Hotel Budir

Iceland’s most iconic country hotel offers romance, history, fairytales and gourmet dining in an impossibly wild setting beside a mystical glacier

It’s all about the location. Hotel Budir (pronounced ‘boothir’) is a 2-hour drive from Reykjavik on the dramatic Snaefellsnes peninsula. To say that the scenery is staggering doesn’t do it justice: extinct volcanoes tower over the road, herds of shaggy Icelandic ponies huddle against the wind and occasional colourful farmhouses scattered beneath the mountains resemble children’s toys because of the scale. At the end of it all, Snaefellsjökull glacier points right up to the heavens, looking to the west as far as Greenland.

Budir is a small country hotel with lashings of tradition, set next to a wide and windswept sandy beach and a romantic church. Seals bob around the inlet, while in the downstairs bar a display of the hotel’s history gives you an idea of what you’ve got into. One wall is covered with an artist’s impressions of Icelandic fairytales; another has pictures of the hotel dating back to its inception, including its legendary 1970s ‘flower children’ phase, when guests partied for days under the midnight sun. In the gourmet restaurant (frequently rated one of the best in the country) are captivating antique lithographs of whale hunting and local wildlife. This is a wilderness retreat par excellence.

Highs

• This is Iceland’s most iconic country hotel, with a wealth of hippy history behind it
• The food is lip-smackingly fresh and exciting, and the restaurant service is excellent
• The dramatic landscape of this peninsula (volcanoes, glaciers, lighthouses and shipwrecks) is absolutely mind-blowing
• You can watch seals play in the sea from the bar and maybe even spot the odd whale from the shore
• The bar has all the hallmarks of a fantastic all-night party setting

Lows

• The style is antique rather than the height of luxury - don’t expect all mod-cons
• It’s some distance from the nearest large town, so bring everything with you that you think you’ll need (including toiletries)
• Menus change on a daily basis and you don’t have much choice - phone ahead to check if you’re picky
• Rooms either have a shower or a bath; few have both
• It’s so remote that you’ll need to hire a car