Hotel Ranga

Very comfortable accommodations and excellent service. Unfortunately we did not see the Northern Lights during our four nights due to clouds but we greatly enjoyed exploring the many natural wonders in South Iceland. Hotel Rangá is an excellent base. Dinner in the restaurant was delicious with excellent fish as well as meat courses including reindeer steak.

This was an excellent hotel that featured a great restaurant with good food and drinks. The amenities with hot tub access; great drinks at the bar, pool table and games would be great for families and groups. The decor was nice and a wake-up call to go outside the hotel to see the Northern lights was a great feature. Thank you!

We were fortunate to visit Hotel Ranga from October 10th through the 13th. This meant we were there during the Oct 10th geomagnetic storm, which corresponded with the 10th anniversary of Ranga's on-site observatory. Spectacular colors ! Everything about our stay was special, from the accommodations to the food, but especially the personalized attention from the owner, Fridrik, members of his family and the wonderfully attentive staff. To paraphrase a saying we've seen in the past - "If you are lucky enough to be at Ranga, you are lucky enough !" I cannot imagine considering anywhere to stay at in South Iceland from now on.

One word: Spectacular! The hotel location is perfect, the food at the restaurant amazing; the reception personnel were so professional and kind. The room was spotless and decoration felt warming. I had the opportunity to meet the owner who greeted everyone and asked how was everything. The hotel has an observatory and host stargazing which you are able to see some planets. I saw Jupiter! Just and amazing hotel!

We had the absolute best time at Hotel Ranga. We came as three couples (a family) and occupied three rooms. The restaurant is bar none. Customized cocktails and even a mocktail designed for one specific palate (savory, smoky, not sweet). The food was incredible, from the simpler lunch salad with chicken and perfectly cooked bacon to the beef medallions, reindeer steak, and other fare. The staff were absolutely incredible. Friendly, timing our room cleanings with finesse, turndown service that included turning on gentle music, knowledgeable about everything, booking our tours, even scraping the windshields of all the cars in the parking lot first thing in the morning (!!!). We thoroughly enjoyed the observatory. The two telescopes (refractor and reflector) plus binoculars are top notch. Full disclosure, two family members are professional astronomers and the mounts, telescopes, and eye pieces are about as good as they get for amateur astronomy. The astronomer picked out perfect things to view and engaged us in knowledgeable conversation while managing everyone from complete novices to experienced astronomers. We saw amazing northern lights. Happily we came during a strong year of the sun cycle and had good weather. That said, the location is remote with excellent dark skies, so you're doing yourself a favor to be here. Other things we enjoyed; driving the Golden circle, walking by the river at Hotel Ranga, sitting in the sun room, soaking in the hot tub while gazing at the stars, seeing the unique artwork around the hotel (from a remarkable quilt of Iceland to watercolors of the northern lights to computational art) and just relaxing. Of note, there is no gym on the property but we had no difficulty driving ~10 min to Hella for an excellent gym, as recommended by hotel staff in advance.

We had one night at Hotel Ranga during our trip to Iceland, and wish it was longer. The staff was extremely professional and courteous and the hotel itself was beautiful. The outdoor hot tubs and a fantastic amenity and we had a fantastic Northern Lights viewing experience during our stay. We will most certainly be back and stay longer next time.