Umi Hotel

The location of Hotel Umi is quite, offering splendid views of the surrounding mountains and volcanoes, and a very quiet black-sand beach is located just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. The town of Vík, with its activities, is also easily accessible within less than a half-hour drive. The restaurant is another positive point, offering an interesting dinner option that is better than most restaurants in the surrounding area. One drawback, however, is the background music, which is particularly depressing. This may seem trivial, but in the darkness of the Icelandic winter, no one needs a gloomy atmosphere. The staff is not particularly warm or smiley, but they are dedicated and provide an aurora borealis watch service, which allowed us to see the Northern Lights on two evenings during our stay. Unfortunately, the positive aspects end there. There is a major issue with this hotel: the rooms, which are inexplicably small given the vast surrounding space, and very uncomfortable. In addition to being tiny, the rooms and bathrooms are extremely spartan; the mattress is thin and uncomfortable, and soundproofing is poor. The biggest problem is humidity control, which is virtually nonexistent. In the middle of winter, it was necessary to open the window because the bathroom ventilation system was completely unable to evacuate moisture after a shower. It is difficult to understand how this hotel managed to obtain a Michelin Key. Due to the stripped-down condition of the rooms and their very relative comfort, the hotel is, at best, a two-star property. Aside from the view, there is frankly nothing that justifies staying here. I would be inclined to hypothesize that this establishment is the result of a venture by someone with no experience in hospitality who attempted, on their first try, to create a “trendy” hotel based on Instagram influencer aesthetics. The result is frankly unconvincing.

This was our best accommodation experience during our week in Iceland. We hadn't booked accommodation for our last night and decided to extend at Umi because we loved it so much. The staff were all so warm and welcoming from the manager to the housekeeping team, reception, and the restaurant - and they didn't make me feel bad for breaking a wine glass in our room. Great location for exploring. We especially loved the big breakfast spread, cozy robes and slippers, and we had some fantastic Northern Lights viewings right outside of the hotel. Definitely make it out to the black sand beach while you're there! Thank you Umi team for being a highlight of our honeymoon, we hope to return!

My boyfriend and I stayed here for two nights, during which we got engaged. The staff was so lovely, from the front desk keeping champagne cold in our room for our return by changing the ice every half hour, to another staff member point out the Northern Lights, to the head chef presenting us with each dish at the restaurant and his lovely wife, a waitress, sharing stories about Icelandic life with us. The setting is beyond beautiful, and we had horse visitors snuffling at our open window one night. We will never forget how we felt in this magical place.

Great stay at the Uni hotel. Super friendly and informative staff. We had dinner at the hotel, as it’s quite removed from a ‘town’ (as many other hotels in Iceland are!) and the food was so amazing (Michelin star quality and presentation). Beautiful location with gorgeous view of mountains and glacier. Very quiet.

This hotel was a beautiful way to end our ring road journey - the meals were incredible, probably the best dinners we had on our entire trip. The staff were incredibly kind and very helpful. The yoga room doubled as a massage space - the view was incredibly serene. This was the perfect hotel for a choice for those who want to be removed from the “hustle and bustle” and aren’t worried about driving to your daily activities

Great, unique hotel. The setting is beautiful. Easy walk or bike ride to black sand beach. Room is stylish and comfortable. Staff is incredible friendly. The restaurant and bar are top notch, great food, great service. Their breakfast is a great way to start a day of exploring. Location is ideal for exploring the south coast

My September trip to Iceland eventually took me to Umi hotel. I was driving the island clockwise and Umi was one of my last stops. I had really high hopes for the place which brought high disappointment. The hotel is very poorly maintained - inside and out. Icelandic roads are challenging and that’s is acceptable but not when you drive towards your place to rest. Over two kilometres of drive to the hotel weren’t pleasant to finally park before the building and walk what seemed to be a walking path with tiles, sliding off their place and creating a hazardous reach to the entrance. The welcoming message was pleasant and informative but the room was a disappointment. It was obviously neglected, resulting in only bed-linen-change (possible but not confirmed), hardly cleaned, with leftover hairs from previous guests. The sheets were wrinkly as if someone else slept in the bed. The bathroom was so tiny that there was barely space to place your toiletries. And this wouldn’t have bothered me at all, if the wooden counter wasn’t damaged. The lack of polishing sealant at the area around the sink was a statement for a questionable hygiene. The shower was in such a setting, that using it resulted in flooding the whole area. There was no ventilation and the humidity filled the entire room, that could only be aired through a sliver of an open window. The dinner at their restaurant was a decent effort of a Michelin quality meal. The multi-element experience was pleasant for the taste buds, compliments to the chef. My experience with the fish-of-the-day dish was nice, except the fact that a frozen mousse was implemented in the plating, which made the delicate sauce of the dish and the whole dish itself instantly cold when melting. Using a stabilizer for keeping the shape of the mousse when unmolding and serving it at room temperature can easily fix this problem. The restaurant is set as a canteen and its very noisy, lacking coziness and calm. Like not many other hotels in Iceland, Umi offers a complimentary breakfast, which is a combination of hot and cold meals, a lot of fruit and healthy choices, arranged in a very pleasant way. Taking stars away for my truthful review is based on how the hotel categorizes and advertises themselves. Compared to other places I visited, they fell in the bottom of my list, way below FossHotels, where comfort and cleanness is delivered for way less charge and a lot better service.

We had an excellent three night stay with the Umi Hotel. The food was amazing, the rooms were lovely warm and the free access to the yoga room and Sauna were a plus! The views of the mountains were stunning and the location is so close to many tourist locations. We will be back again!