Gal With a Suitcase

Getty Images In our new travel column, Jolie Hunt—who has already travelled 100,000 miles this year—reports from the world’s dream destinations. First up: a long winter weekend in Iceland.

For those of us whose motto is “short on time, long on destinations,” travel is a luxury that leaves little room for error. We don’t have hours to pour through countless pages of Condé Nast magazines, and we can’t rely on anything that’s not a personal recommendation. Sometimes travel writers get their hotels and excursions gratis. Can they be trusted?

I’m not a travel writer. I’m a traveller. I spend 50 percent of any given year on the road—in the first half of this one, for instance, I found myself jetlagged on five different continents. Since summer ended, I’ve been spotted in New York, Paris, Boston, Aspen, Denver, Nantucket, Brussels, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London (where I attempt to live, but hardly ever see), Bangalore and Mysore in India. By Monday, I’ll have been back through London and New York. And in the next few months: Miami, Belgrade, Istanbul, and Germany.

Gal with a Suitcase (hereinafter, GWS) pays full freight, which means I make sure it’s worth it. I’ve developed a bloodhound’s nose for what’s worth doing and what’s not. Each week I will take you to a new destination—some exotic, some familiar—touching on four simple aspects: where to stay, what to do, where to eat and—crucially!—what to avoid.

First stop, Iceland.

Reykjavik is magical. I have heard people say this over the years, but until I actually experienced it, I couldn’t have believed it. Forget Bjork and prepare yourself by listening to Sigur Ros. As the music implies, a visit to Iceland is like going to the moon, only instead of little green men it is entirely populated by gorgeous blondes.

In winter, between November and March, you can expect between four and six hours of light each day. Strangely, this didn’t feel as isolating as it sounds. Iceland lies only 4 degrees from the Arctic Circle and is mercifully warmed by the Gulf Stream. Temperatures hover above freezing, but drop sharply once that precious light disappears. Absent are businessmen and bachelor parties; in their place are twenty-, thirty-, and forty-somethings with a chic urban ease. The streets are quiet; the bars and cafes are raucous.

The long weekend in Iceland was purely for pleasure (thankfully, as the financial crisis has not made conducting business here much fun). I was seeking a destination between London and New York, the two cities I call home. The local tourism board says that visitors average  10days in summer and five in the winter; three to four nights, at least in winter, is the way to go. I was able to 1) chase the Northern Lights, 2) chill out in the Blue Lagoon, 3) go spelunking with a tour guide, who was once a Calvin Klein Obsession model and lent my boyfriend a pair of his hiking boots, and 4) dine with Iceland’s magnificent first lady, who helped me narrow down the following tips.

Stay

101 Hotel is the spot. The 101 is an understated, astutely designed boutique hotel mere steps from the center of town, which means you avoid the noise of the square (very important). The crowd is fashionable without being annoying, and the space is communal without feeling like an Alice in Wonderland house party. The staff’s favorite word is “yes” (which happens to be mine, too) and the interior was clearly designed with the most discerning guest in mind. The concierge can also help arrange your tour, which you simply must experience. (38 rooms, from $360 USD)
www.101hotel.com
354 580 0101

An alternative for those on a stricter budget is the strange-sounding Hotel Thingholt, which is part of the Center Hotels group and offers a slightly less-fabulous-but-still-quite-acceptable boutique hotel experience. The designer Gulla Jonsdottir, one of Iceland’s more famous architects, has lent her touches throughout. If it feels familiar, it’s because she’s also worked on the Roosevelt in Hollywood and the Crescent in Beverly Hills. I didn’t stay here, but I hear good things. (50 rooms, from $120 USD for a double)
www.centerhotels.is
354 595 8530