Torfhús Retreat

We just enjoyed a wonderful stay in the Lodge for New Year. Four fantastic nights, the lodge was simply stunning. So comfortable and the sauna, hot bath and cold plunge were amazing. We were lucky enough to see some incredible northern lights shows on several days which felt very special. The absolute stars of the trip were the delightful Seb and Elle who looked after us incredibly well. Nothing was any trouble at all and they really went all out to help us enjoy our time in the lodge. The food choices were ideal and the cooking was unbelievable. Everything that they set up and the overall attention they showed us was outstanding. They made our son feel very special and looked after too which was very kind. We would recommend everything about our trip to the Torfhus. It was bliss!

The good - service in the restaurant was stellar and employees go over the top. The layout of the hotel is very cool with three rooms together in each section. You do have to walk outside to get to the main facility but it isn’t a terribly long distance. The Bad - the beds stink and the comforters are two tiny ones for a shared bed. It doesn’t make for a good sleeping experience. Our back door couldn’t be locked so whenever the front door was opened, the back door would open up due to a wind tunnel. I reported this to the front desk but they didn’t fix it. I would also say that the restaurant is a bit pretentious. Not everyone wants a fixed menu with nothing revealed until the food is served. While they took dietary restrictions into account, the substitutions were lack luster. I understand what they are going for but it comes off as very high and mighty.

Wonderful hotel with great service and terrific food in a gorgeous location. It looks like a postcard! We stayed in the 2 bedroom houses, which was great for us as a couple as it gave us a bit more room. It had a private hot tub, which was great. The staff was wonderful, the food in the dining room is superb - varied and inventive menu. The cabin was perfect and had lots of amenities. The setting is spectactular. Beautiful views of the mountains. They provide a northern lights wakeup call, so you know if there are northern lights and you don't have to watch for them yourself. It is a great place to see the northern lights because it is so open.

This place is straight up magical. We stayed for two nights in late June with a family of 4 and were mesmerized. We didn't check in until close to 10pm but Leo did an incredible job making us feel welcome, bringing us some wine and even some incredible french fries for our kids. We spent both late evenings in the hot tub which was a great experience given the Icelandic weather where one second it is sunny and the next raining and windy. The dinner, while expensive, was a great experience and they kept the wine flowing as part of the pairing. The room that dinner is served in is very special with incredible views of the property and viking-like styling. The breakfast buffet was also delicious and had enough items to keep everyone in the family happy. While you likely won't need to eat lunch on property, be aware that they don't serve it so you will have to go off-property in case you are just hanging around for the day and not off seeing sites. The overall setting is beautiful with fields and horses in view. Each house is far enough away from the next to feel relatively private. The concierges that I emailed while planning our trip were super helpful in coordinating a private SuperJeep tour which we took for the day into the Þjórsárdalur Valley and all the way to Landmannalaugar in the Highlands. I highly recommend this day trip as it is somewhat off the beaten path and we experienced some landscapes that were totally different than what we saw throughout the South Coast and Golden Circle. If you do this trip, make sure to coordinate for bagged lunches at least 24 hours in advance as we did not and had to stop at a local 7-eleven style market to grab lunch items. If I were to come to Iceland again, I would make this my home base and do excursions from here rather than splitting my time with a few nights in Reykjavik. It is that beautiful and unique of an experience. Thanks Torfhus for such a fantastic family experience!

Let me preface this review by saying that my wife and I travel a lot, and have stayed in a range of hotels from high-end to not so high end. If you want a ‘retreat’ to get away from it all then this is the place for you. It’s (reasonably) isolated, quiet and calming. There’s none of the buzz and noise of the bigger hotels. And the staff are welcoming, pleasant and helpful. However, I have two less than positive comments. The first is that we would have expected robes, slippers and toiletries. The rooms are small and minimal, reflecting the ecological ethos of the hotel, but since they are also high cost, greater attention to in-room guest comfort would be reasonable. The second is the restaurant. I’m happy with the idea of the chef not deciding what to cook until they know what’s available on the day. What I’m very unhappy with is not being told the menu when sitting down to dinner. Among other things, it can make wine choices challenging. As much as we tried, waiting staff would not tell us what we were about to eat. Apart pushing guests into opting for the wine pairing, it smacks of arrogance on the part of the chef and hotel management (‘we know best and the customer doesn’t). Having said that the wine pairing (and sommelier) was good even if it makes the meal more expensive. Needless to say, we opted out of dinner for our remaining two nights and ate at local restaurants, which were good. It’s a shame that this hotel, which was billed as the potential highlight of our Icelandic road trip, turned out not to be the case.

My husband and I had the best couple of days at this beautiful retreat! The bedroom and bathroom were perfect and a particular mention to Doddi for his amazing service! Also, to the chef the food was outstanding. We ate at the restaurant both nights and it was exceptional we absolutely loved it all. We had the wine pairing both nights and it was really excellent! Thank you all for a wonderful stay in a beautiful and special place. PS We said yes to the wake up call and saw the Northern lights ...fabulous experience!