Review: Hotel Vellir Iceland (Hafnarfjordur)

Located on the outskirts of Reykjavik, Hotel Vellir provides a great location for anyone arriving in Iceland and not wanting to stay in the throes of a city (yet be nearby). We stayed at the Hotel Vellir Iceland for one night for our first night in Iceland. This guide and review will tell you everything you need to know about staying at the Hotel Vellir Iceland.

Why did I chose the Hotel Vellir Iceland?

I chose the Hotel Vellir for our first night in Iceland mostly due to location. We landed at 7am and had reservations at the Blue Lagoon that morning, plus I wanted to see some of the sights on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Also wanted to do a trip to Costco and the grocery store, but didn’t feel the need to stay in downtown Reykjavik. I didn’t want to deal with parking. The Hotel Vellir Iceland is located just outside of Reykjavik, with easy access to the highway, and had decent reviews, free parking, modern, free breakfast, and access to a gym.

Location of the Hotel Vellir Iceland

This map shows the distance between KEF and the hotel. The hotel is conveniently located on a major thoroughfare. We knew we’d be too tired to fart around in Reykjavik our first night, plus we wanted to get a move on the next morning to start our Ring Road road trip.

Because of its location (20 minutes outside of Reykjavik), I do NOT recommend this hotel if you are using tours to get around. It’s so far outside the city limits that tour buses will not do a pick up/drop off from this hotel. If you are using tours, you’ll want to stay in Reykjavik.

Check in

For those of us coming from the USA, an early check in at a hotel would be great, but most of them just aren’t able to do that, including this hotel. However, after our Blue Lagoon time plus our sightseeing on the Reykjanes Peninsula, it was already early afternoon when we rolled up to the hotel. We were able to check in around 2pm which was nice, but there were quite a few groups in the lobby waiting for their rooms to be ready. We just lucked out.

Like most of my Iceland hotels, I booked this through Booking.com and had no issues.

Rooms at the Hotel Vellir

Our room was wonderful! We had a queen sized bed, which was really comfy, large picture windows and although they looked on to the busy road, it was still a nice view. Everything in the room was modern and clean.

Amenities at the Hotel Vellir

I also chose this hotel because it offered free access to a gym. You can workout for free (and/or use the sauna and hot tub) at Reebok Fitness which is in the same complex. However, as much as I intended to do this, I was simply too jet lagged. And the next morning, we decided to hike to Glymur waterfall, so I didn’t feel the need to use the fitness center.

The hotel has a bar but we did not use it.

Breakfast at Hotel Vellir

A decent breakfast buffet is provided in the morning, starting at 7am. It’s your typical Scandinavian-style breakfast with cold cuts, cheese, fresh vegetables and fruits, freshly baked breads, yogurt and a waffle maker.

Hotel Vellir – Final Thoughts, Pros and Cons

We definitely enjoyed our one night stay here at the Hotel Vellir. Everything was perfect, we got a good night’s sleep to shake off the jet lag, had a delicious breakfast, and the location was perfect. I definitely would chose to stay here again!

Pros:

Free access to a full size gym (with hot tub and sauna) next door (Reebok Fitness)

Excellent location if you don’t want to futz around in downtown Reykjavik.

Big parking lot — and it’s free

Cons

Nothing nearby – you will have to drive to shops and restaurants

Not a good choice if you don’t have a car