Hotel Holt, Reykjavik, Iceland

Hotel Holt is a strange place. My first impression is of a Saloon bar in a Western, but maybe that’s just the type of lettering used to spell out ‘Hotel Holt’ and that holt sounds a bit like colt. I half expect the staff to be wearing cowboy boots. The interior has a distinctly 70s feel to it – lots of leather sofas and chairs in fluid shapes, dark wood, subtle lighting – stylewise, it’s hard to see that it was completely renovated in 1996. Yet Hotel Holt is considered quite ‘establishment’ in Iceland. Maybe the Icelanders are just much cooler than the rest of us, but there is definitely an air of self-assured charm emanating from the Holt.

The largest private collection of art in Iceland – most of it by native artists – covers the walls of the public rooms, lines the corridors and each room is graced with another couple of examples. More inspiring collections are found in the bar, lounge and library – the large number of cognacs and single malts, the books behind the glass doors, and portrait sketches by Kjarval. The award-winning Gallery restaurant is renowned in Iceland and has impressed many over the years both with its art and its cuisine – it is the only Relais & Chateaux in the country.

Each room has an individual layout and décor, and of course a painting or two on display. Imagine a fusion of art gallery, slight kitschness of hotel furniture and a few patterns here and there, and now imagine it all coming together in a rather indescribable but fundamentally pleasing kind of way. Rooms on the 4th floor are a little smaller as they have a balcony and some also benefit from sea views. Only the suites have baths, the rooms have showers. All mod cons are provided – tv, minibar etc. They even have a shoe shining machine on each floor. I’ve always wanted to use one of those…

With only 42 rooms (including 12 suites), Hotel Holt is small enough to give their guests personal attention. Many return again and again, lured by the quirky atmosphere, friendly service and convenient location – on a quiet residential street yet only a few minutes walk from the centre of Reykjavik.