The second* thing on my to-do list for my trip to Iceland last month was to go to the Sky Lagoon, Iceland’s newest geothermal spa and it… well, it was good enough that I went back a second time five days later. It takes a lot of what the Blue Lagoon does well and – dare I say it? – improves on the experience.
*the first was visiting the new volcano
The Sky Lagoon has three USPs. Number one is that it’s “minutes from Reykjavik city centre”. It may be if you have a car. It took me about an hour, door to door, via public transport but I concede that I don’t know of any other spas in the entire country that are easily accessible by public transport. No, not even the Blue Lagoon. Sure, there are lots of buses there but they’re all operated by tour companies, not your ordinary local 490kr orange public bus. By public transport, you either take the bus to Hamraborg, the transport hub in Kopavogur and walk 2.5km to the end of the peninsula or you take a second bus (35/36 depending on whether you’re coming or going) to the nearest bus stop, followed by a 10-15 minute walk through an industrial estate. Good news: if you change buses within 75 minutes, it’s counted as one journey so it only takes one ticket in each direction, not two.
Number two is the infinity pool. The Sky Lagoon is right on the end of the peninsula and as long as you don’t get too close, the edge of the pool blends with the fjord and that’s very cool. I’ve never been in an infinity pool before. Up close, of course, you can see the edge. There’s a walkway for a lifeguard, a drain for the water that pours over which doubles as a shelf for empty glasses, and the rocks that form the actual end of the peninsula. But it’s still fun and it still looks amazing from the right angle.
Number three is the Ritual. Now, I have very divided thoughts on this because the Ritual is nice. It’s seven steps to wellness and wonder which consist of alternating hot and cold and a gorgeous body scrub. On the other hand, it costs extra to access the Ritual and you only get to do it once. And when you look at it critically instead of through a haze of relaxation, the Ritual is actually little more than access to the saunas and steamrooms you’d get included at any local pool. I know, I tried three of them out. So while the Ritual is lovely, it’s also a huge cheek to charge £18 for it.
The founder of the Sky Lagoon is an ex-CEO of the Blue Lagoon who clearly knows what people like about their geothermal spas. The Blue Lagoon is very crowded – it’s Iceland’s biggest tourist attraction; of course it’s always busy – but the Sky Lagoon is quieter. It’s never going to overtake the Blue Lagoon in popularity, in the same way that whatever you add to Paris, the tourists are always going to go to the Eiffel Tower. Because the Sky Lagoon doesn’t have that chaotic tourists-in tourists-out thing running all day, it’s managed to acquire an air of serenity. The lights are low in the changing rooms (to the point that this vampire was blinded by the green light on her locker and couldn’t see the contents because of it) and all the furnishings and walls are quite dark. The showers have separate stable-like cubicles so you can have your naked shower privately, although the doors end low enough for any staff to check you’re doing it properly (although I didn’t see anyone doing that). Then you go out through a sort of cave entrance straight into the lagoon. I was there on a rainy, windy and thoroughly nasty day and after the dark preparation areas, you just can’t help exclaiming “Wow!” as you swim out into the light.
Nothing here is natural but it looks natural. It’s like the lagoon was carved out of high black cliffs and then flooded. You follow the high cliffs round two right-angles and then the infinity effect opens out in front of you and you shout “Wow!” all over again. Where sea meets sky indeed. Although on this day, it was all just grey and the lagoon itself was rough enough that I kept getting splashed in the face and that does take a little away from it. Sorry, if you’re going to build a luxury spa in Iceland, you have to remember Icelandic weather will occasionally slap you in the face.
It’s all gorgeous, even in bad weather. The water is absolutely clear and slightly blue, the bottom is smooth but just textured enough that you don’t slip, which is quite the novelty after ten years of wading through four inches of soft slime in the Blue Lagoon, and there are underwater seats to admire your chosen slice of the view. The seats have that same texture which makes you less likely to float off them.
To your left there’s a second inlet and hiding around the corner is a bar. You have to take your wristband off and hand it to the staff rather than just hold your arm up here, but it functions the same way as at the Blue Lagoon. You’ve probably linked it to a card on arrival so you zap your bracelet to pay for drinks. Maximum of three alcoholic drinks because water and drunkenness don’t mix – the pink fizz was popular, but they also do soft drinks and everything’s served in nice solid reusable washable plastic glasses. Admittedly, very few people bother to return them to the bar so by the time the place has been open for half an hour, the entire lagoon is scattered with empty glasses on any rocky surface the glasses will stay on. Staff go round and collect them but it’s like painting the Forth Bridge. The collecting buckets aren’t big enough for even a fraction of the stuff and by the time one bucket is full, another thirty drinks have been ordered to be abandoned later on. Take your empty glasses back to the bar, people! You’re all taking photos; is it cute to have empty glasses in the background everywhere?
