Hotel Orkin — Hotel in Reykjavik

Such good reviews shame I didn’t have the same experience. I would never considering booking with them again on the service and co-operation I received.

I booked through Expedia on a “book now pay later”, and provided payment details as requested, and ALL contact information The hotel then e-mail me in December requesting I update my payment details as the bank won’t authorise it (my trip was not until March 24). However, their e-mail went into my junk folder so I did not see it, and did not receive a notification.

The hotel then make no efforts to contact me again until 7 days before my booking to request I update payment information, or they will cancel my booking. Luckily this time I was notified so I desperately made efforts to update payment information, however Expedia do not allow you to update payment details after the booking has been made.

Consequently I contact the hotel and offer to update payment details either via phone or email, this was denied, they stated it MUST be done through Expedia, despite me already explaining that an Expedia agent had already confirmed this could not be done. I sent them a screenshot of my message from Expedia confirming this. However the hotel insisted it must be done this way, otherwise they would need to cancel booking.

Both the manager and Expedia advised that I cancel the booking and then make another reservation. Interestingly if I did this I would have been required to pay an additional €250 due to their “2024 rates”……coincidence….i don’t think so.

I explained to the hotel that I did not think this was fair, and I asked to speak with the manager on the phone as it is easier communication. However, was told that they would only communicate with me via e-mail as this was “more convenient” for them, seemingly forgetting about the inconvenience it was causing me 7 days before I travel.

Anyway I contact the hotel yesterday to again discuss to be told I needed to e-mail, but I explained that there is significant delay between messages. The person I spoke to became incredibly defensive and rude telling me “you won’t find another hotel like ours we are the only ones that work”…….and then later told me “you just keep talking over me”, the latter was untrue I just talked a lot because I was understanding stressed about the situation.

I have since messaged again expressing that I feel my concerns are not being heard, have sent them photographic evidence of conversations I have had with Expedia confirming that I cannot update payment details, and even had an Expedia agent contact them to request they don’t cancel the booking.

What response have I had from the hotel today?……NOTHING!!!! They have simply ignored my messages, clearly hoping that I will go beyond my cancellation time so they can charge a fee, cancel the booking, and then get a reservation that charges the higher rate.

I would never book with this hotel again due to how uncooperative and unhelpful the staff have been, and I would advise others to AVOID,...

After the nearby Hilton hotel very rudely kicked us out so they could squeeze as much value as possible out of their room service workers before a labour strike began, we had no choice but to go to the Hotel Orkin for the remainder of our trip. While we were at first worried that it was going to be a low budget experience, a compromise, the Hotel Orkin was a gorgeous place to stay, and just shortly after arriving we were musing to ourselves that we should have stayed there from the very start. The two-level family rooms were phenomenal, letting myself and my brother sleep on the upper floor, while our parents slept downstairs. The view of the gorgeous Icelandic mountains was much better than the view of parking lots we had gotten in the other room. Altogether, the experience was just more Icelandic- where other hotels seem to try and keep a culture-free vibe, Hotel Orkin was unapologetically icelandic, full of newspaper clippings and sailing memorabilia that really gave it a unique and delightful feel. The breakfast, while not anything special, was still delightful, and the staff was nothing but kind, understanding, and helpful in sorting out the rest of our trip (transport to the airport, tour bookings, etc) after the disaster with the Hilton on very short notice. The only complaint I can imagine is that the bathroom in our room was almost comically small, but that's a very minor complaint. After they came through to pull our trip of a lifetime back from the brink of misery, I can't give the Hotel Orkin anything less than 5 stars....

We chose this hotel through Booking[dot]com after reading good reviews about it and knowing it was listed as a pick up place for the tour my family were joining (2 day tour with Nicetravel, which I highly recommend!).

Don't expect any fancy amenities, the hotel room is very basically furnished but clean. My family were given a room with 4 beds (2 beds being upstairs) and the room was a little cramped but as we were only there to sleep, it was manageable. You'll have to bring your own shampoo, soap and toothbrush, but one towel per person is provided, as well as a hairdryer that is attached to the bathroom wall.

After you turn on the taps in the bathroom or in the shower, a strong smell like bad egg comes through, but this is actually from the sulfur that is naturally in the water (strangely it felt like this sulfur smell was only present in water in Reykjavik). As there is no fan in the bathroom, I would highly recommend that you crack open a window to disperse the smell.

Needless to say, DO NOT drink the water that comes from the bathroom taps. The hotel provides tea, coffee, hot and cold water, and homemade cake until 1AM in the morning. Continental breakfast is served from 7AM. Staff are really accomodating and nice - my family were able to place our luggage in storage when we went on a 2 day tour of the rest of iceland before coming back to check in. We also had to check out at 4.30am in the morning to catch our flight, and staff were there to make sure...