As our stay in Iceland drew to a close, we decided to stay in this hotel, located in a totally deserted area some 50 kilometers from the Icelandic capital.
Why this hotel? It’s part of Marriott Bonvoy, my preferred loyalty program, but it’s also part of Design Hotels. As you know, I’ve experienced a lot of difficulties at Design Hotels, and we wrote an article on the subject, even though Bertrand’s experiences were quite positive.
In fact, I should have been wary, as it was a rather bad start, with an extremely high price, which led me to expect equally high services. Unfortunately… Quite the opposite, in fact, as even the basics were not provided.
The after-sales service will be just as complicated, but will result in a refund of the hotel night – the least we can do when the building isn’t even finished!
As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed in Iceland:
Booking
I booked this property about three months before we arrived in Iceland. There are few promotions for this property, no doubt due to the fact that it is part of the Design Hotels chain, but nonetheless I proceed with the booking for a little over 650 € per night, which may seem extremely high, but given the price of hotels in Iceland, I thoughtit was just a very high quality hotel.
At this price, not even breakfast is included, and probably no benefit from the loyalty program. It’s a bit harsh, but I figure the quality will be there.
A few days after my initial reservation, I received a confirmation email not from Marriott but from the hotel directly, with all the conditions of the reservation, including the fact that it could not be cancelled less than 14 days before our arrival.
I changed the dates of my reservation on the Bonvoy website but never received any further confirmation from the hotel., I worried with my ambassador, who nevertheless confirmed that my reservation had been checked-in: I was willing to believe her, but I was aware of the possible desynchronization between the central reservation system and the hotel’s system, so I replied to the hotel’s initial e-mail asking them to confirm the date change, which they did a few days later.
Three days before our arrival, I receive an e-mail informing me that the spa is closed for renovations between 11am and 4pm each day. I’m not really worried about it, as I hadn’t really intended to use the spa before 4pm, since the days are more devoted to sightseeing.
Arrival
We arrive at the hotel around 4pm, after our last day of touring Iceland. The parking lot is already busy when we arrive, and of course there’s no one to take our luggage.
We enter the hotel and its pleasant lobby. Surprisingly, there’s no receptionist to greet us, and we wait a good five minutes before anyone deigns to arrive. A couple behind us will obviously have to wait longer, as the person will have to do our check-in before taking care of them.
I am amazed at the hesitation of the receptionist, who doesn’t seem to know the procedures very well, who doesn’t know the opening hours of the restaurant, who doesn’t know the opening hours of the spa, who doesn’t know the opening hours of the bar… Very strange when the hotel is operating, and the person will even admit to being hired two days before.
I’m amazed that a hotel would staff an inexperienced person at prime check-in time, i.e. between 3pm and 6pm. At the end of check-in operations, obviously no Marriott Bonvoy benefits have been specified, neither late-check-out nor upgrade, a welcome drink is nevertheless offered, a sparkling wine from which we are served two glasses which we take to our room.
Room
The discomfort begins even before we enter our room. As soon as we enter the corridor leading to the bedrooms, a strong smell of glue and old paint catches our noses.
We have to slalom between the rubble in the corridors, avoid the workers – in short, it’s a building site.
We take the elevator to our room.
Our room was on the second floor of the hotel. The latter is equivalent to what is presented on the property’s website, i.e. decorated in rather modern, light tones.
On the right as you enter the bedroom is the bathroom, equipped with a small washbasin, toilet and walk-in shower. The shower will be difficult to use, splashing water all over the bathroom.
To the left of the entrance is a closet that seems a little small for the winter months. Still on the left is the desk, rather small and a little cluttered with glasses and water carafe, as well as the coffee machine, a coffee machine that will leak and be hell to use for the entirety of our stay.
Opposite is the bay window with its superb view of the surrounding fjords.
To the right is the bed, which will be very comfortable.
Finally, here is a video tour:
Hotel facilities
I didn’t see a fitness room in the hotel.
Nevertheless, the hotel is equipped with a spa, extensively advertised on their website. So we visited this spa on the day of our arrival, outside the working hours mentioned in the welcome e-mail of course, and found a complete construction site, i.e., as soon as you step out of the elevator into what appears to be the spa, rubble everywhere, workersand dirt and grime. In the changing room, used bathrobes and towels are lying around, and the whole thing doesn’t exude cleanliness.
