Apotek Hotel by Keahotels

A Pharmacy Turned Hotel, and What That Tells You About Downtown Reykjavik

Reykjavik's city centre has undergone significant repositioning over the past decade, with a cluster of design-conscious conversions joining the older stock of purpose-built hotels along Laugavegur and Austurstræti. The conversion model, where historic civic or commercial buildings are adapted into accommodation, has become one of the more credible ways to deliver a sense of place that new-build properties struggle to replicate. Apotek Hotel by Keahotels belongs to that category. Its address at Austurstræti 16 places it on one of the city's oldest commercial streets, and its identity is built directly on the building's previous life as a pharmacy, a function visible in the retained interior details that give the property its name and its architectural coherence.

That kind of provenance matters in a city where the premium accommodation tier is increasingly competitive. Reykjavik now hosts properties ranging from international chain flagships like the Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre and Hilton Reykjavik Nordica to sharply designed independents like 101 hotel Reykjavik and Hlemmur Square. Within that spread, Apotek occupies a specific niche: a Keahotels property with a heritage building identity, sitting between the personality-driven independents and the branded full-service category.

The Architecture as the Argument

The building on Austurstræti predates most of Reykjavik's current commercial fabric, and the hotel's design approach takes that seriously. Converted properties of this type succeed or fail based on how well the intervention respects the original structure while making it function as contemporary accommodation. At Apotek, the pharmacy lineage is not incidental branding; it is the organising principle of the interior. The retained period details, characteristic of early twentieth-century Nordic commercial architecture, give the lobby and public areas a material weight that distinguishes the property from hotels built to a clean-slate brief.

This approach aligns Apotek with a broader trend across Scandinavian cities, where adaptive reuse has become the preferred method for properties targeting culturally engaged travellers. The alternative, a purpose-built hotel designed to approximate heritage character, rarely achieves the same result. Authenticity here is structural, not decorative.

For travellers comparing design-led Reykjavik options, the relevant peer set includes Hotel Holt, The Art Hotel, which anchors its identity in Iceland's most significant private art collection, and Hotel Borg by Keahotels, the group's flagship art deco property on Pósthússtræti. Apotek and Hotel Borg share the same operator and a similar philosophy of building character from existing architecture, but they represent different periods and different aesthetic registers within the Keahotels portfolio.

Location on Austurstræti: What the Address Delivers

Austurstræti runs directly off Austurvöllur, the small square that functions as the civic heart of central Reykjavik. The parliament building, Alþingishús, faces the square; the Cathedral sits at its edge. For a city of Reykjavik's size, the concentration of historic buildings in this immediate area is relatively dense, and staying on Austurstræti puts guests within a two-minute walk of the city's administrative and cultural core.

The practical advantages are direct. The Old Harbour, Harpa Concert Hall, and the main commercial stretch of Laugavegur are all accessible on foot from this address, making Apotek a genuine walking-distance base rather than one that requires transfers. For travellers building an Iceland itinerary that mixes city nights with excursions, the central location reduces logistical complexity considerably. Day trips to the Golden Circle, the South Coast, and the Reykjanes Peninsula all route through or near the city centre.

For those extending their trip beyond Reykjavik, the wider Keahotels network reaches into the countryside. Iceland's regional accommodation options include properties with very different characters: ION Adventure Hotel in Nesjavellir targets the adventure and design crossover; Hotel Ranga in Hella is positioned for South Iceland base camp stays; and Hótel Búðir in Búðir operates in near-isolation on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Eleven Deplar Farm in Ólafsfjarðardalur and Vogafjós Farm Resort in Vogar represent the farm-stay and lake-adjacent formats. The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland in Grindavík occupies its own category entirely. Apotek serves as a natural Reykjavik anchor point within any multi-property Iceland itinerary.

The Keahotels Context

Keahotels is Iceland's oldest domestic hotel group, which gives its properties a degree of institutional credibility that newer entrants to the market cannot match on tenure alone. The group operates across multiple properties in Reykjavik and beyond, with Hotel Borg as its most prominently positioned city-centre asset. Apotek sits within this portfolio as the character-driven, heritage-conversion counterpart to Borg's grander art deco statement.

Within Reykjavik, the design-led independent category also includes Alda Hotel and Black Pearl, both of which appeal to a similar traveller profile. The Reykjavik EDITION operates at the leading of the market with Marriott backing and a more overtly luxury positioning. For travellers weighing options across this range, the choice often comes down to brand assurance versus architectural specificity, and Apotek is positioned firmly in the latter camp. See our full Reykjavik restaurants and hotels guide for a broader view of the city's current accommodation and dining options.

Planning Your Stay

Reykjavik accommodation runs at a premium during the summer season, roughly June through August, when daylight is near-continuous and demand from international visitors peaks sharply. The shoulder months of April, May, September, and October offer more availability and lower rates while keeping most attractions accessible. Winter stays, from November through February, align with the leading aurora viewing conditions and a quieter city, though some South Coast and highland routes carry weather-related restrictions during this period. Booking well in advance is advisable for any stay during the summer peak, particularly for central properties like Apotek where room inventory is limited by the building's historic footprint.