Hotel Smyrlabjörg

This is a lovely traditional family run hotel. On first appearances it may not look much, but once checked in, our room was huge with a spare bed in one corner. Our bed was very comfortable and there were 2 very comfy armchairs in the room too, as most hotel rooms only provide 1 chair due to space. |We ate here in the evening and the food was excellent. We had pumpkin soup, baked Brie, followed by a lamb burger and beef burger. |The staff here are very friendly and have a pride of working here.|My only reason for not giving a 5 rating is the very dated bathrooms. |Overall a great place to stay on travels around Iceland.

Hotel Smyrlabjörg was the best place we stayed in Iceland. Very clean, amazing view of the mountains through our windows, quiet, working WiFi and TV, and comfortable beds. Decor was very funky, interesting, and idyllic. The restaurant was great and reasonably priced (for Iceland). Best of all, the hotel does not use heavily fragranced cleaning supplies, reed diffusers, or air fresheners, which is amazing for anyone that suffers from migraines, asthma, autoimmune or allergy (such as ourselves) or anyone traveling with children. It was simply clean and smelled like natural, fresh air!

Room was a pretty good size, had nice toiletries in the bathroom, though the hand soap pump was basically broken making it kind of useless. Could not identify any way to control climate in the room but felt like some of the flooring may have been heated. Good breakfast buffet with something for everyone and the few staff members we encountered were friendly and helpful. Keep in mind this is very much in the middle of nowhere so nothing to do nearby, nor anywhere else really to dine besides the hotel restaurant. Biggest complaint was the HORRIBLY LUMPY pillows, they really must be replaced, they were dreadful.

Hotel Smyrlabjörg, located near Vatnajökull National Park in southeastern Iceland, is surrounded by majestic mountains and vast open fields, offering a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. The rooms are spacious enough for a comfortable stay and are kept very clean. The hotel features a restaurant that serves dishes made with local ingredients, and I had a delicious lamb burger there. With easy access to nearby attractions such as Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach, it’s a convenient and pleasant place to stay when exploring the southeast of Iceland.

When we arrived in our room, we noticed that the bathroom was not cleaned at all, we asked for another room but there wasn’t any left. So that wasn’t quite appreciating. The rooms are ok, no kitchen, chances of northern lights from the property. Breakfast is quite good, dinner at the restaurant is expensive, portions are less compared to the price. Hofn city has less and expensive options, so it’s better to have dinner outside or carry some food if you want to save some money.

Stayed here for one night in August 2025. The room was clean and comfortable and the breakfast was very good. Also appreciated the free coffee and hot chocolate! The hotel is super quirky and has a Shining vibe, in the best possible way. We were told that we wouldn't have WiFi in our room, as we were in the very furthest possible room, but we did and it worked well. It's quite isolated, which we appreciated as it was very quiet and great ambiance. Only taking a star off because the rooms are a little dated HOWEVER the hotel is well maintained and the staff is nice.

Honestly it was a beautiful Hotel on the Mountain. The rooms were very cabin feeling so made it feel warm and cozy and the food was really good too. Another cool thing is that on the area they have a Basecamp for snowmobiling.

We stopped in for the breakfast buffet, but did not stay at the hotel. It was fun to look at the taxidermy collection capturing many local bird and animal species. They also had a collection of random local antiques and whale bones which were fun to see. The breakfast buffet includes a few types of homemade breads, and an assortment of meats and cheeses along with the more standard bacon, eggs, and beans. The smoked mackerel was superb! The price was very fair for Iceland ( :