The Reykjavik EDITION: One Of The Brand's Better Hotels, With Some Quirks

I'm sorry to add to Ben's growing list of necessary confrontations, but my response to the form is to refuse to fill it out. Just as I always, without exception, refuse to wear hotel bracelets. Sadly, one is often dealing with someone too low-ranked to make exception or handle my refusal, but at some point hotels need to learn: the true existence of a real problem does NOT justify a bad solution.

At Aloft Playa del Carmen, I was "required" to leave my foreign ID ("drivers licence or passport will be fine, Sir") at the main front desk, after standing in a queue behind other guests checking in or out, for the purpose of...
... borrowing a pool towel. None was provided at poolside on the roof. Once wet, one was expected to return the wet towel to the front desk in the ground floor lobby, or presumably one's ID would be kept indefinitely. I don't know whether they're still trying to use this absurd system; I haven't returned to the property. I get the problem they were trying to solve. I don't deny the existence of the problem, yet the solution is still unacceptable.

Just Say No.

$59 lasagne!!!! It has to be the best lasagne you ever had that makes you think of your childhood and your mum and brings tears to your eyes, to warrant such a ridiculous price

Seafood are expensive so is not justifiable but considering cod are pretty cheap compared to others, and especially considering fishing is very big in Iceland, it does seem like a cash grab

Overall, looks like a cute property but the prices and weird rules are indeed very poor showing. This is why i never liked Edition, you pay luxury price for IKEA room and a coffee shop vibe. The only saving grace is the usually gorgeous lobbies but that’s about it

This nonsense about filling a slip for attendance and tips even happens at the Geneva Marriott and Zurich Marriott at breakfast. I usually just confirm my attendance and put nothing or nonsense for other questions and put a zero tip.

After the breakfast is done and I’m happy with their service and if I have time then I go back to the hostess and tell her that I want to update my slip with a tip and she usually asks me how much verbally and she changes it in front of me.

My philosophy is ask for stupidity then receive stupid answers!

$59 for a lasagna and $64 for a cod sounds extremely hard to justify… those menu descriptions must be interesting. Curious how different the price is within the country’s context and how hard it is to get to a decent nearby restaurant. It sounds like another “gotcha’ strategy.

Iceland is extremely expensive, especially restaurants in Reykjavík. Given this is a higher end hotel these prices are not surprising. However there are many wonderful restaurants immediately nearby, and no one is charging $56 for lasagna. More like $40. Cod could easily be $50-55 at a nearby restaurant. This differential seems in line with what Edition upcharges elsewhere.

Thank you Ben, for providing the readers with another wonderful insight into your world. As the articles are published one’s opinions are confirmed.

The room looks like your average AirBnB.

can't wait to read your review!

I stayed at another hotel 50m from yours and i was considering rebooking it but i might try this one.

Going to Iceland and reporting the prices are high is a bit like going to Scotland and reporting the weather is bad.

This is my issue now with the Edition and other pseudo luxury places...you aren't getting much beyond a nice space to sleep. They nickel and dime and they provide rule-obsessed restrictions that do not contribute to a quality experience.
If I'm spending >$600 a night I'm going to be hold off and stay at quality properties like a 4S

We stayed at the Canopy in Reykjavik when we visited 6 years ago and greatly enjoyed it. The room was on the small side but for the two of us it was not an issue given that we spent most of our time out. The hotel had some character and did not feel like it could be just anywhere. And, on top of that, both of us greatly enjoyed the breakfast buffet every morning of our stay. We experienced none of the "friction" you describe here. An underrated aspect of luxury is not having to deal with the mental burden put in place just trying to enjoy your vacation, and it seems that the Edition fails in that category (while being more expensive). We would not hesitate to stay at the Canopy again.

Ben, I have to ask - did you eat dinner at Tides just for the purpose of the review? The hotel is walking distance to pretty much everything and Reykjavik actually has a great food and bar scene. As for the hotel itself - totally agree with you and many of your notes reflect why I am not a fan of the brand (and I do think this is one of the better properties). It's fine for a night or two, but that's it.

@ pstm91 -- Excellent question, which I'll address in a post that's being published very shortly.

I can't stand friction like this at hotels. I don't enjoy being made to feel nickel and dimed especially at a luxury property.

This is a very expensive hotel already, and Editions look like they were furnished by IKEA. With the friction around the spa-access, the inflated restaurant prices, and the food credit not being usable for breakfast, this makes it a very hard "no way I'll ever stay there!" in my book.

It's ridiculous you can't use the spa area on the date of checkout. What if you were just staying 1 night? This "benefit" would only apply to half of your stay?

At higher Elite levels, removal of friction should be the focus. Marriott doesn't get it. Or maybe their structure no longer lets them control these things.

Such a dull comment !

Your proper suggestion has to be not to report pricing then at all ?

Get a partner and/or a glass of wine , please ..

Typically scammy Marriott

Family and I stayed here in August.

