Apótek Hotel Reykjavík

Reykjavík’s Apótek Hotel occupies a distinctive building — it was designed in 1917 by Guðjón Samúelsson, who would later be famous for the city’s monumental, modernist Hallgrímskirkja church. Inside the Apotek are 45 rooms that blend century-old Art Nouveau architecture with contemporary design, all in service of a lively, modern boutique-hotel experience. This is a compact city already, and the Apótek is convenient to just about everything, set a block away from the parliament house at the west end of the city center. But there’s reason to stay in as well; the open-plan Apotek Kitchen + Bar incorporates an Argentine grill, and its bartenders dress in white pharmacists’ coats.