We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The Tripadvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:
Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
Contact accommodation for availability.
There are similar hotels available.
View all
CharlesP
Philadelphia, PA

Poor value - basic hospitality is lacking

Review of Torfhus Retreat
2.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 5 Jun 2024
My wife and I were excited to visit based on the reviews and decided to ignore the few that were poor. We had booked a 2 night stay for our 15 year anniversary but had to leave earlier due to family emergency. We also had the volcano eruption a few days before to deal with and our 17 year old dog that had passed a few days before our trip. Anyhow, we tried to ask the staff if they could make an exception and give us a break but they would not budge. Considering we had a heavy set of circumstances, the front desk suggested we reach out to management, which we did by writing an email. Management decided to ignore our email entirely, which is a first for me considering they are supposed to be in the hospitality industry.
I personally work in the hospitality industry so I know that service culture comes from the top....at over $1000 a night, front desk won't even ask if you need help with your luggage at any time (check in or check out).
The very basics are missing in the rooms for the price category, examples include:
- no luggage rack (when asked for one, they suggest bringing a towel so you can lay your luggage on the floor)
- no tissue box
- no conditionner
- no bathroom mat
etc....
However, great restaurant staff at dinner time - very friendly and funny. We also thought the food was delicious. It is true though there is no menu and no prices.
Could not recommend.
Date of stay: June 2024
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
1.0 of 5 bubblesValue
2.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
4.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
4.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
1.0 of 5 bubblesService
4.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
Problem with this review?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nearby Hotels
HK$1,177
  • Hotels.com
    HK$1,172
  • Vio.com
    HK$1,038
  • Expedia
    HK$1,172
48.3 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
HK$986
  • Hotels.com
    HK$948
  • Agoda.com
    HK$896
  • Expedia
    HK$948
41.8 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
Northern lights view and the Hostel.
HK$971
  • Agoda.com
    HK$964
38.2 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
Bella Apartments&Rooms
HK$805
Fully refundable
  • Hotels.com
    HK$772
  • Expedia
    HK$772
  • Agoda.com
    HK$799
48.4 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
HK$1,097
  • Hotels.com
    HK$1,164
  • ZenHotels.com
    HK$1,057
  • Expedia
    HK$1,164
48.9 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
HK$1,166
  • Hotels.com
    HK$1,436
  • Agoda.com
    HK$1,103
  • Trip.com
    HK$1,452
48.9 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
HK$894
Fully refundable
  • Agoda.com
    HK$888
48.5 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
HK$2,102
Fully refundable
No prepayment needed
Earn rewards on eligible stays
  • Expedia
    HK$2,102
  • Agoda.com
    HK$2,095
  • ZenHotels.com
    HK$2,101
48.6 km from Torfhus Retreat
Earn rewards on eligible stays
  • Booking.com
  • Expedia
  • Agoda.com
8.7 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
  • Hotels.com
  • Expedia
  • Trip.com
39.3 km from Torfhus Retreat
Free Wifi
Free parking
View more hotels in Selfoss
Reviews (78)
Filter reviews
78 results
Traveller rating
67
5
2
4
0
Traveller type
Time of year
LanguageAll languages
More languages
Traveller rating
67
5
2
4
0
Show reviews that mention
All reviews wine pairing magical stay private hot pool golden circle breakfast and dinner northern lights icelandic horses well equipped kitchen the main house two nights hot pot dining room basalt turf storm longhouse property
Selected filters
Filter
Updating list...
6 - 11 of 78 reviews
Reviewed 4 June 2024 via mobile

Let me preface this review by saying that my wife and I travel a lot, and have stayed in a range of hotels from high-end to not so high end.

If you want a ‘retreat’ to get away from it all then this is the place for you. It’s (reasonably) isolated, quiet and calming. There’s none of the buzz and noise of the bigger hotels. And the staff are welcoming, pleasant and helpful.

However, I have two less than positive comments. The first is that we would have expected robes, slippers and toiletries. The rooms are small and minimal, reflecting the ecological ethos of the hotel, but since they are also high cost, greater attention to in-room guest comfort would be reasonable.

The second is the restaurant. I’m happy with the idea of the chef not deciding what to cook until they know what’s available on the day. What I’m very unhappy with is not being told the menu when sitting down to dinner. Among other things, it can make wine choices challenging. As much as we tried, waiting staff would not tell us what we were about to eat.

Apart pushing guests into opting for the wine pairing, it smacks of arrogance on the part of the chef and hotel management (‘we know best and the customer doesn’t). Having said that the wine pairing (and sommelier) was good even if it makes the meal more expensive. Needless to say, we opted out of dinner for our remaining two nights and ate at local restaurants, which were good.

It’s a shame that this hotel, which was billed as the potential highlight of our Icelandic road trip, turned out not to be the case.

Room tip: Beds are hard.
Date of stay: May 2024
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Thank Dr Neil G
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 31 March 2024

My husband and I had the best couple of days at this beautiful retreat! The bedroom and bathroom were perfect and a particular mention to Doddi for his amazing service! Also, to the chef the food was outstanding. We ate at the restaurant both nights and it was exceptional we absolutely loved it all. We had the wine pairing both nights and it was really excellent! Thank you all for a wonderful stay in a beautiful and special place. PS We said yes to the wake up call and saw the Northern lights ...fabulous experience!

