60 suites carved into an 800-year-old lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Iceland, with a private guests-only Blue Lagoon, the Moss restaurant, and 35 suites with their own outdoor lava-bathing platform.
"Carved into the lava itself. The water is the same silica-rich geothermal water as the public lagoon, but here you have a private one. Every suite has a window into the moss field. Iceland's only Forbes Five-Star, and the only hotel in the country worth the inflation."
The Retreat opened on 15 April 2018 as the long-awaited five-star expansion of the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's most-visited destination since the public bathing complex opened on the site in 1992, by Icelandic architects Basalt Architects, the same practice that designed the public lagoon, the Silica Hotel (the property's mid-tier sister hotel) and the lagoon's spa buildings. The architectural conceit is total: the Retreat is built directly into the 800-year-old lava field that erupted from the Reykjanes-Þingvellir fissure system in the late 13th century, with the entire ground-floor structure cut into the lava and the lava itself preserved as the principal interior architectural surface, moss-covered walls, basalt-floor entrances, lava-cladded suite corridors. The property opened in October 2018 with 60 suites and Iceland's first Forbes Five-Star designation, awarded in the 2020 guide and held continuously since.
The 60 suites, including 25 standard Lagoon Suites, 27 Lagoon View Suites, 7 Moss Suites with private outdoor lava terraces, and the Retreat Suite at 200 square metres, all face the lava field through floor-to-ceiling windows, with the standard category at 70 square metres setting the floor at twice the size of any other Icelandic hotel category. Bathrooms are basalt and oak; all suites include the Blue Lagoon's signature silica-mud and algae products as standard. The Retreat Suite, the property's milestone unit, has a 70-square-metre private lagoon-fed pool, a private 600-square-metre garden cut into the lava, and a dedicated suite host throughout the stay.
The headline programme is the private guests-only Retreat Lagoon, accessible only from the hotel's lower-ground level via the Retreat Spa, fed by the same 38, 40 °C geothermal water as the public Blue Lagoon but reserved entirely for hotel guests. Suite categories include access from 7 AM until 10 PM. The Retreat Spa runs the full Blue Lagoon Ritual, silica mud, algae, mineral salt, across an 8,000-square-metre subterranean spa carved into the lava, the largest hotel spa in Iceland. Moss is the headline restaurant under chef Aggi Sverrisson, who held a Michelin star at Texture in London, the kitchen runs an Icelandic tasting programme of seven and twelve courses with a 1,200-bottle cellar. The Spa Restaurant runs the all-day light-eating programme.
The Reykjanes Peninsula position is the principal trade-off. The hotel is 25 minutes by car from Keflavík International Airport (the convenience proposition for travellers using Iceland as a transatlantic stopover) and 50 minutes by car from central Reykjavík. The recent volcanic activity in the Sundhnúkur fissure system, eight eruptions between December 2023 and December 2024, has briefly closed the property at times, though all eruptions have been to the north of the Retreat and the hotel has remained operationally safe; current monitoring is published on the Icelandic Met Office daily briefing. Visit programme is best framed around the Retreat itself rather than as a Reykjavík city base, the city is a half-day excursion from here, not a daily commute.
The Retreat is the unambiguous Iceland wellness booking, the private lagoon, the 8,000-square-metre subterranean spa, the silica-and-algae Blue Lagoon ritual programme, and the only Forbes Five-Star spa in the country. Book a Moss Suite for the private lava-bathing terrace, a Retreat Spa programme of three to five days, and the Moss restaurant tasting menu in the evenings.
For honeymoons combining the Northern Lights season (October, March) with the once-in-a-lifetime hotel proposition, the Retreat is the unambiguous Iceland answer. The Retreat Suite with the private lagoon-fed pool is the milestone unit; helicopter transfers to the Þórsmörk valley arranged through the concierge; private aurora forecast text-alerts from the staff at any hour.
A milestone-anniversary booking is the Retreat Suite with the private lagoon, dinner at Moss across two of the tasting menus, and a private lava-field hiking day with the Retreat's geological guide. The hotel handles these without ceremony.
Norðurljósavegur 11
240 Grindavík
Iceland
Keflavík International Airport 25 min by car; central Reykjavík 50 min by car; Reykjanes Geopark 5 min by car
60 suites, all 70+ m²
Lagoon Suite from €1,400/night
Lagoon View Suite from €1,800/night
Moss Suite from €2,800/night
Retreat Suite from €9,500/night
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Opened 15 April 2018
Forbes Five-Star since 2020
Moss restaurant (chef Aggi Sverrisson)
Spa Restaurant, all-day light eating
Private guests-only Retreat Lagoon
8,000 m² subterranean Retreat Spa
Built into 13th-c Reykjanes lava field
Suites all 70+ m²
Beyond Green sustainable luxury member
From €1,400/night. The Retreat Suite books eight to twelve months ahead. Moss reservations recommended at booking. Daily volcanic-activity update published at front desk and via the Vedur Icelandic Met Office briefing.
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