Iceland Parliament Hotel: Where the City's History Becomes Your Office
- Sarah
- Mar 5
- 4 min read
Reykjavik doesn't do anything halfway. It's a city that hands you midnight sun in summer and pitch-black mornings in winter, geothermal pools bubbling up next to the ocean, and a food scene that shouldn't be as good as it is. So when I found out the Iceland Parliament Hotel sits right next to Austurvöllur Square — the beating heart of the city — I expected something special. What I didn't expect was a hotel that would make me rethink the whole "work trip to Iceland" concept entirely.
This is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's generic. Seven historically protected buildings — once home to the national telecom company, a school, and Independence Hall — were stitched together by Italian architect Paolo Gianfrancesco into something that feels unmistakably Icelandic. Custom furniture made by local artisans fills each of the 163 rooms, and no two rooms are quite the same. Mine had wood floors, a king bed with woolen throws, and that specific kind of quiet that makes you feel like the city is yours alone.
The Work Setup
Reykjavik hotel rooms are not always generous, which makes this one stand out. Mine was a proper 333 square feet — enough that the desk didn't feel like an afterthought squeezed between the bed and the wall. It's a real desk, with real space for a laptop and notes side by side, outlets exactly where you need them, and a chair you can sit in for hours without your back staging a protest. The 55-inch TV doubles as a presentation screen for rehearsing slides before calls. A Nespresso machine and a fully stocked, complimentary minibar handle the rest.
Free WiFi holds strong throughout the property — no dead zones, no lag during video calls. There's an Executive Lounge on the 5th floor that I didn't get access to on this stay — but if your rate includes it, that's where I'd be when the lobby gets too social, and you need heads-down focus time. And the ground floor, home to Iceland's largest private art collection, has a strange energizing effect — look up from your screen, catch a piece that stops you, and somehow that 10-second pause resets your brain better than any scheduled break.
The Parliament Spa
There's a particular kind of tired that comes from a full day of calls followed by two hours of wandering a new city, and the Parliament Spa was built for exactly that moment. It runs on geothermal water — Iceland being Iceland — with a hot tub, sauna, steam room, and cold-mist room that you can move through in whatever order feels right. Hotel suite guests receive access to the spa. Block out an hour at the end of your workday before dinner. You'll log off feeling like a person again.
Eating and Drinking
Hjá Jóni, the hotel's restaurant right on Austurvöllur Square, earns its place on your schedule. Local ingredients, international technique, and a room that manages to feel both lively and unhurried — the kind of spot that works whether you're meeting someone for lunch after a morning of back-to-back calls or sitting solo with a glass of wine after a few hours of city exploration. I went for the soup and a mushroom risotto that I'm still thinking about — the kind of meal that makes you slow down and actually taste what's in front of you. The lunch service hits a sweet spot: enough energy to feel social, unhurried enough that you're not rushed back to your desk. The Telebar in the lobby handles the in-between moments well — good cocktails, Icelandic art on the walls, the right amount of ambient noise for winding down without fully switching off.
The Location
Hallgrímskirkja is a 6-minute walk. The harbor is six minutes. Laugavegur shopping street — Reykjavik's main artery for coffee shops, bookstores, and the best puffin-themed merchandise you'll ever buy and immediately regret — is a 19-minute stroll. You're in the 101 postal code, which is the neighborhood Reykjavik residents claim as their own, and for good reason.
A practical note: when you land at Keflavik Airport, grab the Flybus. It drops you at Bus Stop #1, which is less than a three-minute walk from the hotel door. The hotel doesn't offer parking, so if you're arriving by car, City Hall has paid parking nearby — worth knowing before you show up with a rental.
SARAH'S RECS
Start in the art collection — walk it before you open your laptop. It sets the mood for the whole day.
Have lunch at Hjá Jóni — the mushroom risotto alone is worth sitting down for.
Go to the Parliament Spa in the evening — after a day of work and exploring, it's a genuinely restorative hour.
Walk to Laugavegur for dinner — the hotel is great, but Reykjavik's restaurant scene rewards the short walk. Ask the front desk for current picks; they'll know what just opened.
Consider the Parliament Suite if you're splurging — I didn't get eyes on it, but a 360-degree view of Reykjavik sounds like a solid reason to upgrade.
Reykjavik sits at an interesting intersection for digital nomads: expensive enough that you feel the budget, but so singular that you can't quite argue with it. The Iceland Parliament Hotel makes the math easier. You're not just paying for a room — you're paying for a base camp that actually understands how you work, in a city that will absolutely make you stay longer than you planned.
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