Hótel Búðir

Búðir stands almost entirely alone on the southern shore of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, on a stretch of black lava and golden beach beside a small black-timber church that is among the most photographed buildings in Iceland. There is nothing else for miles.

The site was a trading post in the seventeenth century and an inn from 1948; the current building is a rebuild after a fire, deliberately kept dark-timbered and old-fashioned inside, with hardwood floors, a fireplace and vintage furniture. Rooms are simple rather than lavish.

The restaurant looking out to sea is the reason many people stay, and the position under the Snæfellsjökull glacier puts Arnarstapi, Djúpalónssandur and Kirkjufell within easy reach.