Most visitors to the Blue Lagoon get a few hours in the famous milky water before they are back on the bus. Guests at The Retreat get the place on different terms entirely. This is the Blue Lagoon's luxury hotel, a low, modern building of concrete, glass and stone that disappears into a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, with its own private lagoon carved between ancient lava walls and an underground spa reserved for guests and a small number of spa visitors.
It is an ideal first or last stop on an Iceland honeymoon. The airport is about twenty minutes away, so you can land on a red-eye from the East Coast, sink into silica-blue water before lunch and dine that evening at Moss, the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant. Or save it for the end of a road trip, when muscles ache from glacier hikes and you want nothing more than a robe, a soak and a long, quiet sleep. With about 60 suites and 24-hour service, it is intimate, hushed and very grown-up in mood.
Highlights at a glance
- Unlimited access to the underground Retreat Spa
- Private Retreat Lagoon set between lava canyons
- Michelin-starred Moss with volcanic views
- Just 60 suites and 24-hour service
- About 20 minutes from Keflavík Airport
- Northern lights potential over the lava field in winter
A Hotel Grown from Lava
The Retreat sits on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a UNESCO Global Geopark of lava fields, steaming vents and craters at Iceland's southwestern tip. The hotel was designed to feel like part of that landscape: long horizontal lines, walls that frame slices of moss-covered lava and interiors in warm, minimal tones and natural local textures.
The water that fills the lagoons is the same mineral-rich seawater that feeds the main Blue Lagoon, drawn from deep underground near the Svartsengi geothermal plant. Silica gives it that soft, milky blue and leaves a white mud on the lagoon floor. The bathing temperature generally hovers around 99 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, warm enough to linger in even when snow is falling.
The Suites
With 60 suites, The Retreat is small enough that you rarely feel other guests around you. Every suite is a clean-lined, modern space with neutral colors, natural materials and windows that look out onto the lava field or the lagoon, designed to quiet the mind rather than impress with gilt.
The hotel offers several suite categories, with the larger ones adding more living space and wider views. For a honeymoon, ask for a lagoon-facing suite: waking to steam curling off blue water against black rock is the image you will remember. Wherever you sleep, the service runs around the clock. Many couples barely leave the building except to walk down to the water in their robes.
Retreat Spa and the Private Lagoon
Hotel guests enjoy unlimited access to the Retreat Spa and the Retreat Lagoon throughout their stay. The spa is built underground into the lava, a series of eight subterranean spaces for steam, heat, rest and treatments that feel more like a modernist cave than a typical hotel spa.
The centerpiece is the Blue Lagoon Ritual, a self-guided sequence of the lagoon's own silica, algae and mineral masks that you apply yourselves and rinse off in the water, which makes a playful, intimate ritual for two. Then step out into the Retreat Lagoon, a private stretch of geothermal water hemmed in by lava canyons and far quieter than the main lagoon. The main Blue Lagoon is a short walk away if you want to see it. In-water massages floating on the lagoon are among the most memorable treatments in Iceland.
Why guests fall for it
Dinner at Moss
Moss sits at the highest point of the property, looking out across the volcanic landscape. It earned a Michelin star in 2023. Led by Icelandic chef Aggi Sverrisson, it serves a seven-course seasonal tasting menu built on Icelandic produce from land and sea, with a vegan version available. Wine pairings come in classic and prestige versions, drawn from a cellar set within a chamber of centuries-old lava.
For a true splurge, the Kitchen's Table offers a private-chef experience for a small group on select evenings, beginning with drinks in the wine cellar. Moss usually opens Wednesday through Sunday evenings, so if dinner here is a priority, plan your nights accordingly and book well ahead. The dress code is smart casual. On other nights, the hotel's spa restaurant and the Lava restaurant at the main Blue Lagoon offer more relaxed options.
Beyond the Lagoon
The Reykjanes Peninsula rewards a day of exploring and the hotel's location makes it easy. You can walk the Bridge Between Continents, a footbridge spanning a fissure between the North American and Eurasian plates. You can also see the boiling mud and steam of the Gunnuhver hot springs and watch Atlantic waves pound the black cliffs near the Reykjanesviti lighthouse.
In winter, the peninsula's dark skies away from Reykjavík's glow make it a good base for northern lights. The moment the aurora appears over a steaming lagoon is the honeymoon moment couples hope for. Wellness retreats with yoga, meditation and sound healing run on select dates. Private wellness experiences can be added to your stay. Reykjavík itself is roughly 45 minutes away by car for a day of cafes, design shops and the harbor.
Why Guests Fall in Love
Guests consistently describe The Retreat as the calm, private side of the Blue Lagoon. That contrast is what they rave about. The private lagoon and underground spa come up again and again, especially the feeling of floating in warm, opaque blue water with few people around while the weather does whatever it likes overhead.
The service gets warm praise for being attentive without being stiff. The 24-hour staffing makes late arrivals and early departures painless. Couples often single out the Blue Lagoon Ritual as unexpectedly fun and romantic. Moss earns rave reviews for its creative tasting menu and the views across the lava. Many travelers say a night here at the end of their trip was exactly the right way to decompress before the flight home.
Good to Know: Volcanic Activity
The Reykjanes Peninsula is geologically alive. Since late 2023, a series of eruptions along the Sundhnúkur crater row, northeast of Grindavík, has periodically sent lava across the landscape. Each time, the Blue Lagoon and The Retreat closed temporarily as a precaution and reopened once authorities gave the all-clear; earthen barriers have been built in the area to divert lava flows. In November 2024 lava reached the Blue Lagoon's parking lot.
Between episodes, the Icelandic Met Office has reported continued ground uplift at Svartsengi and treats further eruptions on the crater row as likely. In practice, this means flexibility. Book refundable rates or good travel insurance, check the Blue Lagoon website and the Icelandic Met Office before you go and consider placing your Retreat night near the start of the trip so a closure would not derail the finale. The Blue Lagoon has also been upgrading its facilities, so ask whether any work is underway during your dates.
Insider tips
- Request a lagoon-facing suite and mention your honeymoon when you book.
- Moss typically opens Wednesday through Sunday, so align your dates if dinner here matters.
- Book flexible rates and check the Blue Lagoon and Icelandic Met Office sites a few days before arrival for volcanic updates.
- Soak just after dark in winter, when the steam, silence and chance of aurora are at their best.