Yeah, everyone’s taking photos. Everyone has either a glass or a phone in their hand and a few people are juggling both. I know phones are a lot more prone to being waterproof than they were last time I was in Iceland but it makes my blood run cold to see phones unprotected in the lagoon, especially the ones that are wrapped in plastic sandwich bags or towels. The bar is great – it sells waterproof phone cases! It also sells sunglasses and warm hats so you can adjust your attire for the weather. There are people having full-on photoshoots in the lagoon and… it does look better than the Blue Lagoon. It’s all fake but it looks so much more natural, so much more earthy, so much more luxurious. The Blue Lagoon dances the line between alien and clinical but the Sky Lagoon is all spa.
I wanted to see it in sunlight rather than through a beating of rain and wind and I decided to time it so I could also watch the sunset so I went back about 5pm. The bad news was that although the day had been clear and sunny, it was visibly getting cloudy even by the time I’d arrived, and because I was travelling by bus, I had a deadline to get out, which turned out to be before sunset – but as the sun approached the end of its day’s journey, a big bunch of cloud came over and smothered it, so I wouldn’t have seen it even if I could have stayed in another hour. Yes, it does look nice in the sun. But next time I’d be arriving in the morning rather than the evening, before it gets absolutely packed with posers, drinkers and empty glasses.
Ok, the Ritual. Let’s go through this money-spinner. Step one is the lagoon. Relax in the warm waters for as long as you like. When you’re ready, go to step two. That’s the cold plunge, in the cold pool on the shelf outside the cave system that houses the Ritual. To be fair, the cold plunge is open to anyone. It’s a small round pool styled on the one at Reykholt, Snorri Sturlusson’s pool, although his is warm. Then you go inside and are guided through the rest of the steps. You get given a black rubber wristband to show you’re allowed in and the staff will take this from you. Step three is the sauna and this is good. It’s a big light room with a huge window where the outer wall should be. It’s supposed to be the biggest window in Iceland, although I’m not sure I believe that. It’s big but the biggest? It somehow remains absolutely clean and steam-free and you can watch eider ducks bob past outside. The seats at the top are hottest – I don’t do well in that kind of heat because I am a polar bear but I found the lower seats cooler and more bearable, plus a better view out the window.
When you’ve had enough, you move onto step four – the mist/rainfall room. No one really likes a cold shower, even for spa purposes but this is light and slightly breezy and a little bit really nice. Yeah, my cold plunge was only up to my ankles but I loitered in the rainfall and giggled until my feet went numb. Back into the cave for step five, a body scrub. I don’t know what’s in it – I tried to buy it in the shop at the end but it was out of stock that week and I would probably have had an aneurysm at the price anyway – but I vaguely remember eucalyptus and orange, maybe? The internet says grapeseed and sesame oil. Almond oil carrier either way, I think, and definitely sea salt. I thought it was the oils that made them warn you it’s body only, not face, but I think it’s the harshness of the sea salt. Anyway, you get given it in a little wooden bowl and you sit on a log to apply it to your body. Then it’s off to step six, into the steam room to let the scrub really soak in. That one really is a bit hot and humid for this polar bear but I did as I was told.
And finally, step seven is to shower the scrub off and return to the lagoon to feel utterly relaxed. Yeah, it’s a good Ritual and perhaps £18 isn’t too much. But I can’t get past the idea that the majority of what you actually get for that money is the sauna and steam room and that those things are free everywhere else.
It’s all very beautiful. It takes all the Blue Lagoon’s promises about wellness and nature and relaxing and it makes them more real. The Blue Lagoon is really hampered by its own popularity. It’s gorgeous and I particularly revelled in it after a wet day of seeing geothermal stuff I wasn’t interested in on Reykjanes but it’s commercial and clinical and weird and fun and the idea of serenity and relaxing are just so far from what it actually offers. I love seeing the power station next door because it’s so alien but come on, power stations are not nature and serenity and spa bliss. Plus the Sky Lagoon doesn’t allow under-12s in and however much parents might complain, it’s not unpleasant to not be splashed by precious Jasper and Millie in their orange armbands at a spa.
I compared prices and at a push, the Blue Lagoon does work out cheaper – well, you get to use the sauna and steam room for free and you get your first drink free (technically this is called “prepaid” rather than “free” but there’s no drink included in the Sky Lagoon’s matching price) but because this feels more like a spa and less like a theme park, it somehow feels like you’re getting better value for money. Plus if you have access to a car, it’s so much quicker to get there. Far easier to do in the evening after an exciting day out than having to drive an hour out to Grindavik and back.
And yes. I think I prefer the Sky Lagoon. I like the Blue Lagoon. I’m never going to be one of those travellers who wafts around going “Yeah, it’s for tourists, I don’t like touristy things, I’m not one of those”. I think the Blue Lagoon is great. But I can see me opting for the Sky Lagoon instead at least eight times out of ten if I’m in Reykjavik in the future. I think they’re both aiming for the luxury spa atmosphere and I think the Sky Lagoon does a much better job of hitting it.
