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ION Adventure Hotel

ION Adventure Hotel

Golden Circle, Iceland

Responsible Choice

We've hand-selected a range of tours and stays across the world that go above and beyond to be a force for good by supporting local businesses, educating staff, challenging local norms, or promoting conservation and biodiversity efforts. Your Responsible Choice helps increase the positive impact of your trip.

A landscape of lava fields, rolling hills, and hiking trails sets the scene at this boutique hotel that was once an inn for workers at the nearby Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant. Given its location just 30-minutes from southwest Iceland’s UNESCO-protected Þingvellir National Park, it is the ideal base for catching clear views of the northern lights during the winter, bathing in thermal hot springs, and enjoying activities such as snowmobiling, ice caving and rafting. You’ll also be just under an hour from ¸é±ð²â°ìÂá²¹±¹Ã­°ì and within easy distance of the Golden Circle route’s numerous attractions.

All of the 44 bright rooms have minimalist Nordic decor, soothing neutral hues, contemporary furnishings, light woods, gray walls, and paintings, photographs or murals by modern Icelandic artists. Amenities include beds with fair-trade organic linens, desks with lamps, flat-screen TVs, tea and coffee-making facilities, complimentary Wi-Fi, and en suite bathrooms with showers.

Elsewhere, you’ll find a geothermal outdoor pool and a small spa area with a sauna and relaxation room. A selection of treatments with Icelandic herbs is available, booked at least one to two weeks in advance. There’s also a sleek restaurant serving farm-fresh Nordic cuisine as well as a glass-walled bar for end of day beers, spirits, wines, light snacks, and panoramic views of the surrounds.

OUR OPINION:

We love the peaceful setting, friendly service, and sleek Nordic decor at this stylish boutique hotel near the UNESCO-protected Þingvellir National Park. The panoramic views from the glass-walled Northern Lights bar are especially memorable.

OUR RATING: Medium

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Rooms

Available in varying categories, the 44 welcoming rooms have minimalist Nordic decor, soothing neutral hues, contemporary furnishings, light wooden floors, gray walls, and paintings or photographs by modern Icelandic artists. Amenities include beds with fair-trade organic linens, desks with lamps, flat-screen TVs, tea and coffee-making facilities, and complimentary Wi-Fi. Bathrooms have showers and Sóley Organics toiletries.

While all rooms overlook the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant or across the lava fields toward Þingvellir National Park, the Deluxe room offer superior views from floor-to-ceiling windows in addition to large murals of Icelandic horses.

Location

Located on the Golden Circle route, you’ll be a 30-minute drive from the UNESCO-protected Þingvellir National Park and about an hour from the Geysir Hot Spring Area. The town of Selfoss is 40 minutes away and offers cafés, shops, restaurants, and an outdoor swimming pool with hot tubs. You’ll also be just under an hour’s drive from ¸é±ð²â°ìÂá²¹±¹Ã­°ì.

Food and drink

Seasonal dishes such as farm-fresh lamb and fish feature on the menu at Silfra, the hotel’s restaurant named for the tectonic rift in Þingvellir. A buffet breakfast is available every morning. For beers, spirits, wines, light snacks, and panoramic views of the surrounds, the glass-walled Northern Lights bar is an ideal spot.

Families

Children are welcome at ION Adventure Hotel and extra beds can be added to the Deluxe rooms. The handyman’s friendly dog, Tara, works a daily 8am to 4pm schedule with her owner and may offer to accompany you on a hike around the hotel.

Facilities and activities

In addition to a geothermal outdoor pool, there’s a small spa with a sauna and relaxation room. Massages and facials with Icelandic herbs are available, although advance bookings of at least one to two weeks are recommended. If you’re hoping to see the northern lights, staff will arrange a nightly wake-up call for when they are visible. 

Environmental and social responsibility

The hotel, which seems to merge in with the surrounding moss-covered landscape, was constructed in the place of an abandoned building in order to reduce its footprint. It has been built from local Icelandic and recycled materials such as reclaimed wood, lava and Icelandic wool. It exceeds local environmentally safe building standards and is Earth Check certified. Inside, the furniture and furnishings are all either fair trade or recycled materials, for example: sinks made from recycled tyres, and lava and driftwood lights. All of the food served is organic, and hot water and energy is provided by the surrounding geothermal hot springs. In addition, the ION Adventure Hotel has installed electric car charging points in the car park.

Tour ideas in Golden Circle

Our itineraries are there to spark ideas for how you could include a stay at ION Adventure Hotel as part of your trip. Treat them simply as suggestions, because every aspect of the trip we create for you will be yours to define.

Location & places nearby

Places & hotels on the map

    Alternative places to stay nearby

    Where possible, we like to offer a range of accommodation for each stop of your trip, chosen by our specialists as some of their favorite places to stay. To help you make the right choice, we give each property a rating based on its facilities and service, but we also look for hotels with distinct character or a location that can't be bettered.

    • Torfhús Retreat
      Responsible Choice

      Torfhús Retreat

      Golden Circle
      First Class

    Experiences while staying here

    The following activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences of the area where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can also suggest outdoor pursuits and activities, such as cooking classes, that will introduce you to the traditions of the area's inhabitants.

    • Full day privately guided Golden Circle tour
      Strokkur geyser, Golden Circle

      Full day privately guided Golden Circle tour

      Full day privately guided Golden Circle tour

      Discover some of Iceland’s most renowned geological sites on a full-day tour of the Golden Circle with a private guide. Take in the continental rift and original parliament site at Þingvellir, the hot-water blowholes at Haukadalur geothermal valley and thundering Gullfoss waterfall.

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    • Small group snorkel in Þingvellir National Park
      Snorkel at Silfra in Þingvellir National Park

      Small group snorkel in Þingvellir National Park

      Small group snorkel in Þingvellir National Park

      Swim through clear blue waters in a glacial lagoon in Þingvellir National Park, the only place in the world where you can snorkel between two tectonic plates. Take a look at the continents from underwater and learn about Iceland’s geological instability.

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    Golden Circle and nearby places