At first I was skeptical of the Reykjavik Hotel Natura. During my recent trip to Iceland, I wanted to stay downtown, but wound up booked out in the boonies. However, my six nights there convinced me it was a great hotel for somebody with my interests: fitness, nature, running and vegetarian food. Here are eight attributes of the Natura that won me over.

 

Proximity to trails and paths.  Right across the street from the Natura, a hill called Öskjuhlíð rises up. This is Reykjavik’s designated outdoor area, with paved and dirt trails crisscrossing woods planted in the ’50s. Since Iceland has a three-month growing season, the trees aren’t too tall, but there are a lot of them. You can walk, jog or rent a bike from the Natura.

 

Yoga room. The rooms at the Natura are on the small side, so it can be hard to fit your sun salutations between bed and chair. Not to worry. Downstairs has a spacious yoga room, complete with mats, candles and a switch for multiple lighting options. Lovely wood floor.

 

Fitness room. Next to the yoga room is a small gym. You’ll find two decent treadmills, jump ropes, a multi-purpose machine for doing about 40 different exercises, dumbbells and barbells. Plus, waterfall photo wallpaper to remind you that you’re in Iceland. I fell in love with the 3 kg weights, a perfect halfway point between the 5 pound and 8 pound dumbbells so prevalent in gyms back home.

 

Walk to cemetery and geothermal beach. I skipped the Natura’s pool and hot tub, which would have cost me an extra 12 bucks or so, opting to instead walk to the geothermal beach. This local spot features a lagoon where hot water is added to sea water to make it suitable for swimming. At least for tougher people than me. After a 30-second dip in the heated sea, I retired to the long hot tub instead. Very pleasant local hangout and only costs about $4. Also near the Natura, you can walk through a large cemetery. As a cemetery fan, I enjoyed poking around and noting local tombstone styles. A favorite was little birds perched atop stones gazing down at the names of the deceased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast buffet. I feared I’d starve in Iceland, what with the love of eating sea creatures and sheep. But the Natura had tons of food for me. And they even stock soy milk! What bliss I felt adding it to my coffee, granola and porridge. I was also excited to find Tabasco for the potatoes and vegetarian baked beans. Choose from about 10 kinds of breads and pastries, fresh fruit, a few salad vegetables and, for dairy lovers, lots of yogurt.

 

Free bus tickets. You might be a 25-minute walk from town, but the Natura will loan you a bus pass during your stay. The number 19 bus stops right out front.

Stylish seating areas. Tired of inhabiting your hotel room? Come downstairs and lounge in the lounge, read in the library, people watch in the lobby. All very Nordic chic.

 

Elf rock. Iceland is known for its population of hidden people, elves and trolls. Some people claim they can see them, others lack that gift. Outside the Natura, you can sit on an elf rock – it’s marked with a sign – where supposedly some elves live. Unfortunately, I twice tried to commune with elves there, but seem to lack the gift.

 

Moss. Each room at the Natura has a theme. The basic rooms are all modeled on nature. I spent six nights in a moss-themed room, with large photos of mossy rocks on my walls. Sort of looked like my backyard. What could make a Pacific Northwesterner feel more at home than that?