Icelandair Hotels Group and Rivulus ehf (owned by Glitnir bank) signed an agreement yesterday to construct a new hotel in the centre of Reykjavík. The new hotel will be at Lækjargata 12 where the former headquarters of the Industrial Bank of Iceland (Iðnaðarbanki) and currently the downtown branch of Glitnir bank is located. Magnea Þórey Hjálmarsdóttir, Managing Director of Icelandair Hotels Group, and Bergur Hauksson from Rivulus ehf signed the agreement on the top floor of the building at Lækjargata 12. When the hotel is opened, this space will house an upscale breakfast lounge and a conference room with a stunning view over the city of Reykjavík.

The new hotel, which has not yet been named, will be a four-star, 133-bedroom luxury hotel with a gym in the basement, restaurant on the ground floor and a fabulous lounge on the top floor. Considerable renovations to the current building at Lækjargata 12 will be made, and further extensions built onto empty lots on both sides of the existing building. The ground floor of the hotel will be pleasant and unusually spacious, giving locals will have a new and exciting meeting place in the heart of downtown. Glitnir bank will also continue to operate a branch in the building, and an underground parking garage for 28 cars will be constructed. The new hotel is expected to open in May 2009.

Icelandair Hotels Group operates two chains in Iceland - Icelandair Hotels and Edda Hotels, with a total of 21 hotels. Fourteen of the hotels are operated by Icelandair Hotels Group and seven are run under a franchise agreement. The company has also recently signed a new agreement with Hilton Hotels Corporation. Nordica Hotel, the largest hotel in the Icelandair Hotels Group family, will be re-branded as a Hilton Hotel in the autumn. 

The operation of Icelandair Hotels Group has been very successful in recent years and is sought after both as a business partner and among tourists and other guests. Icelanders, who are equally as demanding for good facilities and services as the company’s other customers, have also been important customers. The company’s success has been achieved first and foremost with the qualified staff at our hotels. We have a team of people with extensive experience and knowledge of the industry, both in administrative and service positions, and a low staff turnover. Of this we are very proud. Our company has grown rapidly and is now one of the leading hotel operations in Iceland. The construction of our new hotel and our new agreement with the Hilton chain are further positive steps in line with this strategy.