Akureyri Backpackers

Super clean

Overall it was ok. We stayed at the fourth floor, which was quiet, but the showers were in the basement and one had to go thru the bar at the ground floor to get there. The reception was at the bar counter and it was noisy and hard to understand house rules. Lastly the receptionist wasn’t too interested or inclined to provide additional details.

Excellent location

We were there for two nights, and the first night was OK. Noisy location, with people yelling on the street right in front of the hotel until 1:00, during our second night at the hotel. Then heavy machinery started operating on the street at 6:30, during one hour. Earplugs made no difference. The same night around 22:00, there was a fire alarm, that made us go downstairs to evacuate the building. On the first floor at the bar and restaurant also serving as the hotel reception, life continued as normal. One employee was busy consulting the alarm control panel, trying to understand the reason for the alarm and to make it stop. The other employees didn’t seem to be concerned about the alarm, keeping serving drinks and meals as usual. Several hotel guests like us just stood up near the front entrance, waiting for some instructions of some sort, that never came. We even saw a group of 8 tourists or so going to the upper floors with their backpacks, as if everything was normal. Many hotel clients didn’t evacuate the building at all. When the alarm finally stopped, I inquired from the same busy employee who confirmed that it was a false alarm. No employee ever went to the floors and rooms to explain the situation to the clients. I saw the same employee coming from the evacuation stairs at the back on the third floor, perhaps to check if someone was still there. Good luck to anyone staying at this hotel, if there is a real fire alarm someday.