HOSTEL REVIEW – Loft Hostel – Reykjavik, Iceland

 

When I headed to Iceland I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get up to – freediving Silfra being the main aim of the game – but I also had another pretty important decision to make…which hostel would I be sleeping in whist staying in Reykjavik?

I had a few recommendations from friends but the amount of people I knew who’d travelled to Iceland was rather sparse so I did a good bit of research myself.

When I came across Loft Hostel I was pretty sold – central location, nice looking rooms, free wifi (always heap important for a blogger!) and even a rooftop terrace…that pretty much ticks all the boxes for me!

Unfortunately due to the last minute nature of my booking they only had an 8 bed dorm available (not really complaining it’s just travelling with the Povester a double room would’ve been ideal!haha!) so it was booked and I was on my way.

 

Easy To Find

The first thing I had to do was locate the place – luckily for me after a morning relaxing in the Blue Lagoon and having been up since 4am it was slap bang in the middle of Reykjavik and super easy to find.

The reception is on the top floor (there is a lift if you’re feeling lazy) which is also the location of the bar, communal area and rooftop terrace – so when you check in you instantly get a feel for the place.

All manner of travellers were bustling around, enjoying a cold pint of Gull (the local beer), checking emails and chatting on the sofas. Loft is one of those places where you instantly feel at ease and you can tell it’s full of good vibes.

 

A Good Nights Sleep?

Now the biggest need of any hostel is a good nights sleep – you are paying for a bed after all. Loft has one of those genius pod type setups; bed, your own personal light, shelf and charging point.

The only thing really missing is a lockable door to enclose it – but there are unde bed lockers for your stuff too.

Given the fact Iceland is bright 247 during the summer months (seriously the midnight sun is super disorientating!) I was stoked to discover they had back out blinds!

The rooms themselves were crazy big by hostel standards – with plenty of space to sprawl out your stuff or sit on the floor for a game of ring of fire!

They’ve also been sensible enough to split the en suite into two rooms – one with the shower and another with the toilet – which is something I think many hostels overlook the need for when sharing with 8 other backpackers!

An 8 bed dorm comes in around £17.50 with a double room (inc en suite) setting you back around £50 per night.

It’s not the cheapest hostel you’ll ever stay in but it’s on par with other Icelandic accommodation options I looked at.

 

Added Extras

I’ve already touched on some of them but Loft really did come packed with heaps of facilities; bar, terrace, en suite, communal area, free wifi, breakfast (it worked out about £5 to include this which is well priced for Iceland and is a pretty amazing spread of bagels, granola, cereal, croissants and fruit!), a kitchen and even a booking service if you need to arrange any day trips, transfers or onwards travel around the country.

The staff were always friendly and helpful – in fact when I stupidly missed the pickup for one of my day trips they rang the supplier, helped me find an alternative tour and use their phone to rebook it, what legends!

The communal are has a super chilled vibe with heaps of entertainment each night – ranging from group cooking to live bands so you’re never short of something to do. The Reykjavik nightlife is just a short walking distance from the front door too – as are the majority of the shops and restaurants.

 

Loft Living

Overall everything I expect and need from hostel life was beautiful delivered by the Loft team. A good nights sleep, a clean and comfortable base for my stay and all the amenities you need to make your trip that little bit easier and homely.

They come highly recommended by me!

 

To help your budgeting a bit though they’ve been kind enough to offer Backpacker Banter readers 10% off their stay too – just email them direct on [email protected] and quote the discount code BPB10

 

• Atmosphere; 4/5

• Cleanliness; 5/5

• Facilities; 5/5

• Value; 4/5 (expensive for a hostel but totally in line with Icelandic costs!)

 

For more info check out their website – www.lofthostel.is – and their Facebook page too.

**PLEASE NOTE – I received a complimentary stay at Loft, but rest assure all opinions are honest and my own**