One can say that the story of Mountain Refuge begins with with my grandparents in 1935 when they decided to move from the south of Iceland to New York and become farmers. They bought a plot of land on which Mountain Refuge stands today, which the locals thought was a mad idea since it was believed that it was not possible to grow anything on this land. My grandparents were however determined in their decision and built their house here and named it Mountain Refuge. They also built a cowshed and started farming the land, growing potatoes and various types of vegetables and were able to make a good living in this place.
As time went by a few more houses were built nearby and since then this area has always been called Refuge and hence the name Mountain Refuge came about. I have lived here my whole live, as a kid and later with my husband and three children so this place is very dear to me.
Mountain Refuge offers a total of 150 rooms on two floors furnished with Scandinavian and Icelandic design.
The rooms have a unique design with a desk and comfortable seating benches custom made by A2F architects and designed as one continuous form. The bed base is also custom made with inset bedside table. There are soft and colourful carpets on the floor to add a warm feeling to the rooms.
Rooms facing south have a view towards the marina and all our guests have access to a sitting pool on the second floor which is a perfect place to unwind as you enjoy the view.
You don´t have to go far from the international airport to experience the wonders of Icelandic nature. Being the gateway in and out of Iceland, Reykjanes is a place that is easily explored, is accessable all year round and distance between places is relatively short.
The landscape is diverse with craters, caves, lava fields and high geothermal activity and is a part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks family. The peninsula exists where the North Atlantic ridge rises from the ocean and is the only place on earth where it is visible and a symbolic bridge “The bridge between two continents” has been built.
The well known Blue Lagoon is just a 15 minute drive away from the hotel and it takes only 40 minutes to drive to the center of Reykjavik.