Reykjavik is a major city with a rather small number of hotels from the major international hotel brands. The pickings get even slimmer when you start looking for hotels in the center of town. There are some properties from Radisson and Hilton and an ultra-lux SLH bookable through Hyatt, but that’s been about it, until now.
Marriott plans to make a big splash in the market when it opens the 253 room Reykjavik Edition. Located adjacent to the striking architecture of the Harpa Concert Hall, there’s not a better place to become a major focal point in the city.
The Edition brand is a partnership between Marriott and Ian Schrager to build a collection of hotels that re-create the idea of a luxury/lifestyle brand. This location seems to be a great fit because when tasked to design a hotel that will sit alongside an iconic structure, you can’t just put up any building. The designers have done a great job in creating something equally original without detracting from the surrounding area.
The Edition has been in development for years. Originally slated to open back in 2018, developers pushed the project back to 2020. A 2020 opening wasn’t feasible for obvious reasons, so the date was pushed back again, to Summer 2021. While it looks like the hotel is getting there, complete with furniture in the rooms, I wouldn’t say it’s going to be done before the summer. And even if it does open then, I wouldn’t recommend staying there just yet.
Picture taken on July 20, 2021
While the Edition is finishing up, there’s another building going up almost right beside it. (That’s the Edition on the left)
Imagine having that as your view. Based on what I’ve found, the other building will contain retail space on the ground floor and apartments on the other floors. Not much privacy and pretty much ruins the advantage of floor-to-ceiling windows.
On that topic, is having rooms with huge windows all that smart in a city where it never really gets dark out for a part of the year?
I tried to translate the Icelandic on the construction wall and I think it says the completion date of the building is sometime in 2022. But with the past timeline of this harbor project, I wouldn’t bet on that.
Marriott isn’t having excellent luck getting hotels ready to open when they promised between the Swan Reserve at Disney and now the Edition in Reykjavik. Maybe they’re starting to know what it’s like to be Bonvoyed.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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