The rooftop lounge and bar has great views. However the furniture is REALLY beaten up.

I suspect this is because during a lot of the year, folks are wearing heavy weather boots etc., in order to take advantage of the outdoor area the lounge offers.

It's too bad because the frayed nature of the rooftop lounge does not reflect the decor standard of the rest of the hotel.

Iceland is expensive, but not enough to justify that pricing. It's out of line with even high quality local restaurants.

Several points:

The exterior architecture and design look more like a Courtyard, Moxy, or Aloft than a luxury hotel building.
Who is the idiot who thought a white sofa in a hotel room was a good idea? That's impossible to keep clean given how many guests "do things" on it or spill coffee or wine.
In the bathroom, the toiletry selection is not what you'd expect for a brand that Marriott markets as a younger version of Ritz-Carlton. Only one bar of soap for two sink basins—there should be two. I also don't see any dental kits, mouthwash, etc. There also doesn't appear to be a towel hook or bar for hand towels, etc.
The destination fee at a European hotel (Iceland is, after all, in Europe) is absurd. It tells me that 99% of the clientele are Americans, not Europeans. Does the destination fee include internet access? If so, did you request the replacement benefit that you're entitled to receive?
The staff are international because of a local workforce shortage. When you go to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and such, the hotel staff—especially in more remote areas—are almost always Thai, Filipino, and other international staff. Locals with any education and any English fluency can make more money elsewhere.

All things considered, that looks like a nice hotel, but it doesn't seem comparable to a Ritz-Carlton for millennials, which is what Edition was designed to be. It looks more like a Design hotel or maybe a nice Autograph Collection/Tribute Portfolio property.

I assume it's because (a) some guests have tried cheating and eating breakfast twice, (b) some guests have impersonated other guests or (c) people from outside the hotel have walked in and grabbed breakfast, pretending to be guests.

I know people love to clown on Marriott but this is a hospitality issue across the board. We put hotels and restaurants into those respective categories. But they are all in the hospitality industry. Which we and they forget.

And almost certainly the $59 lasagne is a frozen, pre-made lasagne shipped into Iceland and then nuked in a microwave.

Regarding the weird breakfast experience: I assume it's because (a) some guests have tried cheating and eating breakfast twice, (b) some guests have impersonated other guests or (c) people from outside the hotel have walked in and grabbed breakfast, pretending to be guests

I keep hoping one day I’ll run in to you. We were at the Edition last month. Our room for the first 2 nights was very small and dark. We were able to use NUA s for the 2nd 2 nights. All the difference with big windows, lots of space , and views of the harbor. Trying to use the resort fee drove us crazy. Just annoying.

I read both reviews of the EDITION hotel and restaurant and it sounds like a poorly managed, bland business hotel at elevated Iceland prices. Enduring a 2 hour meal due to glacial service when you have real glaciers to visits would frustrate me. I don't know why you still recommend the property.

Not being able to use your credits on the departure day would rub me the wrong way. What difference if it's the night before or morning of? From billing perspective, that's "one night stay".

The prices btw are not much out of line for fine dining in Reyjkavik, it's expensive even by European standards (but EVERY single dish I've ever eaten in the country was super high quality, like they take care with the food that is scarce at such a northern latitude - exact opposite of the American approach to restaurant food). Def don't tip in Iceland, it's messing with expectations where it's not normal, expected, or necessary...

I'll also say I really like the Canopy (by Hilton) that's walking distance from where you were. Try it out next time you pass through the city.

I was in Iceland once and while there’s a lot to like about the country, the friction everywhere and with everything was next level. I was not staying at the calibre of properties Ben is describing and it always felt like they just try to make your life difficult. Not going to go into detail but the worst thing you possibly do is leave your towel hanging on the wrong hook at a change room. There is a security officer whose job is the stop you from crossing some imaginary line while wet, and while my town was probably 4 feet away, he wouldn’t let me get it or give it to himself.
Never been back and have no intention to.

It is. This is neither "arguably the best hotel in Iceland’s capital" nor is it one of the better EDITION hotels (and that is a low bar to clear already). The facts of Ben's stay along illustrate this. My own experience verifies it.

I've stayed at so many hotels where breakfast is included and it is not hard. You have a person at a podium with a list of registered guests, and you ask their names when they show up for breakfast and check off their names on the list when they turn up. Super easy. Done.

While I don't doubt your experience, mine was the opposite. Outside this EDITION, I found little friction in the rest of Iceland. We did the big loop and stayed at another, much humbler property, where they were super accommodating and at one point even volunteered to drive us to a nearby night spot we'd discovered after getting a bit of brennivín in us. We didn't even ask. Super nice.

This EDITION is not a great hotel and I'm shocked that Ben is so kind despite its many failures.

Wow. Pretty cruel article title when you think about it. If a hotel so thoroughly fails to deliver on promised five star luxury as the Reykjavik EDITION has, calling it "One Of The Brand’s Better Hotels, With Some Quirks" is the quintessence of damning the brand with faint praise.