A 38-room minimalist boutique founded in 2003 by Ingibjörg Pálmadóttir — Iceland's first Member of Design Hotels — with an original collection of Icelandic contemporary art and a 12-metre indoor pool.
"Ingibjörg Pálmadóttir's 38-room project — the building that put Reykjavík hotel design on the map. Restrained Nordic minimalism, white oak, original works by Erró and Ragnar Kjartansson on every floor. The country's connoisseur boutique."
101 Hotel — taking its name from Reykjavík's central postal code, which covers the entirety of the historic core — opened in October 2003 as the personal project of Ingibjörg Pálmadóttir, the Icelandic businesswoman, art collector and longtime managing director of Iceland's largest department store, who restored the 1930s former Iceland Telecom office building at Hverfisgata 10 across two years to a deliberately minimalist Nordic boutique-design vocabulary. The architectural collaborator was Reykjavík practice Pk Arkitektar; the interior decision was Pálmadóttir's: white-oak floors, white-painted walls hung with original works from Pálmadóttir's personal collection of Icelandic contemporary art (Erró, Ragnar Kjartansson, Birgir Andrésson), restrained black-and-white photography, and the deliberate absence of curtains in favour of frosted glass on every street-facing room. The hotel was admitted as Iceland's first Member of Design Hotels in 2004 and remained the country's only such property until 2018.
The 38 rooms — including 5 suites — are arranged across the building's four floors. Standard categories at 24 square metres begin at the Hverfisgata street side; Premium and Suite categories face quieter inner-courtyard or upper-floor positions. The Hverfisgata-facing rooms include double-glazed soundproofing — a necessary 2003 design decision given the proximity to the Laugavegur retail axis. The Top Suite at 65 square metres is the milestone unit, with a private balcony, restored 1930s parquet preserved, and a curated selection of original works rotated quarterly from the property's collection. Bathrooms throughout are matte-black marble; bath products are Sóley Organics, the Icelandic herbalist brand founded in 2010 and stocked at 101 since 2012.
101 Restaurant runs the all-day programme on the ground floor, with a contemporary Icelandic register; 101 Bar adjacent runs the evening cocktail and aperitivo programme — the hotel's small bar has been a Reykjavík cultural-set evening destination since opening, with the original-art programme on the walls a deliberate pull. The basement spa programme is the property's signature wellness component — a 12-metre indoor heated pool (rare for any Reykjavík city-centre hotel), hammam, sauna, and a small treatment programme. The fitness centre is on the lower-ground level.
The Hverfisgata position is the booking decision. From the front door it is two minutes to Laugavegur, three minutes to Hallgrímskirkja via Skólavörðustígur, four minutes to Tjörnin pond, six minutes to Harpa, and ten minutes to the Old Harbour. For travellers wanting the design-and-art-and-pool boutique brief at the four-star price point — particularly for solo travellers and couples without the wellness-resort commitment of the Retreat — 101 is the right answer. The EDITION is the harbour-and-Schrager alternative; 101 is the Pálmadóttir-and-art alternative.
For art-collecting honeymooners wanting the central walking-Reykjavík design-boutique base over the EDITION's larger-scale alternative, 101 is the right answer. Top Suite for the headline; private viewing of the Pálmadóttir collection on the staff's curator-led walkthrough.
The right Reykjavík solo-base booking. The Standard category, the 12-metre pool as the morning anchor, the 101 Bar handles solo dining at the bar without ceremony, and the Hverfisgata position keeps walking distances trivial.
A milestone-anniversary booking that prioritises the design-and-art proposition. Top Suite with the rotating art selection, dinner at 101 Restaurant, and the curator-led collection walkthrough as the staff's signature anniversary set-up.
Hverfisgata 10
101 Reykjavík
Iceland
Laugavegur 2 min on foot; Hallgrímskirkja 3 min; Tjörnin 4 min; Harpa 6 min; Old Harbour 10 min; Keflavík Airport 50 min by car
38 rooms (incl. 5 suites)
Standard from €380/night
Premium from €490/night
Junior Suite from €720/night
Top Suite from €1,200/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened October 2003
Member of Design Hotels — Iceland's first
101 Restaurant
101 Bar — cocktails and aperitivo
12m indoor heated pool
Hammam, sauna, treatment menu
Original Pálmadóttir art collection
1930s former Iceland Telecom building
Sóley Organics bath products
From €380/night. Top Suite books four months ahead for July midnight-sun and December–January aurora season. 101 Restaurant reservations recommended at booking.
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