Located just minutes from the Blue Lagoon, and a 20 minute drive from Keflavik airport, the Northern Lights Inn is one of the best Iceland hotels to start or finish your trip. We stayed here in May 2025 with our 2 boys, then aged 11 and 12 at the start of our trip round this amazing country. Our packed itinerary meant we could only stay for one night but I wished we were there for longer…
We visited at the end of May where nearly continuous daylight means there was no chance of spotting the northern lights. However, I can imagine that this base would be a good spot to do so in darker months!
So what’s it like?
Don’t let first impressions put you off. Yes, the outside looks like a bit like an American-style motel, located in the middle of a geothermal plant. However, it is super cosy inside and well-appointed, with the friendliest and most helpful owner ever. We also enjoyed the unusual setting.
We stayed in a well-thought out family room, with all our comforts thought of. It is pretty warm in the rooms (a benefit of all that free geothermal energy) so bring cool PJs!
One of the man draws was the cosy guest-lounge, complete with honesty bar and free tea, coffee and hot chocolate. I think my 12 year-old may have had more than 3 cups…. There are plenty of board games available, although be warned that Icelandic Scrabble has some interesting additional letters! My younger son loved the chess board built into a table and I had a go at finishing the communal jigsaw! Guest lounges are often soulless, uninviting spaces. Here, there is an open fire, with lots of squishy sofas and armchairs. I think most guests spent some time in the lounge in the evening and it had a nice buzz…
And what about the food?
We had booked a late dinner at Max’s Restaurant, the hotel’s restaurant. I had an absolutely delicious risotto with prawns, char, langoustine and scallops, whilst my hubby really enjoyed his burger. There were plenty of veggie options for my older son. The puds sounded great but the main course portions were generous and none of us had room. Instead, we took our drinks through to the guest lounge and chilled out there.
A buffet breakfast was included within the room rate and was really good. This was our first taste of homemade skyr (Icelandic yoghurt) and we enjoyed bowls of it, with dried fruit and lots of cinnamon…. As well as typical European cold-cuts, there were also hot dishes of streaky bacon, mini sausages and scrambled eggs. As you will find in most Iceland hotels, there is no fancy coffee, just big urns of strong black coffee, which personally I was very happy with.
Iceland Hotels – Northern Lights Inn – in summary
I would definitely recommend at stay here, I think it was probably our favourite place to stay in our trip. You can book directly with the hotel here. I honestly can’t see the benefit in paying the far higher rates to stay at one of the Blue Lagoon’s own hotels.
We stayed here as the first night on our DIY trip around the Golden Circle. Check out our Iceland page for links to our itinerary and other places to stay and eat. If you are planning a wider trip to northern Europe with kids, you could also have a look at my review of our stay in Billund, Denmark.