European hotels

Back in Decmeber 2019/January 2020 I had the great pleasure of spending a month in Europe with my best friend, Carol.

We toured five countries - Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and, just barely, Austria. Everywhere we went we stayed at Marriotts.

At one point, I told Carol I'd love to stay in a European hotel. She shot that idea down immediately. "The beds are too hard," she told me. "The pillows are terrible, nobody gets enough sleep. It's Marriott all the way." Okay.

I have to admit, this one was really cool

Karen also likes nice hotels, so I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived in Reykjavík. I was pleased to discover sh'd chosen a nice, older, European hotel located just a block from the waterfront. Perfect.

The room was very comfortable with two nice little beds,

a cute sitting area,

a tiny bathroom...

and a baron to watch over us.

The view wasn't much, but honestly, it didn't matter. I slept very well there.

On Saturday, we moved to Hotel Eldhestar.

Karen had told me it looked like a Motel 6, but we soon discovered that wasn't a fair comparison. While the outside was a little uninspiring,

the inside was new and clean and modern.

The common areas...

were filled with pony memorabilia,

including a sidesaddle,

a rooster...

and the remains of an actual pony.

Each room was named after a pony. Ours was Frída.

There wasn't a biography for her, but there were for some of the others. 

Here's Frosti's.

The rooms were very nice, again two little beds,

heated floors...

and a much bigger bathroom.

And the view was amazing!

Every morning, we were treated to a front row seat of the ponies coming in from the pasture.

All three hundred and fifty of them!

The only problem? The beds were hard, I didn't like the pillows and the room was so hot. We tried to mitigate the latter by leaving doors and windows open all the time.

Unfortunately, sometimes the weather made that impossible.

The only good thing about leaving Hotel Eldhestar on Wednesday, was the promise of a better night's sleep.

We returned to the first hotel in Reykjavík, and our new room was similar with two little beds,

a nice sitting area...

and another baron.

Unfortunately - and maybe because I was so body sore from all that riding - those two little beds weren't comfortable at all.

I am truly so glad I finally got to stay at a European hotel, but if I ever am lucky enough to go back to Europe with Carol, I don't think I'll complain about her Marriotts!