Hunkubakkar Guesthouse Hotel Review – Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland
During our two-week trip around Iceland, we had to switch hotels almost every night, which can be pretty draining, but to do a Ring Road trip like this, it’s pretty much what you have to do.
When you get outside of Reykjavik, chain hotels just simply don’t exist (with the exception of the Icelandic chain of FossHotels, which are excellent). So you end up staying at apartments, small hotels, and guesthouses, like the one I’m about to review.
All of our accommodations (with the exception of the Marriott we stayed in) were booked via Booking.com and we had absolutely no issues.
Location of the Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
The Hunkubakkar Guesthouse is located just south of the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur, in the Southern area of Iceland, about 40 minutes away from the better-known tourist haven of Vik. This guesthouse is essentially located out in the middle of nowhere; however, the popular Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon is located only about a 5-minute drive away. In other words, there are no amenities in this area in terms of restaurants, gas stations, or anything else – it’s off the beaten track.
Check in at the Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
Check in was easy and quick – you simply check in at the office/restaurant, and you’ll be given a key and instructions on how to get to your cabin, as well as the best place to park. Staff was extremely friendly and offered tips on visiting the nearby Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon.
Rooms at the Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
We booked a 2-bed cabin with a shared bathroom. Hey, that’s all they had left for my date. Obviously I knew this when I booked it — and we weren’t really looking forward to staying here based on photos and the idea of a shared bathroom. I’m just too old for this shit. But hey, it’s ONE NIGHT.
We had a shared cabin that had two rooms, with a bathroom in the middle. Everything was spotless but the room itself was very small. It had two twin beds. These beds were extremely uncomfortable – they looked and felt like old rollaway cots that were fished out of a dumpster. They provided one small, very flat pillow for each bed. I ended up sleeping with two packing cubes stuffed with clothes so that I could have some head support.
The room was also pretty dark and felt sad and grim. The curtains on the windows were not blackout curtains, which is a problem in July, when it never gets dark at night. There are no TVs in the rooms, but there are a few electrical outlets and you do have a sink in your room, which was nice.
Also, you can’t park directly in front of your room; you have to use the small walking path to get to your cabin. This path gets very muddy when it rains (which is quite often in Iceland).
As for the shared bathroom – we didn’t like the idea of it but it turned out not to be an issue. The person occupying the other room in the cottage arrived very late, was extremely quiet and maybe used it once. We were up early enough and got our showers done at 6am, before he even woke up. So no issue, but I could see it being an issue if the other party is a loud family.
Price of rooms at Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
Essentially, this is why I booked this place. It was cheap (for Iceland) when all the other accommodations were well over $500/night in the Vik area. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money for one night, and while I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a shared bathroom, I can get through it for one night. Still though, at $170/night, this was really overpriced for what it is – it’s like a small shitty cabin you’d see at a children’s sleepaway summer camp.
Amenities at the Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
There’s not much. There is no shampoo/conditioner provided in the bathroom, so you will need to bring your own (they do have a communal bottle of shower gel though) and no hair dryer. There is a restaurant on site, but we didn’t eat there. Reviews say that it’s “meh” and very expensive, even for Iceland. The Wifi in the rooms is incredibly slow – I ended up using the portable wifi device I rented with my car into the room to use.
Breakfast is included in your stay and it leaves a lot to be desired. Basically it’s all carbs. Lots and lots of bread. No hot food, they have some cold cut slices and cheeses – I don’t see why they can’t toss us some scrambled or hard boiled eggs? What do they have against protein? Or even some yogurt? Iceland is known for its Skyr. I mean, WTF?
The coffee is absolutely horrendous – it’s so strong, I don’t know how anyone could choke this rot gut down!
Breakfast starts at 7:30am. If you look up reviews on Tripadvisor or Booking, many people complain that the breakfast started too late at 8am. They must’ve took this to heart, as now (summer 2023), they start breakfast at 7:30)
And to add to the weirdness of breakfast, they have this rather aggressive sign posted (and framed! So klassy, right?) in the breakfast area, warning guests not to swipe any of their goddamn buns or orange slices to eat somewhere else. OR ELSE.
What difference does it make if a guest wants to eat a roll in their room? Why are you being so aggressive about this? What will they do? Call the cops over a slice of bread?
This isn’t the only hotel I’ve stayed at where they protect their precious breakfast buffet like it’s the British Crown Jewels. Here’s another ‘gem’ of a hotel I’ve stayed at where they practice this.
Final Thoughts – Hunkubakkar Guesthouse
Nope, I wouldn’t stay here again. I probably would’ve had a better experience had I been able to snag a cabin with an en suite bathroom, but even so, I probably would pass on this place. The shared cabins need a remodel, and the beds are in desperate need of new mattresses and pillows.
Any thoughts? Have you stayed in the Hunkubakkar Guesthouse?
