Hotel Vik i Myrdal

Tucked in directly behind the humbler, more traditional Hotel Edda is a glass-faced modernist structure containing some 46 clean-lined, light-filled bedrooms, just the sort of thing you might expect — but so rarely find — in 21st-century Iceland. This is Hotel Vik i Myrdal, a boutique hotel that could, quite frankly, get away with being quite a lot less stylish and modern than it is.

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.