Date of stay: March 2024
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Thank Angeweener
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 24 January 2024

The rooms are comfortable. The outdoor hot tub was convenient to the room and beautifully done. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We had dinner at Torfus the two nights we were there. The food and service were outstanding. Some of the best cuisine we have had anywhere. It is very conveniently located in the Golden Circle. We'd highly recommend a stay at Torfus when you are visiting Iceland.

Date of stay: January 2024
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Thank jnj182
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 January 2024 via mobile

What an incredible place. Our cottage was warm, with two bedrooms, a fantastic shower-room, living kitchen lounge and the most amazing geothermal tub from which to witness the night skies. Transport is provided to take you to the club house where the chef prepares exquisite local fresh food that both my wife, teenage kids and I enjoyed immensely. All washed down with paired wines and spirits. If you’re lucky you’ll see the northern lights as well. The retreat could not be more accommodating and attentive. Situated 90 minutes from Reykjavík and v close to the Golden Circle sights meant that we got to experience the strokkur geyser on our own. Totally blown away by the friendliness of the locals and the sheer beauty of the harsh landscape in the winter. Just go, you won’t regret it❤️

Room tip: July/August are the busiest months. Take plenty of warm layers if you go in winter
Date of stay: January 2024
Trip type: Travelled with family
Thank 427richarda
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 January 2024

I’ll start by saying it is a beautiful property and the first place we saw Northern Lights, so it is very special in those ways. Unfortunately our experience was lackluster other than that. We travel quite a bit to luxury 5-star, $1000+/night resorts so we are comfortable with that price point, but expect a certain level of amenities and service that we didn’t find here. Everything just felt a bit chaotic and subpar. Here are a few examples:

Two people had to consult with each other on how to let us in the front gate and check us in, which lacked polish from the start. Regardless of the cost of the hotel, my confidence is low when your confidence is low. I think we were arrived early (although I’m not sure because not one communication stated check in time), but we were overly communicative that we may be arriving at 1pm due to weather but we were happy to wait in a lounge if needed. We were pleasantly surprised with 1pm access to our room, but the whole entry was as if they were confused by our presence.

Furthermore, rather standard items were missing from the rooms like hair conditioner, body lotion and bath slippers.

We decided to spend 48 hours on property to relax and enjoy the scenery, especially in the highly promoted hot tubs, after finding ourselves with two open days when The Retreat Hotel at Blue Lagoon cancelled our reservation due to the volcano. Considering the sun is only up for 4 hours per day this time of year, our timeframe to enjoy the outdoors was limited. We went to our hot tub around 12:15pm on our only full day there and it was cold. Long story short, we called multiple times for it to be heated and were told “30 minutes” every time for over two hours. Since this was how we planned on enjoying the sunny hours of our day, to spend half of it waiting around and feeling like a nuisance calling to ask for it to be functioning was frustrating.

Maybe the most disappointing part though was the dining. It’s a 3-course meal that no one explained to us, but through TripAdvisor we had learned was prix fixe and about $100 per person plus the cost of wine. It’s bizarre that no one at the hotel explains that, but we were researched enough that we declined dinner the first night because we have very specific dietary restrictions and we thought it only fair to give them 24 hours to accommodate them. Attached is a photo of the communication. After being assured there were no issues, we sat down to dinner to be told we’d both be having fish and venison (if you see the photos attached, you’ll see that was almost comical). When I kindly referenced our requests, the waitress got very defensive and started arguing that: 1) they don’t serve chicken; 2) we didn’t give them enough notice; 3) they can’t get beef in that area, etc. Finally they served my husband fried chicken gyoza as an entree (although one wonders where the chicken came from since they don’t serve chicken?). It was fine, but our dinner bill for 3 courses with wine was $500 USD to have fried gyoza that he could have gotten most anywhere for $10 or less. We each had 5 glasses of wine so I can only surmise they were $30 per glass, but I don't really know because all we saw was a total at the end. My meal was very good, but not out of the ordinary (asparagus soup, artic char and a brownie) and we enjoyed the wine, but please don’t charge fine dining prices if you can’t operate like a fine dining restaurant and accommodate requests given more than 24 hours in advance, especially when no other dining options are available on property. It’s a captive audience and apparently their way or nothing. The sommelier (I apologize, I forget the gentleman’s name) was really lovely and one of the service highlights.

If you stay here, I recommend nearby Vinstofa, Mika or Fridheimar for dinner instead.

Check out was equally lacking in service. The conversation was me smiling and saying that I was there to check out, her coldly stating that our $500 dinner was our only outstanding total then processing my card. No “how was everything?”, “did you enjoy your stay?”, “thank you” or even “have a good day”. It was almost bizarre how little personality existed with the majority of the staff.

Outside of the sommelier and seeing the northern lights, I would caution to manage your expectations staying here. We had been debating between going there or going south to Hótel Rangá and wound up regretting our choice overall.

Date of stay: January 2024
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
Thank 319christinas
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
View more reviews