One hour from Reykjavík, where winding roads open onto a landscape of mossy lava fields, crystalline waterfalls, and hot springs that seem to belong to another planet, the ION Adventure Hotel appears — a brutalist glass-and-concrete structure that floats above its surroundings as though it arrived from elsewhere. The original building housed workers at the nearby Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. Architects Minarc transformed it into one of the world's most striking destination hotels.
Opened in 2013, ION Adventure draws its heat and power directly from the geothermal earth below. The building is wrapped in sustainable materials — recycled wood, lava, Icelandic wool — and every room has floor-to-ceiling windows giving a front-row view of either the midnight sun in summer or the aurora borealis in winter. The hotel's signature feature is the Northern Lights Bar: a cantilevered glass box that juts from the building's front face and faces north across the lava fields, designed specifically for aurora viewing.
The Golden Circle — Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss — passes directly past the hotel's door. The Silfra snorkelling rift in Lake Þingvallavatn, one of the world's great underwater experiences, is 28 kilometres away. Glacier trekking, lava caving, snowmobiling on Langjökull, and Super Jeep northern lights tours are all arranged by the hotel's adventure team. The Lava Spa, with its outdoor geothermal hot tub, completes the picture.
All 66 rooms are designed in warm tones inspired by Iceland's natural materials — recycled wood, rubber, concrete, lava, and Icelandic leather — with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the volcanic landscape. Large black-and-white photographs of Icelandic nature and wildlife decorate the walls.
The Aurora Suite is the hotel's most sought-after room: 65 square metres with a private sauna, panoramic mountain or lake views, and a complimentary minibar. Its position on the north side of the building makes it the ideal room for northern lights viewing. The Lava Suite offers a similar scale with a private sauna and views across the lava fields.
Silfra Restaurant — named for the famous underwater rift in nearby Lake Þingvallavatn — serves modern Nordic cuisine with a commitment to farm-fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The kitchen is led by chefs Hafsteinn Ólafsson and Þráinn Freyr Vigfússon, who celebrate Iceland's extraordinary larder: Arctic char from the lake, lamb from nearby farms, and the seasonal harvest of Icelandic herbs and root vegetables.
The Northern Lights Bar is one of the world's great viewpoints. The cantilevered glass box protrudes from the building's north face, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows and furnished with low sofas and rawhide rugs. On clear winter nights, the aurora appears above the horizon and dances over the lava fields while guests sit with Icelandic microbrewery beers and cocktails made with local spirits. The hotel provides an aurora wake-up call service — at any hour of the night.
4 nights · Aurora Suite or Lava Suite · northern lights bar · Silfra snorkelling · lava caving · Golden Circle · glacier snowmobiling · Lava Spa geothermal soak
Add-on options: Glacier snowmobiling from ISK 29,900 · Silfra snorkelling from ISK 19,900 · Private Super Jeep northern lights tour from ISK 18,000 · Blue Lagoon (45 min from hotel)
ION Adventure Hotel was designed from the ground up for one experience above all others: the aurora borealis. The cantilevered Northern Lights Bar, the floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, the north-facing Aurora and Lava Suites with private saunas, and the hotel's around-the-clock aurora wake-up call service create conditions for witnessing the northern lights that no other hotel in the world can match. Combined with the Golden Circle on the doorstep, the Silfra rift, glacier snowmobiling, and the Lava Spa, it is the defining Iceland experience.
ION Adventure Hotel is a brutalist glass-and-concrete landmark above Iceland's lava fields — 66 rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, an aurora wake-up call service, and the Northern Lights Bar jutting north over the volcanic landscape.
This package includes the Golden Circle private tour, lava cave expedition, Icelandic horseback riding, Lava Spa, and all the tools to maximise your chances of experiencing the aurora borealis.
All components are fully flexible — this is a curated starting point, refined with your Richseen specialist prior to confirmation.