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This is our Reykjavik EDITION hotel review, from a site inspection stay earlier this year. Opened in 2021, it remains the only luxury hotel option in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, yet home to only 250,000. We'll have a video review ready soon, but in the meantime, here's our review with photos.
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The Reykjavik EDITION Location
The hotel is located at Austurbakki 2 in downtown Reykjavik, by the port and Harpa Concert Hall. It's about a 45-minute drive from Keflavik International Airport (KEF).
The cozy lobby features a central fireplace, with armchairs arranged around it, while Northern Lights images are projected on a nearby screen.
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Loft Room, The Reykjavik EDITION
The hotel has 253 guest rooms and suites, with interior design by Ian Schrager. Entry-level rooms are 280 sq. ft. and only accommodate two guests, so if you have a small family, you'll need either a Deluxe Double Queen with two queen beds (300 sq. ft.) or a Loft King (330-480 sq. ft.), which is what we had, with an extra bed placed in it.
These rooms face the interior courtyard, so they don't have a water view, but ours did get ample sunlight in the afternoon.
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The extra bed's mattress wasn't that comfortable, so we ended up using our portable inflatable Thermarest mattress to provide some extra cushioning. We also asked Housekeeping to add an extra mattress pad to the king bed, which was too firm for our taste.
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The bathroom had a soaking tub, and a separate shower, which was good. Less good was the single sink and the fact that there was no door to the toilet area, which meant that only one person could really use the bathroom at a time. For a new build hotel aspiring to luxury, this was disappointing.
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Bath products were by Le Labo for EDITION Hotels.
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There was a Nespresso maker, but the space it was in wasn't tall enough to lift up the part where the Nespresso pods are placed; a very poor design choice in terms of the cabinetry.
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The biggest issue we faced the first night, however, was that the room became stiflingly hot. Although we were able to open one of the windows, we later learned that there was a thermostat problem and the thermostat had to be reset for our room. There should have been some QA before we arrived, but that didn't happen.
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If money is no object, splash out on The Penthouse, with its dual exposure, water and Harpa views, dining table for eight, and fireplace.
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The Reykjavik EDITION Restaurants and Dining
TravelSort Clients enjoy complimentary daily buffet breakfast at TIDES Restaurant, just off the lobby. Breakfast is served 7-10:30am, lunch from 12 noon to 2:30pm, and dinner 5:30-10pm.
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There's also TIDES Cafe, for grab-and-go food and drinks.
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The ROOF, on the hotel's seventh floor, is open Wednesday-Sunday evenings from 6pm for cocktails, drinks, and Asian-inspired light bites, as well as for Saturday brunch from 1pm.
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Spa
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The Reykjavik EDITION Perks for TravelSort Clients
TravelSort Clients enjoy these benefits when we book their stay:
- Upgrade at check-in if available
- Welcome amenity
- Daily buffet breakfast for two at TIDES Restaurant
- A $100 equivalent hotel credit towards dining or spa services
- Priority for early check-in and late check-out
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The Verdict
In general, the Iceland and Scandinavian countries aren't the place to look for luxury. But the Reykjavik EDITION is the closest to luxury you'll find in downtown Reykjavik, with handsome if small regular rooms, some with water views, a good breakfast buffet, and cozy spots such as the lobby fireplace and TÖLT Bar on the weekends. While there were some design flaws, such as the lack of a door to the toilet and a too-small space for the Nespresso machine, and our room was stifling hot until they fixed the thermostat, we enjoyed the rest of our stay.
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