Second of three posts on the new-to-me geothermal pools/spas/experiences. Geosea is just north of Husavik, sitting on a clifftop with views across the fjord and out to sea, positioned perfectly to catch sunsets. The building itself is almost hidden from the car park, with the traditional turf roof, cut into the hillside so it doesn’t even stick up. If it wasn’t for the signs through Husavik and pointing into the car park, you could easily be forgiven for thinking you’re in the wrong place, when Geosea is so un-obvious.
To be honest, I thought Geosea was going to be my least favourite of the ten geothermal pools. Yes, it’s got clifftop pools and views for days, it’s got a swim-up bar (you climb out of the main pool, up some stairs and then into a bar-specific raised pool), it’s got a steam room but the whole feels less than the sum of its parts. It’s just two overgrown hot tubs. They’re not deep enough to even doggy-paddle in. They’re very nice for sitting in, for lounging in the summer sun and I did enjoy doing that but I wanted a bit more.
For one thing, I wanted somewhere to shelter from that sunset. It’s very hot and very bright and I began to worry about sunstroke or sunburn or just getting ill from having too much sun on me for too long. There’s a boulder that you can sort of shelter behind but it’s not much of a boulder and it’s not much of a shelter. It’s also right next to the cold pool, which is a very shallow pool that dribbles into the hot tub. You can’t cool off by sitting in it. It’s the favourite place of kids to play. It’s not entirely unpleasant to sit on the bench under the cold pool but if you lean back against the wall, cold water will run straight down your back and that is unpleasant.
Last time, I talked about the Forest Lagoon‘s USP. So, what’s Geosea’s USP? Is it that it’s the only one in the area? Mývatn Nature Baths are 37 miles away, so I guess if you’re based in Husavik, you’ll probably pick Geosea over the hour and a half round trip to Mývatn. That said, I was staying in Mývatn, a five-minute drive from the Nature Baths, and I made the journey all the way out to Husavik. Honestly, if you’re staying in one, you’ll visit the other. Mývatn has all the geothermal, volcanic delights. Husavik has the whale watching and the seaside town vibes. Of all the ten geothermal pools, these two are a good candidate for the two closest competitors. Secret Lagoon & Fontana, both being on the Golden Circle, are in a similar position. But I think in this case, you’re going to be in both Husavik and Mývatn and therefore you’re going to pick one. So, again, what’s Geosea’s USP?
I think it’s a couple of things. It’s the clifftop west-facing location with the possibility of seeing whales from the hot baths, and it’s the attempt to sell Geosea as a traditional authentic Icelandic experience. As you can “soak like a local” at all ten geothermal pools, every municipal swimming pool in every settlement and a lot of hot muddy puddles in the middle of nowhere, that doesn’t really work for me as a USP. I was expecting the USP to be front and centre on the website, or at least on Instagram and there isn’t really one. It’s all about the views, the sunsets and the traditional experience. Ok, that’s fine. Cliffs, sunsets, infinity pools…
Geosea is nice. It’s just not my personal style. I like a bit more space and a bit more to explore. I absolutely can’t fault it as a place to relax with great views, with the way it blends into the area, with bringing the geothermal experience to the whale-watching town and with the way it potentially adds a new, un-invasive way of watching whales. It’s all very nice. But personally, I’d go to the Nature Baths over Geosea every day.
