This Hotel in Iceland Has a Genius Way to Ensure You See the Northern Lights

25.09.2024 - 14:42 / matadornetwork.com

Iceland is known as one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights, as it sits just south of the Arctic Circle and is known for clear winter skies. But with numerous outdoor activities ranging from coastal hiking to horseback riding and trekking through ice caves, it’s a bit hard to stay awake every night to watch the skies.

But one hotel has a clever solution for that, effectively offering the northern lights on demand: Hotel Rangá. It’s a welcoming, warm, and gorgeous hotel in southern Iceland, sitting roughly equidistant between Reykjavik and the town of Vik (known as the starting point for volcanic adventures near Mount Katla). Here’s what to expect if you book a stay — including how to take advantage of the hotel’s genius northern lights wake up call.

Photo: Hotel Ranga/Paige Deas

Hotel Rangá has just over 50 rooms, ranging from Standard rooms to Master Suites. Of note are the Junior Suites, which have some of the most impressive theming of any hotel I’ve seen, with one suite themed after each continent. Hotel Rangá’s owner worked with buyers and travelers from around the world to source materials and furnishings for each room from that specific continent. The South America Suite has lamps sourced from Uruguay and a ceiling designed to look like Andean peaks; the Australian Suite has a bathroom designed to look like a beach hut and inlays of stained-glass kangaroos. You may have seen the Africa Suite on Instagram before, as Kim Kardashian stayed there while filming an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” in 2016.

I stayed in a Deluxe Room (one of the simpler rooms), which was as pretty as could be. Every room in the hotel has a custom painting on the wall above the bed, done by local artists to depict cultural and beloved aspects of the country. My room also had a big bathtub and small sitting area with a couch.

A Deluxe room. Photo: Suzie Dundas

But the very best part of the room was the door opening to a patio area and stunning views of Iceland’s mountains. Also right outside the patios were three wooden, oversized hot tubs, meaning I could go from my warm, cozy room to an outdoor hot tub overlooking some of the most stunning landscapes in the world in about three seconds.

I found nothing at all bad to say about the rooms — other than the fact that the blackout curtains did a great job. So getting up early in the morning was a little tough, especially when it was still dark outside. But that’s more of a credit to how cozy the beds were than it is a ding on the rooms.

Photo: Suzie Dundas

Hotel Rangá is pretty remote, so you’ll probably do most of your meals at the hotel. It has one big dining room with glass walls, plus a bar with drink service on the main or top floor lounge.