It had almost been 5 months since our last hostel experience out in Tupiza, Bolivia– yet here we found ourselves – in Iceland – and really, the only way to make this a budget endeavor in any way was to either Couchsurf or hostel it. With our breakneck pace of doing thing around Reykjavik, I wanted to preserve the integrity of CS and we went with the hostel.
So we found ourselves at the impeccably clean and friendly Reykjavik Downtown Hostel just a minute or two walk from the heart of the city- where everything happens. Seriously, we couldn’t ask for a better location. It makes stumbling home very easy – and for those of you who have heard of the crazy Reykjavik weekends, this is a very important thing to keep in mind. One guy didn’t even get in until 9:30 the next morning!
Keep in mind that if you do plan on heading to Iceland in high season, a bit of planning ahead is in your favor. This year high season extended much longer than they thought and even with a few weeks notice, we were only able to book two beds in a 10 room dorm- the last 2 at that.
This hostel is definitely hopping. From their awesome breakfast buffet to their weekly activities, there is always something to do, see, eat, or plan. The front desk girls are super nice and informative and will bend over backwards to make sure that you are taken care of. Between all of them I know like 5 languages are spoken- including Japanese! We were blown away to say the least.
If you don’t have many plans there is a board with a calendar of things to do any given night of the week. I know quite a few shows that were listed while we were there were highlights of the Reykjavik Jazz Festival. With how many people visit the hostel, you’re definitely not going to be lonely.
And while we wish we could complain about the guy who was snoring so loud I thought the room would split in half, the dorms themselves are spotless. Their blankets and duvets are super warm along with the fact the floors are wood and not sheets of ice under your feet. You can never go wrong with that. Bathroom runs in the middle of the night are no longer painful in cold locales.
Did we tell you about the fact that it is impossible to run out of hot water in your shower? Since the water is geothermically heated in Iceland you could take an all day shower and still come out hot and pruny.
If you are looking for a clean and friendly hostel experience, HI Downtown Reykjavik Hostel is the one for you. This definitely gets the Shaun and Erica stamp of approval.
Wifi Score: 7/10 (Pretty fast but not without the occasional outage or inability to log in)
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Disclosure: We were guests of the Reykjavik Downtown Hostel, however all opinions are our own.
ahh this place is one of my fave hostels! Yummy breakfast and rooms like Ikea :p
Looks like a fabulous place to stay! Nicely reviewed.
So great that you found a nice place!
Those beds actually look pretty massive?!? I’m not surprised the Iceland high season extended this year, it seems like it’s really took off as a popular destination this year and I’d love to get myself there soon. Maybe I’ll try and convince my little brother to come with me!
The hostel looks lovely and I could do with that breakfast right about now. Cheese!
how i wish all hostels here are as clean as this place! awesome! thanks for sharing! 🙂
This place looks AWESOME! I am loving the giant beds (unless that is a fab photographic cheat) and the uber-modern bathroom. Definitely adding this to my list of Iceland resources.
We could both fit in it but it may be the lens fooling you? Iceland really was the #1 place for so many people this year. I mean, we even ran into an old coworker from our days at Blizzard. It is CRAZY!
RIGHT?! Going through Central and South America really opened our eyes to what is “normal”.
Becky, I’ll be posting so much on Reykjavik over the next few weeks! There is a LOT to see. Please feel free to contact me if you need any information.
I will! Thanks! 🙂 Looking forward to reading more about it. Reykjavik has always fascinated me.
Super Ikea! I thought the same thing when we walked in. I have noticed quite the trend across European rentals too. Crazy!
Thanks Arti! It was super cute and I loved the social scene.