IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BLUE LAGOON ICELAND
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland
Best for
Geothermal bathing · In-water massage · A short reset
Typical stay
2 to 3 nights
From
Quote on request
Expert verdict
Best rate, guaranteed
Same price as The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland's own site, never more, with an independent expert advisor by your side.
The Retreat is sixty suites built into an 800-year-old lava flow on the Reykjanes peninsula, twenty minutes from Keflavík airport, encircled by its own arm of the Blue Lagoon. It opened in 2018 as Blue Lagoon's answer to a question the day spa could not: what the geothermal seawater becomes when you are not sharing it with a coach party and you have two days rather than two hours.
The answer is a property with no programme, no consultant and no protocol. What it has instead is water, and a great deal of it. Guests move between a private lagoon reserved for the hotel, a subterranean spa cut into the rock, steam chambers, a sauna looking out over the water, a cold well and a lava spring, on their own schedule. In-water massage, developed here nearly twenty years ago when a guest asked whether a massage could happen in the lagoon, is the treatment the country is known for.
It is not a health retreat and should not be sold as one. There are no diagnostics, no fasting and no medical supervision. It is a design hotel of unusual seriousness in a landscape that does the therapeutic work by itself, with a Michelin-starred restaurant attached and a wine cellar cut into lava that erupted in 1226. Two nights is the minimum and three is the sweet spot.
The property
A spa of the volcanic earth
The Retreat Spa is the property's defining feature and is included in every rate. It is subterranean, built into the lava rather than onto it, and moves through a sequence of chambers: a steam room inside lava rock, a cold well, a sauna with a window onto the Retreat Lagoon, a lava spring where water collects under a glass ceiling, a fire room, and the Nest, a room of suspended chairs facing the water.
The sequence culminates in the Blue Lagoon Ritual, a self-guided treatment in a cavern of three interconnected chambers using the lagoon's own materials. Silica deep-cleanses and strengthens the skin barrier, algae stimulates collagen production and slows its degradation, minerals rehydrate, and lava exfoliates. Everything on the treatment menu derives from the same four elements, matched to skin type.
The in-water experiences are what make this different from any other spa. In an area of the lagoon sheltered from everyone else, therapists work on a floating body: the Signature In-Water Massage runs 120 minutes, a silica salt scrub in the water, then a microalgae wrap while floating, then an hour of massage. Float therapy is the quieter version, closer to meditation than to bodywork. Both are booked separately from the room rate.
The rest of the day is deliberately light. A guided group yoga session runs each morning, in a room with a wall of glass onto the volcanic horizon, and a guided hike takes guests into the lava. Neither is compulsory, both are included, and there is nothing else on the schedule.
Moss, Lava and the Spa Restaurant
Moss is the reason people who are not staying here still come. It sits above the lava with a wall of glass, seats sixty, serves set tasting menus, and won a Michelin star in 2023 under head chef Aggi Sverrisson, who spent ten years holding a star at Texture in London before returning to Iceland in 2020. The menus travel the island, mountains to farmland to rivers to ocean, and change with the season. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 18:00, and the minimum age is twelve.
Below the restaurant, the wine cellar is cut into a lava flow that erupted in 1226. The list is anchored in Bordeaux and Burgundy with Italy, Spain and Germany alongside, and tastings can be arranged for individuals and small groups.
The Spa Restaurant is the all-day room, 133 square metres, seating 28, with the Retreat Lagoon filling the windows. It runs from light plates and drinks up to cod, sushi, king crab and wagyu. Lava Restaurant, built into an 800-year-old lava plateau on the shore of the main Blue Lagoon, is the casual option and serves classic Icelandic cooking.
Breakfast is à la carte, served 07:30 to 11:00 in the lounge or the Spa Restaurant, and included in every rate, as is afternoon Icelandic coffee and pastries in the lounge. There is no wellness cuisine here and no dietary programme: this is a hotel that feeds people very well rather than a clinic that prescribes.
Sixty suites in a lava field
The hotel is 10,000 square metres of building for sixty suites, arranged on two levels and designed by Sigríður Sigþórsdóttir of Basalt Architects, with interiors co-conceived with Design Group Italia. The governing idea was that building and geology should become one thing, and in places the lava dictated the plan rather than the other way round. Suites run from 40 to 230 square metres in six categories, all with a terrace or balcony, a grand king bed, heated floors, blackout curtains, a freestanding bathtub and Blue Lagoon skincare throughout. None has a television, deliberately.
The lower-level suites open onto the water. Lagoon Suites have a private lagoon a step from the bed; the Blue Lagoon Suite, the single 230 square metre duplex, has its own lagoon, its own spa with sauna, steam bath and fireplace, a full kitchen and a butler. Because these suites give direct access to water, children aged eight or under cannot stay in them.
Beyond the spa there is a lobby of continuous open space with a wood-burning fireplace, a library with an honesty bar, a gallery showing twentieth-century Icelandic ceramics donated to the Museum of Design and Applied Art by Blue Lagoon, a yoga room, a fitness centre open around the clock, and a terrace for the Northern Lights and the midnight sun.
