I love a good weekend adventure, and if you have been reading Unlocking Kiki for long then you know that the Viking and I try to fit in as many weekend adventures as we can. One thing we don’t do very often though, turn weekend adventures into overnight trips.
With the weather quickly changing here in Iceland I know our weekend adventures are limited before it is back to hibernating inside, but before that happened I wanted to get one weekend getaway in with my Viking.
Where to go was the question???
Enter in the luxurious Hotel Rangá and we had the perfect location for a weekend getaway.
Hotel Rangá is located just over an hour outside of Reykjavik in the South of Iceland putting you close to waterfalls, black sand beaches, horseback riding excursions, and beautiful hiking paths. Add in the fact that their location frequently gets amazing Northern Light shows and you are set for a fantastic Icelandic trip.
Before I continue I have to talk about the Northern Lights at Hotel Rangá. I have heard that the Northern Lights can often be seen dancing above Hotel Rangá. The Sunday Times Travel Magazine describes the Northern Lights at Hotel Rangá as, “…one of the best places in the entire world to see the aurora”. After witnessing the beautiful Northern Lights at Hotel Rangá myself I can fully agree with that statement, I saw the most amazing Northern Light show ever during our stay!
Now back to the hotel.
The Viking and I have never been to Hotel Rangá but as we pulled up to the 4 star hotel I knew we were in for a luxurious stay. Hotel Rangá has a beautiful log cabin style, and with the gorgeous Icelandic countryside surrounding the hotel you instantly feel like you are tucked away in a cozy cabin while staying at Hotel Rangá.
After a quick check-in process (I just love when those go nice and quick so I can get to relaxing in my room) H and I had finally arrived to our beautiful room at Hotel Rangá. Seriously, our room was so pretty, the decorations made it feel nice and cosy, the bed was huge and there was a bathtub, I was in heaven!
What a pretty room right?
Hotel Rangá lived up to all the wonderful things we had heard about it in just the first few minutes! And that bathtub, lets just say that may of been the highlight of the trip for me. We really need a flat with a bathtub.
Once H and I dropped our bags off (and H told me I couldn’t just sit in the bathtub all night) we headed out to enjoy the beautiful outdoor area around Hotel Rangá before the sun set. The surroundings around Hotel Rangá, it is just gorgeous you guys! I will let the pictures do the talking on this one.
This is the view from our room!
Our back deck was so cute, I loved sitting out here enjoying the peace and quite you can only get in the countryside. Add in a glass of wine and you have your perfect Friday night.
You can’t have a real Icelandic experience without a soak in the geothermal hot water and Hotel Rangá hot tubs have the best views!
With the beautiful river just outside our door H and I had to take our wine for a stroll down there to watch the sunset. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow over Hotel Rangá, I just couldn’t get enough of all the colors.
After taking in that beautiful show of a sunset H and I made our way back inside to explore the hotel a bit more before we headed off to dinner at the hotel restaurant. Each room we walked into at Hotel Ragná was so beautiful decorated and welcoming. It felt like we were staying at our own (very large) luxurious log cabin instead of a hotel.
After H unsuccessful tried to teach me how to play chess (I just don’t get the game at all and he takes it way to seriously in case you couldn’t tell from the picture ha) it was time for our dinner reservation and my stomach could not wait!
On our way to the restaurant we had a casual encounter with the hotel polar bear.
Hrammur is the 10-foot tall polar bear that greets all the visitors to Hotel Ragná. He is also probably one of the most photographed items in the hotel. I mean, when you come across a 10-foot tall polar bear you can’t go past without taking a picture, or ten.
With my photo shoot with Hrammur complete H and I picked up a drink at the hotel bar before heading to dinner. I loved the look of the bar area at the hotel, the decorations were so charming, and the drinks that H and I had, well they were basically amazing.
With our drinks in hand H and I were ready for our meal. And what a delicious feast it was! H and I spent two hours at the restaurant laughing, enjoying our tasty food, and taking in the Northern Lights. Yup, that is right, our dinner even had Northern Lights! Our meal at Hotel Rangá was so amazing, it deserves its own post, which will be coming your way later this week so stay tuned!
After enjoying our amazing meal and chatting with our waiter (the service was amazing!) we headed outside to see if the Northern Lights were still dancing around. Lucky for us the Northern Lights were still there, and the show they put on was the most amazing one I have ever seen!
Hotel Rangá has these awesome benches outside that are perfect for laying down to take in the Northern Lights. I could have stayed out here all night!
The Northern Lights make me all kinds of excited!
I know this picture is a bit blurry but I had to share. See those pinks in the green? This was the first time I have seen other colors in the Northern Lights and it was beyond amazing. You could see the lights moving around with the different colors, it was like they were dancing!
Hotel Rangá, you really do have the best place to view the Northern Lights!
I've been told @hotelranga is one of the best places to view the Northern Lights in Iceland. After last weekend I can completely vouch for this! Best Northern Lights I have seen yet, a great way to kick off the Northern Light season!
After all that excitement my Viking and I called it a night and spent some time relaxing in our cozy room. The next morning H and I woke up to a beautiful sunny day, which just made the view from our room that much more amazing. We spent some time relaxing on our porch and enjoying the sunshine before we had to say goodbye to Hotel Rangá and our beautiful room.
Our stay at Hotel Rangá was just the relaxing getaway the Viking and I needed! If you are planning a trip to Iceland I highly recommend booking at least one night at Hotel Rangá (book more if you have the time!).
And if you are heading to Iceland with the dream of seeing the Northern Lights you really must stay at Hotel Rangá, with Northern Light wake-up calls they will make sure you don’t miss the show!
You can book your own luxurious stay at Hotel Rangá here.
Question of the Day?
What is your ideal luxurious weekend getaway? Do you have the Northern Lights on your bucket list?
*I received a complimentary stay at Hotel Rangá in exchange for a review, as always all opinions are my own. I truly loved my time here and both H and I would recommend Hotel Rangá to all! And if you dream of seeing the Northern Lights you really must book a stay at Hotel Rangá!
