My wife and I stayed at the Konsulat for 4 nights last September using Hilton points. We both loved it. As a Diamond, we were upgraded to a larger room without requesting one. We arrived at 9:00 AM, and while the room was not ready yet, we were told it would be within the hour and told to unwind and have complimentary breakfast in the restaurant. I thought this would be a small continental breakfast, but they had everything you could want. It was extensive. We are both in our 60's and looking to actually relax a little bit on our vacations rather than rushing all over the countryside like we have in the past trying to see everything and arriving home more exhausted than when we left, so we actually looked forward to a leisurely breakfast before heading out to explore. The restaurant and the waitstaff helped us accomplish this.
While there was construction and our room faced it, it began around 8:00 AM and we were already up, so this never bothered us. On the first day we took a tour bus to get acquainted with the city. It took about one hour roundtrip. Except for a few of the stops, we found that most sights were easily walkable from the centrally located hotel. The one thing I will always remember about Reykjavik is the constant winds that we encountered. It just never stopped. We walked towards the harbor and up to the church, visiting shops and sampling some local foods that caught our interest along the way. That evening, we ate at a small hotel recommended Italian Restaurant just down the street. It was excellent. We went to the Konsulat bar for a few beers before retiring for the evening. Very comfortable and the bartender was the entertainment because of the animated way he made the drinks.
On the 2nd and 3rd day I rented a car from Sixt. They picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off when we returned the car each day. We drove North on the first day of our rental and were in awe of the different landscapes we encountered. The climate and weather seemed to change about every 15 minutes, cloudy and misty one minute and than bright sunshine the next. We witnessed many rainbows throughout the day.
The next day we ventured to Vik and Black Sand Beach. The first thing you notice when leaving the city is the constant rotten egg smell of sulfuric gases and volcanic rock formations. It reminds you that you are standing on an active volcanic area, The winds also picked up. We went off the route many times to view waterfalls and glaciers. We arrived at Vik around 12:30, saw the scenery and headed back to Reykjavik stopping at a few places we bypassed on the way out. We arrived back at Sixt around closing time. I can't emphasize enough how great it was to have found an car rental agency that picked you up and dropped you off at the hotel. Dinner was had in the area and we ended the day at the bar like we did the day before.
Back to the hotel. The Konsulat outperformed our expectations. The room and bed were comfortable. The shower in the bathroom was unbelievably good. The staff was extremely professional but friendly and helpful. The hotel is in a perfect location to everything in the city. If we venture back to Iceland, this will be where we stay.