ION Adventure Hotel occupies a former geothermal-plant building on the slopes of Mount Hengill, an easy stop on Iceland's Golden Circle route and the base serious design-hotel bookers choose for it. It is 45 rooms built from salvaged driftwood and volcanic rock, a geothermal pool with the aurora sometimes visible straight overhead, and a wake-up call the front desk will actually place if the sky lights up at 2 a.m.
The aurora case: elevation, the wake-up call, and the Northern Lights Bar
ION's aurora argument is built into its geography rather than sold as an add-on package. The hotel sits well up the slopes of Mount Hengill, an active volcanic ridge in Iceland's southwest, clear of Reykjavík's light dome and far enough into the interior that the ambient glow most city-based aurora hunters fight against barely registers here.
From August through May, reception runs a complimentary northern lights wake-up call service: staff track the aurora forecast overnight and knock if the display gets going, so you are not the one setting an alarm every 40 minutes and checking the window. It is a small operational detail, but it is the difference between actually seeing the aurora at 1:30 a.m. and sleeping through the one clear, active night of your trip.
The Northern Lights Bar gives you a second, lower-effort option: floor-to-ceiling glass and panoramic views, so a green arc overhead does not require getting dressed. Between the elevation, the wake-up service, and the bar's sightlines, ION removes most of the friction that usually turns aurora-chasing into a sleep-deprived guessing game.
45 rooms of driftwood and lava: what ION's design actually gets you
ION occupies a building that started life as accommodation for geothermal-plant workers. Architects Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Minarc stripped it down and rebuilt it using a panelized construction system that exceeds Iceland's environmental building standards, then furnished the 45 rooms with salvaged driftwood, volcanic rock, and recycled materials rather than importing a generic luxury-hotel look. The result reads as Nordic-minimalist: concrete, dark wood, and lava textures rather than exposed timber and sheepskin.
Room features that matter for a multi-night aurora stay:
- Private saunas in select suites, useful for warming up after standing outside at midnight
- Complimentary minibar, also only in select suites
- Aurora Suite category at 65 m², designed specifically with northern lights viewing in mind
- Room orientation toward Mount Hengill's open sky rather than toward the access road
The Aurora Suite is the one worth booking if the northern lights are the actual reason for the trip; standard doubles are comfortable but were not laid out with the same sightline in mind.
Lava Spa, Silfra Restaurant, and the rest of the property
The Lava Spa is small by five-star-resort standards, a single geothermal-heated pool, a traditional wood-fired sauna with heated stones, and a relaxation room, but it is heated by the same geothermal system that powers the building. Soaking outdoors in winter with steam rising off the water and the aurora overhead is the detail most guests remember.
Silfra Restaurant runs a short, seasonal menu built around modern Icelandic cooking: Arctic char, lamb, and regional produce rather than an international hotel-buffet spread. It is the only dinner option on-site, and there is nowhere else to eat within a genuinely short drive after dark, so plan around the kitchen's hours rather than your own.
On Booking.com, ION holds an 8.6 out of 10 rating across 810 verified reviews, solid for a design-focused property at this price point. Guests consistently flag the spa and the wake-up call service as the two things that justify the rate.
Location: 45 minutes from Reykjavík, 11 miles from Thingvellir
ION sits about 45 minutes by road from Reykjavík and roughly 96 km from Keflavík International Airport, close enough for a day trip into the city but far enough out that the sky darkens properly once the sun goes down. It sits 11 miles (about 18 km) from UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park, which makes ION one of the more practical bases for pairing daytime Golden Circle sightseeing with a serious Iceland's northern lights itinerary rather than choosing between the two. It's also a workable overnight base for the Golden Circle & Northern Lights Combo Tour, which covers the same Þingvellir–Geysir–Gullfoss loop in a single day.
If you are comparing ION against Iceland's other aurora-focused stays before booking, the best lodges for Iceland's northern lights roundup lines up price, location, and viewing conditions side by side.
Who ION is for, and who should look elsewhere
ION is not the right choice for everyone chasing the aurora in Iceland. There is no dedicated observatory or astronomy staff, so anyone wanting a guided astrophotography session should look at properties that build that into the stay rather than expecting ION's team to run one. The design language, exposed concrete, minimalist furniture, driftwood accents, appeals to travelers who want a boutique hotel that happens to sit under dark sky, not a rustic mountain lodge; if log-cabin coziness is what you are after, this is not that property.
At €279 a night, ION sits at the premium end of Iceland's aurora-lodge market. What you are paying for is the design, the Lava Spa, and the wake-up call service, not extra square footage or a longer amenities list than a mid-range Golden Circle hotel. Couples and architecture-minded travelers get the most out of it; families traveling with young children may find the minimalist, adults-oriented atmosphere less suited to their trip than a larger resort-style property.
