FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Iceland, Spain & Morocco via IcelandAir Business Class & British Airways First Class
Old Dec 12, 2018, 4:50 am
  #6  
worldtraveller73
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,607
Hotel 101, A Member of Design Hotels,
Reykjavik, Iceland.
Double Room



We got out of the airport hall after about 1 hr and forty minutes. We purchased a FlyBus from the airport counter for 2,890 Icelandic króna and another hidden 950 króna fee for the hotel van transfer from the bus depot. Our ride in was about 45 minutes, along with a few random stops for other guests at hotels along the way. The landscape between the airport and the city was very barren and resolute.

There aren’t many franchised or points options for hotels in Reykjavik. There was a Hilton Canopy and the Hotel 101 under Starwood Preferred Guest in the downtown area, in addition to a Hilton outside of the immediate downtown area. We ended up at the Hotel 101 which is under the Design Hotels brand. This was in part due to the fact that I was nearing Lifetime Gold Status under the legacy brands and needed to maximize stays prior to year end. The hotel was good, if not a pricy, choice.

After being dropped off by the FlyBus shuttle, we arrived to the Hotel 101 at about 8 AM. Our room wasn’t ready at that time and we were recommended to “wait” in the lobby. Most flight arrivals from the Americas seem to arrive into Iceland early in the morning. As a result, we had to prepare ourselves to handle the fact that we weren’t likely to get our hotel room for quite some time on our arrival day. Instead, we dropped the bags and headed out for a city tour. There is more on our sightseeing shortly. When the room became available at 2 PM, we moved right in.





We presented a credit card and were signed in at the front desk. We were given room #205, which was a Deluxe Room with a Queen bed. The room had a minimialist look to it, which I actually didn’t mind.





The room was nicely appointed. It had a mini bar, DVD player and even a Bang and Olufsen stereo. The room was a bit compact; compact enough that there wasn’t enough room to have a lounging chair or sofa.



There was small complimentary water available.



The bathroom had an offset counter, which took a little getting used to.







The room did have a very nice view over Arnarhöll park. The park contained a statue that celebrated Iceland’s first settler named Ingólfur Arnarhöll. The cranes represented the new construction efforts of Iceland now that investment is coming back into the country after the banking collapse ten years ago.



One of the best features of the property was it’s excellent location to the pedestrian market areas of Laugavegur and Skólavöröustigur

The lobby of the Hotel 101 was a small but quaint space. There was a small lounge that led to the restaurant. The lounge always had a fire going, which made the place feel very comfortable and like home.











The breakfast room is seen below. We never visited since there are so many excellent breakfast cafés’ around Reykjavik. There is also no SPG Platinum Breakfast offered at Design Hotels.





There was a small and basic gym and spa in the basement of the property. We never used it on the stay.





There were no real SPG Platinum Benefits here. Breakfast was conveniently not included in the Design program; breakfast was offered at 2,900 Icelandic Króna / $23 USD. We did get a nice room assignment facing the park, instead of inwards towards another room or building. In other remarks, I did have a minor issue with Starwood Preferred Guest in getting room credit and points for this stay. I had to fill a missing request for the missing stay, which was ultimately resolved in one business day.

In summary, the Hotel 101 was an enjoyable stay. The only drawbacks were how pricey it was to stay and that it was a challenge to find any substantial discounts. I would easily stay here again.
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