Although towels are available, we don’t know whether the bathrobes are clean or dirty, and the same goes for the slippers, and to access the spa area you have to walking over rubble in our slippers, with all the health and safety risks that entails.
When we arrive outside, it’s still a construction site, the spa surroundings are not cleanand in fact the spa is a geothermal pool, with water probably extracted from various volcanoes, but which hasn’t been cleaned in months I imagine, since black molasses is present not only around the edges but also at the bottom of the pool: it’s disgusting.
While the views are magnificent, the facilities are unusable. Only the sauna will be pleasant. No hammam, which I imagine is also being renovated.
Note that only one changing room is available, the women’s room, while the men’s room is also being renovated. In fact, the entire spa is being renovated, so it would be better to say it’s totally closed.
Food options
Given the property’s location, I’m glad we have a catering service! Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the restaurant near the lobby.
When I received the confirmation email from the hotel, an invitation to book had been mentioned, so I proceeded to book the dinners for both nights of our stay. This is done via a reservation site such as La Fourchette or OpenTable.
The hotel also has a bar, which we visit before dinner on our first evening.
Bar
The hotel bar is extremely attractive, as it is completely glazed.
It is located at one end of the hotel, just above the spa.
When we arrived, we took a seat at one of the tables, waited about ten minutes for the waiter to come and see us, and, seeing that he was staring at his iPad, probably watching a Euro match, we headed for the bar to place our order.
That’s apparently the procedure in this hotel, so it’s a far cry from luxury. We order, my wife orders a Spritz, and I’ll order a Negroni, the cocktails will be very good.
Of course, nothing is offered to accompany these cocktails, not even chips or peanuts. Prices are crazy, but that’s Iceland!
In short, the waiter’s attitude won’t make us want to return.
Dinner service
In the end, we only dined at this hotel on the first evening; I canceled the next reservation in disappointment, and also because we had found another restaurant in downtown Reykjavik to end our stay.
The restaurant serves a unique three-course menu, so we’ll be taking advantage of this. Special mention for the fish soup starter, which was excellent, and for the dessert, which was very light and not too sweet.
Breakfast service
As for breakfast, it’s open from 6:30 to 9:30, and we’ll have it both mornings.
Note that this breakfast was not included, that the price was never mentioned to us, and that I discovered an obviously exorbitant price on the bill when I left.
It’s a buffet that’s on offer here, with items of rather average quality, the smoked salmon nevertheless standing out a little, the hot items being vile.
Special mention for the Nespresso machine, which was the only really good coffee I drank during my entire stay.
Not much to say, as you can see for yourselves that the €35 charge is totally unjustified by the buffet on offer.
Service
The big problem with this hotel, beyond the unfinished facilities, is the service provided to the customer. If the restaurant staff are adorable, it stops there. The bar staff are absolutely vile, with no notion of customer service, not even a hello when customers enter the bar, don’t come to ask what customers want to drink, I’ve never seen that!
The same goes for the front desk staff: while they do what they’re told, nothing is done proactively, and no hello is extended to guests as they enter the hotel, even though the occupancy rate doesn’t seem to me to be anywhere near 100%.
It’s easy to see that when you ask them to do something, they’re pissed off, and they make it very clear!
The person I believe to be the hotel manager who comes and goes does not say hello to guests, the lobby is always very dirty, because the hotel organizes evenings certainly for groups and the tables are not cleared… Nothing to do with the rate of 650 € per night, equivalent to a palace… Unacceptable!
Departure
We have to leave for the airport at a very early hour, and after a fast breakfast, I proceed to check-out, obviously we are not asked if our stay went well, which would have been the only opportunity for me to give my feedback.
I’ll leave it to Marriott customer service, and you’ll see what happened in the next paragraph.
Customer service
After this disastrous experience, I absolutely had to make a complaint to Marriott customer service. My wife also urged me to make this claim because of the pitiful service we received.
Having Ambassador status with Marriott Bonvoy, I first wrote to my ambassador to make this complaint, a complaint that was escalated to customer service and then to the hotel.
After 6 successive follow-ups, and a threat to have the transaction cancelled by American Express, I finally received a reply from the hotel, which deigned to reply to me more than 40 days after my initial complaint.
Without a fuss, I received a full refund for my stay. That says a lot about management’s perception of the experience!
Bottom line
Just don’t go. You’ll save time, money and energy.