Everything outside the property is arranged through a host: guided geology tours of the Reykjanes peninsula by chauffeured car, helicopter flights, ATV rides across black sand and lava. The peninsula has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2015 and sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart.
Programs
Treatment
Float Therapy
Length flexible · Price on request
Treatment
Float Therapy
Length flexible · Price on request
The quieter of the two in-water experiences, and closer to meditation than to bodywork. You float on the mineral-rich water while a therapist supports and lightly moves the body, and the combination of weightlessness, warmth and touch takes most people into a deeply meditative state within minutes.
It is the treatment we suggest for guests who arrive wound tight and are not looking to be worked on. Where the Signature In-Water Massage is an event, this is a dissolution.
Treatment
Signature In-Water Massage
Length flexible · Price on request
Treatment
Signature In-Water Massage
Length flexible · Price on request
Two hours in the lagoon, in an area of water sheltered from every other guest. It opens with a thirty-minute silica salt scrub given while you stand in the geothermal seawater, moves to a thirty-minute microalgae body wrap applied while you float, and closes with a full hour of massage.
In-water massage was developed here nearly twenty years ago, after a guest asked whether a massage could happen in the lagoon rather than beside it. It has since become the signature of the whole Blue Lagoon universe and remains the single treatment most worth travelling for.
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Rooms & suites
The Blue Lagoon Suite
230 sqm · Sleeps 4
The Blue Lagoon Suite
230 sqm · Sleeps 4
A single 230 square metre duplex, and the top of the property by a wide margin. Two bedrooms and a large living room with a fireplace, floor-to-ceiling glass on both levels, a 22 square metre terrace and a 20 square metre balcony, and a private lagoon of its own. Inside there is a private spa with sauna, steam bath, fireplace and massage suite, a full kitchen, a dressing room and heated chaise longues. A personal butler comes with it. Maximum occupancy is four adults, and it is sold on individually agreed terms rather than the standard rate card.
Lagoon Suite
60 sqm · Double occupancy
Lagoon Suite
60 sqm · Double occupancy
The suite people book this hotel for. Sixty square metres over two rooms on the lower level, with floor-to-ceiling windows that dissolve the line between inside and out, and a 28 square metre terrace opening into a private arm of the geothermal water. You step from the living room into the lagoon. Only three exist, all with a grand king bed, and they carry a two-night minimum. Children aged eight or under cannot stay here because of the direct water access; the sofa converts for one child up to eleven at a supplement.
Moss Suite
60 sqm · Double occupancy
Moss Suite
60 sqm · Double occupancy
Two rooms rather than one: a separate living area with a sofa alongside the bedroom, 60 square metres in total, opening onto a 26 square metre balcony above the moss-covered lava. There are only two in the hotel. The upper-level position means no direct water access and no age restriction, and a cot can be added. The sofa converts to a bed for one child up to the age of eleven at a supplement.
Moss Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
Moss Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
The upper-level version, and the category with the most rooms: twenty-six, twenty-two with a grand king bed and four twin. Walls of glass open onto panoramic moss that changes colour through the year, with sweeping lava unfolding into the volcanic horizon behind it. Being on the upper level, it has no direct water access, which makes it the one 40 m² category without an age restriction and the sensible choice for anyone travelling with a young child, since a cot can be added here.
Lagoon View Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
Lagoon View Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
The same footprint as the Lava View Junior Suite turned to face the water. Floor-to-ceiling windows give onto the blue of the lagoon and the multi-coloured lava beyond it, and the design takes its cues from both. Nine exist, all with a grand king bed. This suite looks onto the lagoon rather than opening into it: for private access from your own terrace you need a Lagoon Suite. Children aged eight or under cannot stay on the lower level.
Lava View Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
Lava View Junior Suite
40 sqm · Double occupancy
Carved into the earth on the lower level, this suite puts you face to face with frozen layers of historic lava, close enough from the terrace to reach out and touch the once-molten flow. The interior takes its shapes and colours from what is outside the glass. Eighteen exist, fourteen with a grand king bed and four twin, and it is the only category the property will sell for a single night. Because the lower level opens directly onto the water, children aged eight or under cannot stay here, and twin rooms have a walk-in shower rather than a freestanding bathtub.
Know before you arrive
Languages spoken
Languages spoken
English, Icelandic
Minimum stay
Minimum stay
2 nights
Booking policy
Booking policy
Check-in from 15:00, check-out until 11:00. Early check-in and late check-out are subject to availability. Two nights minimum in every category except selected Lava View Junior Suites, which take one-night stays at a higher rate, subject to availability. Every suite is designed for a maximum of two adults. An extra bed cannot be added in any junior suite. Interconnecting suites are available in the Lava View and Moss Junior categories. Groups of nine rooms or more are handled by the sales department on separate rates, payment and cancellation terms.
