Jen and I had heard that dining out in Reykjavik is expensive. It is. This is much of why we bookedan apartment/hotel versus a Bed and Breakfast or renting a room in someone’s house for our stay.
A friend recommended Airbnb.
What’s Airbnb?
From their website:
Airbnb is a social website that connects people who have space to spare with those who are looking for a place to stay. Through their experiences on Airbnb, guests and hosts build real connections with real people from all over the globe.
Guests gain access to unique and distinctive spaces and immerse themselves in the culture of their destinations. We call that traveling like a human! Hosts can effortlessly showcase their spaces to an audience of millions, whether they have an urban apartment or countryside castle.
This sounded wild and fun but just not the best fit for us right now, for this specific trip. The apartment/hotel option was way appealing so that’s what we looked for. I found Room With A View in the Lonely Planet Iceland guidebook. It was listed under mid range options and was in a spectacular area -- close to all the galleries, museums, cafes and shops. SOLD!It was def a bit more than I wanted to spend but we’d only be there four nights, the location couldn’t be beat. We’d never been to Reykjavik, I knew nothing at all about the town. For this years’ big trip, I wanted to book a safe, unchallenging bet.
The tag line for Room With A View is this:
Luxury Apartment Hotel in Reykjavik city center
The term ‘luxury’ is entirely relative.
From Dictionary.Com:
lux·u·ry [luhk-shuh-ree, luhg-zhuh-] noun, plural lux·u·ries, adjective-nounFrom The Free Dictionary:
1.a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity: Gold cufflinks were a luxury not allowed for in his budget.
2. free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of comforts and pleasures in addition to those necessary for a reasonable standard of well-being: a life of luxury on the French Riviera.
3.a pleasure out of the ordinary allowed to oneself: the luxury of an extra piece of the cake.
lux·u·ry
n. pl. lux·u·ries
1. Something inessential but conducive to pleasure and comfort.
2. Something expensive or hard to obtain.
Sumptuous living or surroundings: lives in luxury.
You know, joints where the doorman would take one look at me, my lovely skull hoodie and courier bag, know me for the peasant I am, and block the entry. Hey, we can’t all be debutantes, ladies who lunch or the cigar chomping scions of the powerful and wealthy (AKA members of the lucky sperm club).
I don’t think I’m missing much by steering clear of these oh-so-respectable institutions. Truly.
In any case, I was a bit nervous about Room With A View’s ‘luxury’ descriptive. Would they let me check in? How luxurious could it be if I could afford it? Will it be so posh that I feel all skeeved out and uncomfortable?
Not only did they let us check in, the front desk folk were tremendous. They gave us tips and ideas about the town, helped us book tours and, as I mentioned yesterday, we were able to check in hours early to our upgraded apartment. We now had a large, light filled one bedroom apartment...with a giant jacuzzi. It was larger and nicer than any of the digs I’d inhabited pre-cohabitation with The Amazing Bob.There was a french press for my morning caffeine fix, a variety of teas (white, black and herbal) for Jen, a DVD player with a cool selection of films, thick, fluffy quilts on the bed and a towel warmer (!!!) in the can.
Any downsides are just quibbles. There were wine glasses but no cork screw, big soft bath towels but no wash clothes and, when I finally realized ‘no, those aren’t hot flashes waking me up. It really is sweatingly hot every night at 1 AM,’ we couldn’t sort out how to lower the heat. Bright bulbs that we are though, we opened a window.
See? Stunningly picayune.
Oh yeah, one more thing. The big painting in the lobby? A Jónas Viðar. My new favorite.
Blondie -- Picture This
Blondie -- Picture This
