Near Skogafoss Waterfall and the Iceland Plane Wreckage, the Hotel Drangshlid has location going for it, but not much else. Nevertheless, the bare bones inn does provide a roof over your head and basic utilities, and that’s really all you need for your Iceland adventure.
The Hotel Drangshlid looks promising when you drive up. It is located on a beautiful property on Ring Road, next to the little elf houses. There are a couple of dogs when you drive up, a nice touch for a country inn. Inside the lobby, it’s quaint. When you get to the door of your room, and the room is marked with an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper with the room number printed on it and taped to the door, it’s more than quaint.
Inside the room, it’s even more quaint. Bare walls (and thin walls), bare furniture, a bare floor and a spartan bathroom are on hand. It was barely OK. But the room did have a nice view.
The dining room was a little better, and the views helped a lot. The food was OK.
Of all the cheapest hotels I stayed at during my visit to Iceland, this was the cheapest, and I’m not talking about the price.
Yet, with all that said, I recommend Hotel Drangshlid because location is everything. Hotels near Skogafoss and Vik are rare and expensive, so just to have one of any kind is a blessing. I would stay there again.
From the hotel I was able to easily visit Skogafoss, Sólheimajökull glacier and the Iceland Plane Wreckage. All are just minutes away, and that is priceless.
The Holiday Inn doesn’t have dogs!
The room number taped to the door.
This was a very spartan room with very thin walls and a tiny bathroom. But it was an ends to a mean, facilitating this part of my epic journey in Iceland.
The dining room was better, and the food was not bad.
Breakfast at the Hotel Drangshlid.
Next door to the Hotel Drangshlid are the “elf houses” built into Drangur Rock. (Drangshlid is named after this rock.) Drangur is actually a gigantic boulder that has ended up in the middle of the field. There are caves and houses built into the rock that farmers have used in the past as cowsheds. Icelandic folkore has it that Grettir the Strong Asmundarson, an ancient Icelandic outlaw, tore it from a mountain and tossed it down into the field.
Drangur Rock is the location of some of Iceland’s most matter-of-fact stories about elves. There are several stories, including one where many elves lived inside the rock and assisted farmers with the cows. Another story details a retired farmer who married an elf-woman, and after the man disappeared, people did not even search for him as they knew he had eloped.
Unfortunately, access to Drangur Rock and the structures in and around the rock is prohibited. I did not trespass to get a closer look, but while I was there several tourists pulled over on Ring Road and ran across the field to get their photos taken on the houses.