Cancellation policy
Cancellation policy
Bookings of one to eight rooms: ten days' written notice. Cancelled later than that, the full value of the original booking is charged. Nine rooms or more, and the Blue Lagoon Suite: as stated in the individual offer or contract. All cancellations and changes must be made in writing to the Retreat sales team.
Kids policy
Kids policy
Children aged eight or under cannot stay in the ground-floor suites, which have direct access to the surrounding water: Lava View Junior, Lagoon View Junior and Lagoon Suites. The minimum age for the Retreat Spa, the Blue Lagoon Ritual and the Retreat Lagoon is twelve, and guests aged 12 to 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The minimum age for the main Blue Lagoon is two. Moss Restaurant is twelve and over. A sofa in a Lagoon or Moss Suite converts to a bed for one child up to eleven at a supplement, and a cot is free of charge for children aged 0 to 2 in the Moss Suite and Moss Junior Suite.
Pets policy
Pets policy
Provided upon request
Frequently asked questions
What is the atmosphere like, and who else is staying?
Quiet, adult and informal rather than formal. Sixty suites and a strict minimum age mean it never feels busy, and the staff work as hosts rather than as a front desk. The guest mix is couples, solo travellers and a steady flow of design-minded travellers stopping between North America and Europe. Nobody is here on a programme, so there is no cohort and no shared timetable, which suits people who want to be left alone and disappoints anyone hoping to meet others.
What can I get here that I cannot get elsewhere?
Three things. A private geothermal lagoon reserved for hotel guests, fed from the same source as the Blue Lagoon but without the crowd. In-water massage and float therapy, developed here and still done better here than anywhere. And a subterranean spa built inside an 800-year-old lava flow, which no amount of money can reproduce somewhere without volcanoes. Moss, with its Michelin star, is the fourth reason and is on nobody's list of expectations for a spa hotel.
How much does it cost?
Prices are quoted per suite per night in Icelandic krona, vary by season across four periods, and include VAT and accommodation tax as well as the spa, the ritual, both lagoons and breakfast. The range across the six standard categories is wide, and the single Blue Lagoon Suite sits far above the rest. Ask us for the current rate for your dates: this is not a property where a headline "from" figure tells you anything useful, because the seasonal spread and the suite spread are both large.
What else should I look at?
If what appeals is thermal water and design rather than a medical programme, the closest comparisons in the catalogue are Bagni di Pisa and Grotta Giusti in Tuscany, both built on natural thermal springs, at a fraction of the price and with a longer stay in mind. If you want the Icelandic landscape but a lower rate, the Silica Hotel next door is the honest answer. If you actually want a health programme rather than a spa hotel, this is the wrong property and we would point you at Austria or Switzerland instead.
Is this a wellness programme or a hotel?
A hotel, and it is worth being clear about that before booking. There is no consultation, no diagnostic work, no supervised fasting and no prescribed schedule. What is included is unlimited access to the Retreat Spa, the Blue Lagoon Ritual, the private Retreat Lagoon and the main Blue Lagoon, plus a morning yoga session and a guided hike. Massages, facials and the in-water treatments are booked separately.
What does the rate include?
Access to the Retreat Spa and the Blue Lagoon Ritual, both lagoons, à la carte breakfast, a welcome drink, a minibar with soft drinks, beer and wine, Blue Lagoon skincare amenities and 15 per cent off the products, wi-fi, turndown, the fitness centre, the daily group yoga session, afternoon coffee and pastries, concierge service, valet parking and the resort fee. Restaurants and treatments are extra.
How long should I stay?
Three nights is the right answer for most guests, and two is the minimum in almost every category. The property is twenty minutes from Keflavík airport, which makes it one of the few genuinely worthwhile long weekends in wellness travel. Beyond three nights there is not enough here to fill the days unless you are using it as a base for the rest of Iceland.
What is the situation with the volcanic activity?
The Reykjanes peninsula has seen intermittent eruptions since 2021, and those near Grindavík from late 2023 caused short precautionary closures. The property has continued to operate through them with rehearsed evacuation procedures, and the rate card carries an explicit force majeure clause. Treat the property as the authority on current access at the time of your stay rather than relying on a general news report, and ask us to check before you commit to non-refundable travel.
Is it suitable for children?
Only in a limited way. The Retreat Spa, the Ritual and the Retreat Lagoon are twelve and over, Moss Restaurant is twelve and over, and children aged eight or under cannot stay in any of the ground-floor suites because they open directly onto water. In practice this is a property for adults, and most guests are couples or solo travellers.
What is the difference between this and the Silica Hotel?
Silica is Blue Lagoon's other hotel, 35 rooms a ten-minute walk away, with its own private lagoon, breakfast and admission to the main Blue Lagoon. It is a good hotel at a much lower price. What it does not have is the Retreat Spa, the Blue Lagoon Ritual, the Retreat Lagoon, Moss, or suites that open onto the water. Serenity Ways lists the Retreat because that gap is the whole point of the property.
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