Is Reykjavík Marina Hotel Worth It? Start with Tomorrow Morning

Use the Old Harbour as a route anchor, not a promise of doorstep departures

The official address is Mýrargata 2, at the edge of the Old Harbour and Grandi. The property lists suites, family rooms, Slippbarinn, and breakfast. Groups of three or guests carrying bulky luggage should compare the named room types, bed layout, and floor area; the hotel’s overall room count tells you nothing about the space in the room you will book.

The Old Harbour is not the meeting point for every whale-watching tour, and not every boat leaves from the hotel’s doorstep. Before paying, return to the product page and confirm the meeting address, check-in time, and whether you must reach the pier yourself. Treat the hotel as a useful base, not as permission to arrive five minutes before departure. Is Husavik whale-watching worth an overnight stay? covers a different northern route, but the logic is the same: lock in the boat schedule first, then let the hotel fit around it.

Your evening return tells you whether the harbour is really convenient

You can walk from the hotel to Harpa, the Old Town, and the west side of Laugavegur. But Reykjavík's "city centre" is a large area, so don't treat a single point on a map as your evening reality. If dinner is booked in Grandi or the Old Harbour, heading back to the hotel feels like a natural end to the day. If you're used to wandering the east end of Laugavegur until the shops close, walking back to the port isn't a disaster, but it's no longer the convenience of being right outside your door.

The answer to Reykjavík: city centre or harbour stay? depends on your return route. For a single night with an early morning port departure, Marina's location offers better value. For several nights with daily activities on the east end of Laugavegur, an inner-street city centre hotel will reduce repetitive walking. When comparing, look at cancellation terms first, then consider the harbour view upgrade.

Choose the room around sleep, luggage, and bed layout

Room options include single, twin, double, harbour-view Deluxe, suites, and family rooms. Similar names can hide very different layouts. For three adults, check every bed, whether a sofa bed is prepared, and the child policy rather than searching only for the word “family.” If sleep matters, ask about room orientation; a harbour view is a preference, not a guarantee of a quieter night.

If the hotel cannot confirm a specific room orientation, compare it on the assumption that street noise is possible. Light sleepers can put a quieter inner-facing room into the same-date shortlist instead of relying on a room change after arrival.

If sound matters to you, ask before booking whether your dates are a weekend, which way the room faces, and whether a quiet-room request can be noted. A request is not a guarantee; lower floors, street-facing rooms or rooms near shared spaces may still affect sleep.

If your schedule is packed with Blue Lagoon, Golden Circle, or South Coast tours, the room design is only used at the start and end of the day, and a harbour view upgrade may not be worth the cost. If you're keeping a rainy afternoon free, the public spaces, restaurant, and larger room types will have actual use. Use Reykjavík 3-day itinerary without a car to confirm if you'll actually have time to stay in the hotel.

Compare room orientation, floor area, bathroom layout and activity meeting point before paying; use the same dates and cancellation terms for each room type.

Breakfast, parking, and transfers still need a separate check

The hotel offers self-service breakfast and Slippbarinn, but inclusion and serving hours depend on the rate plan and stay dates. If you need to leave at 7 a.m., breakfast may be irrelevant. Compare breakfast, cancellation deadline, taxes, and room type together; a refundable harbour-view room is not a fair comparison with a non-refundable basic room.

Drivers need to look one step further: being on the Old Harbour edge doesn't mean every parking option is included, nor does it mean you can park at the door for as long as you want. Hotel and city parking arrangements may change, so rely on the hotel's written response, your chosen parking plan, and on-site signage before arrival. If your next day is an early KEF flight, a night at the port doesn't solve car return, refueling, and the airport drive; Where to stay the night before departure breaks down this early morning timeline, so the last night doesn't look great but the next day starts with a rush from the alarm.

A short walk to the harbour is not the same as a confirmed meeting point

Marina is well placed for walking around the Old Harbour, but the booking confirmation still decides where an activity starts. Map that address before booking the room; a harbour view does not protect you from arriving late.

Who gets the most from Marina?

Reframe the question into one sentence: before you return to the room tonight, are you willing to walk another 15 to 20 minutes? If you're at the port in the morning or having dinner in Grandi, the answer is usually yes; if you're active on the east end of Laugavegur daily, the answer is usually no. That's the dividing line for whether Marina should be in your comparison.