Stracta Hotel Hella

That was awful. The room I was assigned was new and furthest away from the main building. It was surrounded by a construction site (they were clearly obligated to maintain safe premises). You also have to walk through a construction site to get to the main building, with all sorts of debris flying around. The room itself had probably just been finished, the floor covered in construction dust. The toilet creaks, and there's no shelf in the shower. There's no storage space in the room either. There's neither a wardrobe nor a shelf. The kettle, paper cups (very sustainable...) and tea/instant coffee sit on the side table. There are two tiny stools for bedside tables, and the phone sits on one of them. So you basically live out of a suitcase. The walls are so thin you can hear your neighbor snoring, as well as every word and everything your neighbors do in the bathroom from the neighboring rooms. The lights are on outside all night. The room door is entirely made of glass, so there's no darkness in the room either. Whoever designed rooms like this has failed miserably. The only thing on the side table is the kettle, paper cups (very sustainable...) and tea/instant coffee. There are two tiny stools for bedside tables, and the phone sits on one of them. So you're basically living out of a suitcase. The walls are so thin you can hear your neighbor snoring, and you can hear every word and everything your neighbors do in the bathroom from the neighboring rooms. The lights are on outside all night. The room door is entirely made of glass, so there's no darkness in the room either. Whoever designed rooms like this has failed miserably. : ... The staff were friendly and the location was good for viewing the Northern Lights.

The room was on the small side, but the radiator worked well. It was a great place to view the aurora borealis. Considering the container-type design, the breakfast restaurant was small for the large number of guests, making it difficult to find a table during breakfast. It was a shame I didn't have time to use the public sauna.

I stayed at the Stracta Hotel in Hella for a few nights, and my stay was solid, but not quite perfect. Its location right on the Ring Road was incredibly convenient for the South Coast road trips to waterfalls like Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, as well as for day trips to the Golden Circle. The hotel itself has modern, clean rooms with free Wi-Fi, a good breakfast buffet, and even outdoor hot tubs and saunas, which are particularly pleasant in the evenings under the stars. However, the rooms felt a bit small to me and in some areas more functional than cozy – and the rooms further away from the main building were somewhat inconveniently located. The restaurant offers Icelandic cuisine, but for the price, I would have expected a bit more comfort and a more cohesive overall feel. Nevertheless, it's a good base for exploring nature, just not outstanding.