Review: The Reykjavik EDITION, Iceland (Well-Rounded Marriott Property)

Four pillows per person, ceramic water 'bottle,' fresh snow, aurora borealis. Very Icelandic.

Frankly Ben, I wouldn't stay here because of the "friction". There are a lot of hotels in Reykjavik. While the Edition looks nice enough, it appears to be just too much effort and disappointment to enjoy a stay there there.

huh this looks awesome. I'd stay there

Understanding that a purely objective point of view would be a list of photos and bullet points, and your review has your biases built into it (which makes your point of view unique, which makes this site unique, and is a good thing as long as you're not sponsored by individual hotels or something)

You have a ton of sympathy for issues that would not be acceptable for me, and I wonder if you're giving lots of leeway to issues with Icelandic hotels/experiences simply because they're in Iceland.

I’ve been appreciating a guy on IG talking about the causes failings of the mass-marketization of “luxury” brands and experiences. Basically: almost everything sucks now, but most people are placated by aesthetics.

The.Ryanexperience

Room furniture looks like it all came from IKEA. I've never stayed at an EDITION, but all pictures I see make me very much question its claim to being a luxury brand.

Looks like a nicer regular Marriott. Hardly luxurious and the service issues is a bit of a problem.

Yeah I agree. This is an IKEA hotel

How did you resolve the spa issue? Were you eventually let in? Sounds like you were in the right, yes?

@ Sam -- Yes, we were eventually let in, after I pulled up our confirmation and stay details. I guess she mixed us up with another room (even though I provided the name and room number).

@ Jeff -- I totally agree that EDITION is sort of faux luxury. In fairness, though, the IKEA style is at least more "appropriate" in a Nordic country, given that it sort of matches the general design aesthetic you'll find.

@ betterbub -- It definitely reflects that Iceland isn't exactly a country known for amazing service. I would've had a different impression if this were in Thailand, or somewhere like that.

Beutelsbacher juice in the minibar. Thats nice.

I would have used said credit to drnk wildly after dinner

I'm amazed Icelandic law allows for junk fees like that in the first place. I would assume they'd have more customer friendly regulations, but I guess when it comes to tourists it's considered fair game.

With respect, Ben, I'm surprised at the number of free passes you give this property. For one, it is not centrally located. The only reason it can feel centrally located is that Reykjavík is small enough that you can effectively cross the city proper in a half hour on foot.

Second, these people have not provided us with proactive luxury service. We've never seen people at the doors ready to help, no one showed us to our suite, no one made sure were were familiar with all the property amenities (as such we didn't even know about a number of them until we read reviews after the fact).

And the friction and rudeness with which they treated you was more or less the same with us. There are far better hotels in city. The Borg for instance delivers amazing service.

Being diabetic, I always look to see if the mini-fridges contain Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Coke ZERO, or really any sugar-free drinks. I've seen then in European hotels...but not in this round of Icelandic stays. Lucky, did you see an indication that they exist there?

Thanks for the review of the hotel and of Iceland.

I usually like to try new places, but looking at the photos I don't prefer to visit Iceland. Its funny, but the feeling was quite strong to make such decision.

In the least, you experienced the beautiful lights in the skies.