The best hotel in town, Hotel Borg is a Reykjavík landmark in its own right, an imposing and attractive Art Deco building that overlooks Austurvöllur, a popular and bustling public square. Rooms are rather gorgeous with leather furnishings and large, marble en suite bathrooms – as Art Deco as the rest of the building. Staff at the Borg are renowned for their friendly attentiveness and the concierge service is first-class, on hand to arrange any number of activities, from cinema and theatre tickets to guided fishing or horseback-riding tours.
Eat
The hotel is attached to a Jamie's Italian – the first step into the country for Mr Oliver's signature brand of authentic Italian cuisine. Whether you're stopping in for a coffee and a bite or a three-course dinner, you'll be entertained with everything from stone-baked pizzas to delightfully garlicky prawn linguine. The menu is also graced with a welcome selection of Icelandic ingredients, with highlights including Icelandic cheese and fresh fish caught that morning.
Sleep
Each room here feels a little different to the next thanks to small individual touches, but all are luxurious, and include heated marble floors in the bathrooms, bespoke fittings and designer brands including funky, futuristic furniture from Phillippe Starck and soundsystems by Bang & Olufsen.
Do
The hotel’s perfect location in the heart of the Icelandic capital makes it a prime spot for viewing the city’s attractions. Austurvöllur square is home to the Alþingishúsið, the national parliament building and the city’s main cathedral, Dómkirkjan, as well as a patchwork of buzzy bars and cool cafés, and is a hub of Icelandic cultural life. Chic shopping is to be found on the city’s main thoroughfare, Laugavegur, while the extraordinary concertina structure of Hallgrímskirkja dominates the skyline.
