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Hotel Ranga

Last updated: 24 December, 2023

This ranch-style hotel is perfectly located, and your best option, for exploring southwest Iceland.

There are seven bizarre but dazzling suites, taking the world’s continents as their themes and containing items from them all – apart from the Antarctica Suite, which is black and white like a penguin. Weird but wonderful.

There’s also an excellent restaurant in-house, serving locally-sourced food inspired by Nordic cuisine. The menu features plenty of Icelandic specialities, including smoked puffin (which tastes a bit like duck), Icelandic lamb, langoustines and skyr (a type of natural yoghurt) cheesecake. The salmon river provides wonderful fish too.

Located miles from anywhere, it’s a great spot for stargazing. The hotel has set up a special ‘observatory’ with a couple of high powered telescopes, and from September to April, on clear nights, a local astronomer visits to give talks about the stars, explaining the various constellations.

With Iceland being in the Aurora Belt, it’s also one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights in all their glory (when they decide to appear – most often between September and April). Stay for at least four nights to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.­ NB The hot tubs are perfectly placed for midnight dips and views of the Northern Lights.

Surrounding area

The hotel is surrounded by fields and farms, with a salmon river running to the sea nearby and volcanoes in the near distance. It’s a quiet part of Iceland, where you’ll see the Northern Lights through an unpolluted sky in winter, and can enjoy hiking and exploring the nearby national parks in the summer. It’s just off the main route around Iceland, making it a good stop if you want to explore the south.

Price

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General amenities

Key facilities

Airport transfers: Not available
Beach: None
Fitness centre
Fitness classes
Golf course
Hot tub
Kids club
Parking: On-site (free)
Pool (adults only)
Pool (indoor)
Pool (outdoor)
Pool (kids)
Spa
Tennis courts
WiFi: Free
Yoga

Food & drink

All inclusive
Kids menu
Restaurant on-site
Self catering
*
Additional charge

Room amenities

Room types

Apartments
Bedrooms
Cabins
Suites
Tents
Villas
Yurts

Room facilities

Air conditioning
Flat screen TV
Hot tub (private)
Pool (private)
Tea & coffee making facilities
WiFi

Bedding options

2+ bedrooms
3+ beds
Connecting rooms
Rollaway/sofa bed