Hotel Vik i Myrdal

You might wonder what you’re getting into with an airline hotel, but fear not. In the case of Hotel Vik i Myrdal, what you’re getting into is a brand-new purpose-built boutique-style hotel on the south coast of Iceland, and not an unattractive one at that. Tucked in directly behind the humbler, more traditional Hotel Edda is a glass-faced modernist structure containing some forty-six clean-lined, light-filled bedrooms, just the sort of thing you might expect — but so rarely find — in 21st-century Iceland.

Then again you’re not likely to be here on an interior-design pilgrimage. The south coast of Iceland is, like the rest of the island, dotted with spectacular sights — a number of shockingly large waterfalls, the occasional volcano (including Eyjafjallajökull), a black-sand beach just a four-minute walk from the hotel, and, for the birders among us, huge colonies of tern and puffins. This is a natural stop on the island-circling Ring Road drive, if you’re here in summer, and it’s a destination unto itself, located at the base of a mountain criss-crossed with hiking trails.

The restaurant, bless them, showcases Iceland’s best local ingredients — lamb, char, Icelandic beef — without going deep into the traditional specialties that tend to scare the guests. In short, it’s a comfortable, stylish enough hotel, in a place where you can be forgiven for expecting less. Next time you pass through Iceland, do yourself a favor and get out of Reykjavík.