Review: Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton

This is my review of the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel in Iceland, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection.

We stayed here twice over half term last month. Whilst each stay was only for one night, with little time spent in the hotel, it was enough to give a good overview.

We paid cash for both stays and the hotel didn’t know we were reviewing it. To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to review it, until I arrived and discovered how pleasant it was.

The hotel website is here.

If you’re wondering what we did in Iceland, we’ve done a separate article today showing some of the places we visited. It was a short trip – only four nights away – but it will give you a feel for the country.

As one of Hilton’s ‘collection’ brands, Curio brings together high-end independent boutique properties, letting you earn and spend Hilton Honors points and enjoy your Hilton Honors status benefits at additional hotels.

Curio hotels are of a high standard but do not have to meet strict Hilton ‘brand standards’, allowing the operators to exercise their creativity. We’ve generally been very impressed by the Curio Collection hotels we’ve visited.

Iceland has a reputation for being very expensive. This is true, although when you live in West London it’s less of a shock than you expect. That said, it is still easy to blow £200 on an average dinner for a family of four with no alcohol.

Reykjavik used to be a place ignored by the big global hotels groups, except for the Hilton Nordica which is not downtown. In recent years Hilton has really gone for it and there are now four properties in Reykjavik – a Canopy, two Curio hotels and the Nordica.

Apart from that, branded options are a bit thin. IHG has nothing, Hyatt has nothing, Accor has nothing (an ibis opens in May), Radisson has one (behind the Konsulat, looks ok) and Marriott has four, mainly via Design Hotels.

Marriott’s The Reykjavik EDITION is the most expensive place in town, but I struggle to recommend it based on walking past it a few times. It is far pricier than the Konsulat – which is under two minutes walk away – and is currently hemmed in by construction. Only consider the EDITION if you are willing to pay for a harbour view as this is the one thing the Konsulat doesn’t have.

The Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel location

With the entire country having under 400,000 people, and Reykjavik under 125,000, this isn’t a big place. Whilst the city centre does sprawl, the core tourist and shopping area seems to be centred around the Konsulat.

You have the harbour to one side, the (few) global brand stores downtown directly outside your door and, a minute to the east, the start of Laugavegur. Laugavegur is a long pedestrianised street which is almost entirely dominated by independent stores, bars and restaurants and well worth a visit.

It’s important to note that Reykjavik seems to have a drinking / partying culture and many hotels warn you that you will experience disturbance from blaring music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Having stayed in the Konsulat on a Saturday night, I can say that you won’t be disturbed apart from a bit of drunken singing!

Inside the Reykjavik Konsulat

This is a fairly new hotel, when you adjust for covid, having opened in 2018. In truth it looks like it opened last week.

The hotel used to be a department store. It is triangular shaped with shopping streets running down both sides. There is no sign of its former life apart from the many photographs – some dating back a century – of how it used to be.

The key thing to know about this hotel is that it is beautifully designed. If you’ve stayed in one of the more eclectic Hotel Indigo properties, eg Bath, you may recognise the style. It is quirky, distinctive and very homely.

Reykjavik is cold, Reykjavik is snowy. The hotel has deliberately created a warm and cosy atmosphere. The photos don’t really give you the feeling that being there in person, looking at all the snow outside whilst you are warm inside, offers.

Here’s the lobby bar for example:

(This review has more PR photographs than usual. This is because we spent little time in the hotel, especially during daylight, and opportunities to get well lit photos free of people were limited.)

Here’s the reception area:

If you like the look of these spaces, you’ll be happy here.

The Konsulat hotel has no restaurant. It serves breakfast, as you’ll see, and from 2pm the breakfast room becomes a wine bar with a ‘small bites’ menu. You’ll need to venture outside for a proper lunch or dinner, but given the location this is not a problem. There are probably 50 options within a five minute walk.

Rooms at The Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel

For our first one night stay here I struck lucky. My Hilton Honors Diamond status got me upgraded from a Deluxe room to a full one bedroom suite.

(Note that I hadn’t booked the cheapest room because I wanted more space. Booking a Deluxe, which is slightly higher than the cheapest room category, probably helped my upgrade chances. On my second stay three days later we were not upgraded, but the hotel was totally sold out.)

The suites are in the prow of the building. If you look at the photo at the top of the article you see the room we had on the top floor.

The living area was directly in the prow and triangular:

Everything looks brand new and is well designed. Here’s the other angle:

There is a decent desk as you can see, plus a coffee machine hidden by the lamp to the right. There was a free minibar but all it contained was four bottles of water. Note the historical photography, which continues into the bedroom (and the corridors, and basically everywhere).

From this angle, the bedroom is to your left as you walk towards the entrance and the bathroom to the right. Here’s the bedroom – it was a bit smaller than the photo implies, to be honest:

The bathroom was large but tricky to photograph because of the shape. You need to trust me that there was a large bath, a large but single sink, a large shower and a loo, with everything in its own area. Toiletries were by L’Occitane (large bottles) which I haven’t seen in a hotel for years.

A Deluxe room at the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel

When we returned three days we were not upgraded. I certainly couldn’t complain about my Deluxe room, however, which was equally as attractive as the suite:

Here’s the bathroom:

Breakfast

Breakfast is served just off the lobby in the area which operates as a wine bar in the afternoon and evening.

There is no a la carte option so you are left with the buffet. This isn’t huge, because the hotel itself isn’t huge, but what was there was decent. Everything you’d expect from an upscale boutique hotel buffet was present and correct.

My only gripe was that you had to get your own coffee and use a machine. I would have preferred a fresh carafe brought to our table.

In the basement ….

You might think that you’d seen everything, given that this is a small-ish boutique hotel. But no …..

Take the lift to the basement and you’ll find a hot tub and steam room:

There’s also a gym:

Conclusion

We’d booked our 2nd stay at the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel on a fully flexible rate, just in case, but we knew within minutes of arriving for the first stay that we wouldn’t be cancelling. It is a lovely looking and ‘feels new’ hotel and I would go back in an instant, despite the lack of a formal restaurant.

In terms of price, it’s best to look at the four Hilton properties and The Reykjavik EDITION (Marriott) in order.

The EDITION will always, by a large margin, be the priciest and I can’t see what would justify it. Of the three niche Hilton properties, the Iceland Parliament Hotel (very close to the Konsulat), the Konsulat and the Canopy (has a noise warning) are similarly priced albeit with daily variations. The Hilton Nordica is noticeably cheaper but is a big hotel used by tour groups. It is also in a bad location for walking around Reykjavik.

In terms of hard cash, rooms start at around £250 per night at this time of year, and £350 – £400 in summer. Hilton Honors redemptions are decent value in the summer as the three downtown hotels, including the Konsulat, are capped at 80,000 points per night.

You can find out more about the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel on its website here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.