Tucked in, off of a road in Hella Iceland, are a series of cabins lining the Ranga River. The cabins are compact with space in between so you're not right on top of your neighbor, but close enough to comfortably hold a conversation if standing outside at the doors. Once you're inside, the room doesn't feel very compact at all though, at least our room wasn't. We had to separate rooms, two to a room, and each of the rooms had three beds. THREE. Even the bathroom was a great size, after the pocket-sized rooms we had in the previous hotel, this felt like an abundance of luxury. The beds were comfortable and the pillows had substance and with an extra bed I could have all the pillows I wanted. I truly felt spoiled in this room!
We weren't in the rooms very often though, or even for very long. When we arrived, we dropped our stuff took quick showers and then went right over to the on-site restaurant for dinner followed by a presentation about the northern lights put on by our tour guide. Then back to the room for just a little bit before bundling up to scan the skies for those tell-tale colors of the Aurora Borealis dancing among the stars! There was some light pollution from a nearby town directly north that impacted our view, but we did manage to see them regardless. Without that bit of light this would be a perfect spot to see the northern lights. The next night there was a decent snow storm, so we enjoyed the room a little longer, but took that opportunity to sleep more. The rooms are well insulated and heat up quickly for the size too, which was awesome to come "home" to after being out in the snow and wind.
The restaurant on site had some delicious food and included local dishes like fillet of lamb and traditional Icelandic "Plokkfiskur", which I ordered and enjoyed. My only complaint was that it was so heavy I couldn't finish it and we had no place to store the leftovers! Combining a catch of the day fish with crusted cheese on top and a Bearnaise sauce made for a very rich dish. Unique items like duck salad, horse tartare, and a minced horse meat patty, the latter of which I had and made for an adventurous meal the first night. It was pretty good, though I didn't think it tasted much different than a beef patty, the demi-glaze sauce on it was excellent and I remember really liking the dressing on my salad, but not knowing what it was. Arhus' menu also consisted of classic staples like soup of the day, pizza, and fish and chips while also offering options for those who are gluten free, lactose intolerant, vegan, and vegetarian.
Take a look at their website and look forward to making travel plans when life goes back to normal! You can book right from there, get more information, and see some more pictures of the cabins, restaurant, and grounds.
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