Dream Guesthouse Vik

The building’s exterior, stairway, deck and parking area all looked horrible, almost demolished, though the location was okay. I think the owner’s pricing practice is a way of tricking guests, so new customers should be careful. I booked through Priceline, where the price was listed as $286, but my card wasn’t charged at booking. That seemed odd because the other seven houses or hotels I booked charged me at the same time. On arrival, the owner insisted I pay $310 in cash only. I showed him the $286 price record, and he said the EU currency rate had gone up that day and I had to pay extra or cancel and leave. I wondered whether he would have kept the original price if the rate had gone down. I then understood why he never took credit cards. What kind of “professional management” is this? I assume you all paid cash too.

The walls are so thin we heard every whisper, snore and suitcase zip from nearby rooms. Sleeping was a challenge, and there was very little privacy. The broken window mentioned in older reviews is still broken. At this point it almost feels like part of the décor. The building looks run-down outside, and the inside doesn’t help that first impression. We paid €265 for one night and got stained sheets, a shower that clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly for a while, and one toilet shared among four rooms, in the same room as the shower. Breakfast was basically whatever was left in the fridge. Not the cosy Icelandic guesthouse stay we’d pictured, more like a random flatshare. After we arrived, a man just walked into the apartment and asked for cash payment. No invoice or receipt. We asked him to email a receipt, and he said he would, but it never came. Save your money unless overpriced chaos, mystery visitors and no privacy are your thing.

The beds were actually very comfortable, but that was about the only good part. The apartment was dirty, with visible grime and a clump of hair in the shower. At night, other guests arrived at 2 a.m., after the stated 11 p.m. check-in time. Nobody was there to let them in, and we woke to the noise and confusion after locking the front door, which opens straight outside, for safety. It felt like the host had no real control or management of the property. Check-in itself was disorganized: the host was absent and had sent someone who didn’t have the needed information. We were told our reservation would be canceled unless we paid the full amount, including commission, directly to the host’s IBAN instead of through the booking platform. That took away the platform’s protection and felt very unprofessional. Breakfast was advertised as included, but all we found in the kitchen were a few eggs and a jar of Nutella, not the prepared breakfast we expected. The microwave didn’t work, and using a hairdryer tripped the circuit breakers. Several windows were broken and let in cold air, and the bedrooms had only tiny windows with no proper ventilation. A disappointing stay, far below expectations.

The rooms cost far too much for what you get. This is a terrible deal for a hostel, especially since we later found a hotel room for the same price. The place wasn’t clean and was full of spiders. I killed two in the bathroom. The host requested a sketchy payment method, demanding cash or PayPal after the free-cancellation period, even though the listing says cash is not accepted. We emailed to ask about it, but they ignored us. In the end, a random neighbor came demanding payment at 10:30 at night.