The construction of a 5,000-square-meter four-star luxury hotel with 60 rooms, six suites and a view of Hekla volcano from every room will begin at Leirubakki in the Landsveit rural district in south Iceland this year. The hotel is scheduled to open in the spring of 2012.
Hekla. Photo by Geir Ólafsson.
The limited company Hótel Leirubakki ehf. under the lead of Anders Hansen, who already runs a hotel at Leirubakki, is responsible for the hotel’s construction, in addition to investors from Sweden, Norway and Iceland, Morgunbladid reports.
“We began working on this project in the autumn of 2008,” said Hansen, who believes the hotel will be fully booked from day one.
“A hotel is needed here. All estimates indicate that one million tourists will come to Iceland in a few years—up from half a million now—and it is clear that the current accommodation cannot serve any more tourists than come here already,” he reasoned.
The hotel will be a two-storey timber building with a concrete basement. The project is estimated to cost around ISK 2 billion (USD 17 million, EUR 13 million) and part of the construction will be undertaken abroad.
“But most of the work will be done at home and 30-40 jobs will be created during the construction period and the same amount of permanent jobs,” Hansen stated.
In relation to the hotel’s construction, recreation for tourists at Leirubakki will be significantly increased and the building will also be connected with the Hekla Center.
“We plan to offer a varied selection of recreation so people will have plenty to do and stay longer at the hotel,” Hansen said, mentioning guided tours around the area, helicopter tours, horseback riding, ski-doo trips and hikes as examples.
Booking will begin in the spring of 2011 or as soon as a final decision has been made on the day of opening.
