I have been to plenty of design hotels, Hotel 101 is certainly among the best. 50 meters from the main street (Laugavegur), everything is from walking distance.
Great lounge bar area with plenty of books and magazines, restaurant (with a bar) where nearly everything is white, you immediately feel good at this hotel.
The room was not so large with the bathroom not hidden from the room (why do people need to close doors?), the only door is for the toilets!
Very large power shower, comfortable bed, the only drawback are the white curtains (the light is not completely hidden when, during summer, the sun rise at 4 AM, while the sunset is around midnight), but if you bring an eye mask, you will have no problem for a good night sleep.

The service at the reception and at the restaurant was excellent.

It's an expensive hotel (everything is expensive in Iceland, food, books, rental cars,...), but may be it's the price to pay to discover the most extraordinary landscape you could imagine, sometimes incredibly beautiful (Snaefellness peninsula is highly recommended, about two hours drive from Reykjavik).

This is one of those very trendy, design hotels which have sprung up recently. All well and good but it seems whomever runs the 101 has forgotten that the key to a good hotel is hospitality. The check in staff seemed irritated that we came. When we called up to ask them to turn up the whirlpool and turn on the steam room they were annoyed. They were slow to get us drinks and when we had problems with the free wireless we were told to try taking our laptops into the hall and walk around to get service.

My breakfast the first day was fairly typical. My two colleagues ordered the buffet, I asked for a well toasted bagel with cream cheese. 20 minutes later, still no bagel, when I asked if they could just bring one up and I'd use the toaster on the buffet, I was told they were already working on it, so no. Another 15 min later I received a cold, untoasted bagel on a plate with some cream cheese and slices of lettuce and tomato. There was no apology or a hint that this wasn't acceptable. It's just the way things are at the 101--expensive and filled with employees who would rather be anywhere else.

The 101 was our home base for a couple of days before and after some excursions in Greenland and Iceland. On the whole I enjoyed the decor of the hotel, very sleek and modern. But the service was perfunctory. It's unfair to single out the 101 because of the service...pretty much iceland in general the service sucks. I think it's the whole no tipping policy, while good in some respects, you can definitely feel it in the service. We booked a junior suite for $600 a night and walked in with several unwieldy duffel bags, nobody helped us at all...not even to open the front door. Although we were expecting as much...it still felt a little weird.

On return from one of our excursions we desperately need to do laundry and in a hurry because our flight to greenland was the next morning (weather delayed it turned out) apparently they don't have laundromats in iceland and we had no choice but use the hotel services. The prices were exorbitant...in addition to the regular crazy prices we were charged a 50% rush fee. Our laundry ended up costing a gag inducing $300...doh!

Also, don't expect quiet at all...especially if you are staying over the weekend. All of the doors at the hotel slam shut with rib shuddering reverberations. They seriously need to invest in some kind of door dampening. On top of that, the Reykjavik night life of course is legendary, and the central location of the hotel while good for walking is bad for sleeping. Those icelanders can party, and they party long, and they party loud. The windows should be sound proof...but they're not. So if you are a restless sleeper, beware.

The coolness factor wins out in the end but all of the other considerations should be taken into account before slipping into the 101.

Yes, the whole country is expensive for everyone except perhaps Londoners. But if you are going to Iceland, presumably you're doing it once and then moving to the next destination vacation on your list? In that case, Hotel 101 is worth considering despite the lofty price tag.

The hotel's design is indeed stunning. It blends into its surroundings from the outside, but the indside cannot possibly be called nondescript. As someone who lives in a utilitarian home that could seriously use some stylistic touches (if I wasn't busy spending all my money keeping this and other hotels in business) I really enjoyed seeing what it is to stay in an unpretentious boutique hotel. To see it yourself, just check out their web site. I think the photos are faithful to the experience.

Now as far as I can tell, Iceland is not a country built on customer service acumen. I found some locals to be among the gruffest of the Scandiavians I have ever met. But I have lived in China so their worst is small beer; just make your point and don't leave until you get what you came for.

To that end, I had my dealings with the hotel staff in person. I got the electrical plug adapter I needed without fuss. The wakeup call was perfunctory but on time. Heck, they even chased me down when I failed to cancel after heading down early for breakfast. When I needed a tour, it got booked. When I needed dinner reservations (well, for protocol's sake I guess), they made them. Bus to the airport? Yes, that too. All of this was done by several different staff and with good humor all around. No complaints there.

What capped the stay and made it pleasant rather than just ordinary was the Bose sound dock for my iPod, standard in my room. Probably not that many arrive in a boutique hotel without an iPod in tow, and having my tunes immediately available with no fuss was ever so nifty. The other amenity touches in the room were standard for high-end/boutique.

Why do I only call it "Neutral/average"? Because 101 needs an extra decimal place to describe what it's going to cost you before you're through. For that kind of money I expect the staff to sing and dance and read me my morning paper in stereo if they want to be called "Excellent". Here, they just leave you to go about your own business and help when asked. That's average.