The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon

“Nestled amidst the rugged lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula, this geothermal marvel enchants with its milky-blue, mineral-rich waters, creating an ethereal oasis shaped by volcanic landscapes and natural hot springs. While not officially recognised as a natural wonder of the world, the Blue Lagoon is celebrated as one of Iceland’s most remarkable attractions.” So writes The Private Traveller. The stay that answers that landscape is The Retreat: a 60-suite hotel opened in 2018, encircled by the same geothermal seawater, with a subterranean spa Blue Lagoon calls “a geothermal paradise of timeless wellbeing.”

Suites sit on two levels. Lower rooms open onto terraces over centuries-old lava and, in some cases, give direct access to the lagoon. Upper rooms look out across the volcanic horizon. Guests have access to the Retreat Spa, the Blue Lagoon Ritual, the private Retreat Lagoon, and the main Blue Lagoon. The spa is carved into the lava field: sauna and treatment rooms, a cave steam room with a skylight, hanging seats over the water, and the Ritual — silica, algae, minerals — before you return to the milky pool. Condé Nast Traveller called the in-water massage unlike any other treatment, and closed its review with the line that holds: “Finally, here’s a truly spoiling way to access the restorative properties of this natural phenomenon.”

Dining is Icelandic: the spa restaurant by day, Moss at night. The hotel sits about twenty minutes from Keflavík and forty from Reykjavík, at Norðurljósavegur 11, Grindavík. You live in a robe. The moss, the steam, and the pale water do the rest.