Arbol Guest House

The area is beautiful, but this house made for a bad stay. We could hear conversations, footsteps, and even bathroom sounds from the neighboring rooms through the nearly nonexistent soundproofing, which made resting difficult. The host was cold, and with so little comfort or privacy we cut our stay short and tried to spend as little time inside as possible. We wouldn't come back or suggest it to anyone seeking a peaceful, welcoming place.

The wooden house was clean and well placed in Húsavík, and breakfast was something we appreciated. For four of us, the bedrooms were separate, though one was quite small. There are two bathrooms with toilets, plus a single toilet downstairs shared by all the guests, so I can imagine queues in high season. Sound carries badly between rooms, so bring earplugs if snoring neighbors would keep you up.

The house was a letdown too: the rooms were very small, and with only one bathroom and one toilet shared across two floors, it felt cramped. The walls were so thin we could hear neighbors breathing. Two days after our stay, Booking notified us that the owner was trying to charge a late check-in fee, which felt outrageous. We had told the owner in advance that we would arrive at 22:00. The rules said check-in was available until 23:00, and after our message got no response, we had to find a way to call her Icelandic number, which had no Viber, WhatsApp, or other messaging app. She reluctantly said she'd wait at 22:30. We arrived right then, but she wasn't there. When we knocked on a window, a man inside gestured for us to leave, so we waited outside in the cold despite having paid. By luck, the owner came out at 22:45 to take out the trash. When we finally spoke, she yelled that we were late, even though check-in was still open. I've never had a worse travel experience. The owner was rude and unprofessional, and this left a terrible taste despite the unfortunate situation being avoidable. Someone who can't be kind or welcoming shouldn't run a guesthouse. It seemed to me she cared more about taking our money than showing hospitality. I wouldn't recommend staying here. Reply: The owner keeps changing the facts instead of taking responsibility. I have messages and timestamps to support what I wrote. Rather than deal with the issue professionally, she blocked me from posting my review on Booking. Guests deserve transparency, and this hostility and censorship show a serious lack of respect and professionalism. Second reply: I stand by what I said. Lady, stop changing your story every time I answer. Pick one version of your fake story and stick to it. You can check the screenshot attached to your previous comment. Again, please go check your mental health 🙏

The owner was great, and we really enjoyed our two nights. We chose breakfast, which came in the sweetest picnic basket left at our door at the time we picked. There was plenty: bread, pastries, yogurt, oatmeal cups, orange juice, coffee, and fruit. The room was nice, though we were in the attic, where the ceiling slopes very low. My son is 6'5" and bumped his head a few times.