Hotel Ranga
Hella, Iceland
Location
On the south coast
Between Hella and Hvolsvollur, south Iceland, riverside on the Eystri-Ranga salmon river with Mount Hekla views, around ninety minutes from Reykjavik — a midpoint between the Golden Circle and the Glacier Lagoon.
Transfer
A Reykjavik transfer
Around ninety minutes from Reykjavik, out along the south coast to the banks of the Eystri-Ranga river between Hella and Hvolsvollur.
Villas
51 rooms & suites
Fifty-one wood-crafted rooms and suites in a hunting-lodge style facing the river or Mount Hekla, including seven deluxe suites themed after the continents — Asia, Africa and more — the signature accommodation.
Best For
Who it suits
Couples, Northern-Lights and stargazing travellers and south-coast and Golden-Circle explorers after a characterful, owner-hosted feel — a riverside log-lodge with Iceland's only publicly accessible hotel observatory.
Board Basis
Bed & breakfast
Bed-and-breakfast or half board, with gourmet creative-Icelandic dining behind wraparound glass, a lounge and bar by the fire and riverside dining with Hekla views.
About the Resort
A riverside log-lodge and stargazing base of south Iceland
Hotel Ranga is the riverside log-lodge and stargazing base of south Iceland — a hunting-lodge of fifty-one wood-crafted rooms on the Eystri-Ranga salmon river, with Mount Hekla in view. Its signature is Iceland's only publicly accessible hotel observatory: a roll-off roof, two high-quality telescopes and resident astronomers for the Northern Lights and deep-sky viewing. Seven deluxe suites are themed after the continents — Asia, Africa and the rest — the signature accommodation, riverside geothermal hot tubs sit beneath the aurora, and a gourmet restaurant serves creative Icelandic and Nordic dining behind wraparound glass. The setting makes it a midpoint base between the Golden Circle and the Glacier Lagoon, with the great sights of the south coast within reach: the waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss, the black-sand beach at Reynisfjara near Vik, and the volcano-and-glacier country around Hekla and Eyjafjallajokull, and, in summer, the puffin cliffs and the midnight sun. It is the riverside observatory lodge of Iceland — distinct from the design-led ION and the geothermal Blue Lagoon hotels. Year-round.
Accommodation
Rooms & suites
Fifty-one wood-crafted rooms and suites in a hunting-lodge style face the river or Mount Hekla, including seven deluxe suites themed after the continents — Asia, Africa and the rest — the signature accommodation. Warm, timber and characterful, with an owner-hosted feel, they make the lodge as much a destination as a base for the south coast, the fire and the river setting the mood on a dark winter night, each of the continent suites styled around its namesake.
Entry
Superior Room
Sleeps two. A snug wood-crafted room with river or Hekla views.
Wood-craftedRiver outlook
Larger
Deluxe Room
Sleeps two. A larger room with an oversized bathtub.
Oversized bathRiver outlook
Signature
Continent Suite
Sleeps two. One of seven deluxe suites themed after the continents.
Themed suiteHekla outlook
Top
Master Suite
Sleeps two. The top suite.
Top suiteRiver outlook
Food & Drink
Dining
The gourmet restaurant serves creative Icelandic and Nordic cooking behind wraparound glass, joined by a lounge and bar pouring hot toddies by the fire and riverside dining with Mount Hekla in view. It is ambitious country cooking in a log lodge, the river and the volcano filling the windows and Icelandic ingredients, from lamb to langoustine, leading the menu.
Signature
The gourmet restaurant
The gourmet restaurant, creative Icelandic and Nordic, behind wraparound glass.
Lounge
The lounge and bar
The lounge and bar, hot toddies by the fire.
River
Riverside dining
Riverside dining, with Hekla views.
Wellbeing
Hot tubs & observatory
Riverside geothermal hot tubs invite a soak under the Northern Lights, alongside Iceland's only publicly accessible hotel observatory, with a roll-off roof, two telescopes and resident astronomers, while portable fitness equipment is brought to your patio. Wellness here is the night sky as much as the warm water, the aurora and the deep-sky stars the main event, the resident astronomers on hand to read the sky.
Riverside hot tubs
Riverside hot tubs, geothermal, under the aurora.
The observatory
The observatory, telescopes and astronomers.
Mount Hekla
Mount Hekla, in view.
Activities & Experiences
Signature Experiences
The observatory, the suites and the hot tubs define a stay — watch the aurora and the deep-sky stars through the telescopes of Iceland's only hotel observatory, stay in one of the seven continent-themed suites, and soak in the riverside geothermal hot tubs. The waterfalls of the south coast, the black beach at Reynisfjara near Vik, the glacier-capped volcanoes of Hekla and Eyjafjallajokull, and the Golden Circle are all within reach.
Iceland's only hotel observatory
Iceland's only hotel observatory, telescopes and astronomers.
Continent-themed suites
Continent-themed suites, seven of them.
Riverside aurora hot tubs
Riverside aurora hot tubs, geothermal.
Gourmet glass dining
Gourmet glass dining, creative Icelandic.
A south-coast base
A south-coast base, Golden Circle to Glacier Lagoon.
Getting There
Location & transfers
By air
Via Reykjavik
Around ninety minutes from Reykjavik.
On the river
Hella
Between Hella and Hvolsvollur on the Eystri-Ranga river, with Mount Hekla in view.
Guest Reviews
What Our Clients Say
★★★★★
“The most extraordinary place I have ever stayed. Nothing prepares you for the depth of the silence, the beauty of the reef, or the sheer generosity of the experience.”
✓ Verified via feefo
★★★★★
“We’ve stayed here three times now. The house reef has no equal. The stargazing was, genuinely, one of the most moving experiences of my adult life.”
✓ Verified via feefo
★★★★★
“I had stayed at Four Seasons, One&Only and Velaa before visiting Hotel Ranga. They are all magnificent. But this is different in a way that is hard to articulate.”
✓ Verified via feefo
Good to Know
Good to know
Board basis
- Bed-and-breakfast or half board.
Year-round
- Year-round; Northern Lights and the observatory in winter, midnight sun in summer.
Made for couples
- Made for couples and stargazers.
Getting there
- Around ninety minutes from Reykjavik.
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Dates, party size, villa preference and budget.
Destination
Dates & party
Date flexibility
Adults
2
Children
0
Budget & accommodation
Budget per person (flights + hotel)
£4,500
£500£50,000+
Villa preference
Flights
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