Radisson Blu 1919
One of the best options in Reykjavik (for Winter)
Finally I reached my most important destination for this trip.
The great Viking settlement known as ICELAND!
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Credit: Great Circle Mapper
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Using the Great Circle Mapper, I had flown 8242 miles from Singapore’s Changi Airport to Iceland’s Keflavik Airport.
Why did I want to come to Iceland?
I hoped to catch the Aurora Borealis this year and also toย experience the famous Blue Lagoon.
Thankfully I did and more on this later.
I took the airport transfer which takes the visitors to Reykjavik and then re-distributes the passengers to smaller vehicles to their various hotels.
Radisson Blu 1919 is simply ‘1919’ as there is another Radisson Blu (Saga) in Reykjavik.
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| Is that how the hotel got its name? |
The 1919 is right in the town and most of the shops are within walking distance of the hotel. The shopping street Laugavegur is nearby as well.
A famous hotdog stand is just across the street. I frequently saw people stopping their vehicles to grab a hotdog.
The hotel is rather simple, however, one must be aware that fine luxury hotels are not available in Iceland at the moment and 1919 is about as good as it gets.
This does not mean the hotel rates areย cheap as I was still paying more than $200SGD per night and that was in the low (winter) season.
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| Front Desk |
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| Central Staircase |
The hotel recognized my Gold Club Carlson status and provided me with an upgrade as well as some welcome amenities.
The upgraded room was reallyย spacious and the bathroom was huge. However, I do think the rather plainย bathroom space could be better used and furbished.
The bath amenities is standard and the same as Radisson Blu Plaza Oslo.
The welcome amenitiesย were 2 bottles of Icelandic water and some chocolate strawberries and cookies. These were very much appreciated on a cold winter night.
I went out to look for some food and there were a few shops opened. This made me appreciate my own Singapore very much where food is easily found and mostly affordable.
Breakfast
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| Restaurant |
Other Facilities
There is a small intimate gym in the hotel as well as a ‘Business Centre’ with a single computer and printer.
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| Gym |
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| Business Centre |
Points to Note
This review is pretty short as I was out most of the time and had my other meals outside the hotel.
While reading this review, one must bear in mind that winter is the low season of Reykjavik.
In the high season of summer, the pricesย are much higher and even up to $500 per night, and a much bigger crowd is to be expected. Upgrades are probably much rarer then and I read thatย the basic rooms are much smaller.
I also read online some complaints about the noise and the heat at the hotel, but I did not experience such, which may be due to the reduced crowds and the winter cold. In fact, I was freezing from the subzero temperatures outside.
Iceland is a really expensive place and a simple meal may cost $10 or more.
Last but not least, the Aurora is not that easy to catch in Iceland. I had friends who spent a week in Iceland and did not see the Aurora.
These signs indicating tours were being cancelled for the day were pretty common.
Out of the 5 days I spent in Iceland, there was only 1 night which allowed Aurora Tours.
Luckily it was aย night of high activity and our tour guide got a photo of the amazing show I experienced.
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| Credit: Tour Guide |
One majorย item struck off the ‘Bucket List’!
Happy and Healthy Travels to all!
