkja Church. And that's not even that steep, but that's in comparison to the hills I'm used to back home in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.
This is my second visit to Reykjavik, and I can now say with certainty, the food is the best I've eaten ANYWHERE in the world. They really know how to cook meat and fish unbelievably well. There are restaurant's, eateries and coffee shops absolutely everywhere, along with minimarts and a main supermarket, which i believe is called Bonus. If you are on a budget, my advice is to try and by most of your staples there, as it's a damn site cheaper than the smaller minimarts etc. And they do have amazing, fresh produce there, if you're doing self-catering.
Anyway, there are some staff members I have to give a mention to, as they've made my stay especially memorable and special. Albeit there are so many more staff members than th one's mentioned, but these are the one's I had the vast majority of interaction with.
Firstly, the Housekeeping, and for some reason they are seldom mentioned in reviews, which is ludicrous, as hotels, B&B's etc, cannot offer any service whatsoever without the Housekeeping staff doing their jobs, which lets be honest, is clearly the hardest job. ALIONA & PAULINA were there from early morning until late afternoon keeping the whole hotel spotless.
On the Reception: KUBA, LUCA, VALERIO & KRISTOFER. All of which were so helpful, kind and friendly!
On the Buffet Breakfast: CATRIN, MARIANNE & ANGEL. Again, so helpful, kind & friendly!
Finally, on the Bar/Bistro: KENSI, SIGGI & LILJA. Helpful, kind & friendly!
Like I said, alot more staff members than the one's I highlighted. It's just these staff I had the vast majority of interaction with, but I know if I did have more contact with the other staff members, then I'd definitely be saying the same about them.
I will definitely be returning to Reykjavik, and will no doubt stay here, as my stay has been memorable and special!
Thank you to one and all at the Raddison Blu, 1919, Reykjavik!
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