The following is a guest post review of the Fosshotel Vatnajokull by Steven Smith of Forever Travels.
There is a small board pointing the direction to the Fosshotel Vatnajokull on Highway 1 (the Ring Road). It is a sign that you could easily miss, but thankfully we didn’t because we had a reservation at the hotel. When we took the detour from the main highway, it led us straight to the hotel and that’s when our jaws dropped. Here is what we were looking at:
The hotel is located in the middle of nowhere, and that is exactly what makes it so perfect! After the crowded hustle and bustle of New York and multiple airports, this was exactly what we needed. The beauty of this hotel is that it blends in perfectly with the landscape. The colors, the design and the decor have been carefully chosen to make it so.
The reception staff welcomed us into the hotel and were very friendly; they surprised us with a free upgrade to a suite. When we entered the room, the first thing we noticed was that the rooms had huge floor to ceiling windows. This provided breathtaking views of the landscape and the majestic Vatnajökull glacier in the distance, capped in snow and ice.
As we settled in, it had become dark outside. At about 8:30, the staff rang and informed us about the Northern Lights. We stepped onto our balcony and the sight that greeted us was indescribable in words. With no distracting city lights around, the bright green aurora was surreal. The two of us stood there dumbfounded, taking it all in, relaxing and just enjoying the moment.
The next morning, we took a guided tour of the Vatnajökull glacier. It is the largest glacier in Europe and covers a large part of Iceland. We went by a jeep to the foot of the glacier, where our guides Chris and Boris met us with the equipment we’d need for the hike. It helped that we were both quite fit and were able to quickly hike up the glacier and onto the crystal ice cave. It was unlike anything we had ever seen, something out of this world. Since we were early, we were the only ones there and had the entire cave to ourselves.
The tour involved hiking to several different spots and our guides were very knowledgeable about the region. We had a spectacular time and returned to the hotel in the evening. There was also the option to go for a round of Golf at a nearby course, but we chose to stay back. We spent the next few days relaxing at the hotel, enjoying the unique Icelandic delicacies from their menu.
Every room comes with a telephone, flat-screen TV with satellite channels, safe, desk, refrigerator, daily cleaning and a lot more. The separate shower area in the bathroom is a nice touch and I have to say, the heated flooring around the shower is pure genius. We were able to dry our wet clothes by simply laying them on the floor overnight. The Wi-Fi signal inside our room was a bit weak, but it didn’t bother us one bit.
We were sad to leave after our memorable week at the Fosshotel Vatnajokull. We couldn’t have asked for a better holiday and you can be sure that the memories will be with us forever. I can say for a fact that we will be coming back in the future.