There’re only two places on earth
where tectonic plates are visible above sea level “Kenya's Rift Valley”, and in
the south west of Iceland. A Hotel on the Edge of North America and Europe
collide, which is the only hotel in the world where you can sleep on the edge
of two tectonic plates. Iceland's Ion Hotel is magnificently positioned at the
foot of Mount Hengill on the edge of Þingvellir National Park where luxury
accommodation is set in an area where North American and Eurasian plates drift
further apart each year.
The boiling water bubbles just 25feet underground
here, so when it was built on the site of a geothermal power plant, its
creators had to use building materials seven times stronger than standard
materials used in Reykjavík. The luxury 45-room hotel is an extension and
renovation of the old workers' quarters of the Nesjavellir geothermal power
station, bought in 2011, with the intention of being the only hotel in this
isolated and lovely part of the country. ION makes use of Iceland's exclusive
geography in two ways: the bio-thermal energy is harnessed in a remarkable
outdoor natural hot spring; and a glass building – “the Northern Lights Bar” -
lets guests to admire the frequent aurora borealis displays.
Owner Sigurlaug Sverrisdóttir,
who was born in this region, and wanted to see flourish his area, so, he knows
very well about extreme weather, and Northern Lights never get old. She says
this respect for Mother Nature is in our blood; our parents and grandparents
definitely knew not to mess with her. One month before I was born, in January
1973, there was an eruption on the Westman Island, a small island south of
Iceland. Overnight almost the entire island was covered in lava. The rescue to
move the islanders to the mainland was successful mainly due to the fact that
all of the fishing boats were in harbour as these as were too rough for the
locals to fish.
The first boat left with habitants to reach the mainland only
30 minutes after the volcano erupted. Even though I was born here, I’m still spellbound
about the lava, moss landscape around ION. I still feel astonished when I see
the Northern Lights dancing in the sky on one of my late returns from work.
Even though you have experienced it numerous times before it is different when
you’re outside of the city, it's much more intense. I also thrive from the
energy; I find immense power in the Icelandic nature. Hence the reason we chose
ION for the hotel's name.'
Everything about the hotel
screams Iceland. Inside, lava, reclaimed wood and Icelandic wool are used to
furnish rooms, bathroom products are made from Icelandic herbs and everything
from the bed linen to the restaurant is organic and fair trade, in line with
the island's robust emphasis on preserving its natural beauty. To experience
the tectonic plates up close, the hotel offers snorkelling and diving trips to
Silfra, the world's most easily accessible tectonic fissure, where visibility
exceeds 330ft. It is here that you can touch the continents of America and
Europe at the same time.
The restaurant - aiming to be Iceland's first with a
Michelin star - serves up such delicacies such as reindeer, onions, spruce and
bone marrow, smoked bone marrow ice cream, sea buckthorn and malt molasses and
Icelandic langoustine, locally caught Arctic char and skyr often called
“homemade yoghurt”. Venturing into the wilderness, visitors are offered a range
of different activities from horse riding in mountains around Öflus, fly
fishing on Lake Þingvellir, Sólheimajökull glacier tours, rafting and hot spring
hikes. As well as excursions to the Golden Circle south Iceland's most famed
exploring route, which consist of waterfall Gullfoss and the geothermally
active valley of Haukadalur, containing the Strokkur geyser
which erupts every 5 to 10 minutes, guaranteeing
an 'ooh' or an 'ahh' from an ever captive audience. The restaurant - aiming to
be Iceland's first with a Michelin star - serves up reindeer, Icelandic
langoustine and Arctic char.
Source: Charismatic Planet
