Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.06.2005, Blaðsíða 46

When I was invited to come check out the new
Radisson SAS 1919, I had two immediate replies: 1)
It’s a Radisson SAS, I think I know what’ll be there; 2)
Why would a Radisson SAS be interested in what an
alternative paper thinks? But of course I was interested
in seeing 1919, as most locals now refer to it. Built
in the old headquarters of Eimskip, the shipping
company in Iceland that was once the most powerful
business in the country, it’s an important historical
landmark.
I entered the hotel the minute it opened, which,
in grand Icelandic fashion, turned out to be a little
before it was ready to open. This turned out to be a
pleasure: seeing a four-plus star hotel with the glitches
of a freshly veneered floor and a few panels being
rushed into place is akin to seeing a supermodel with a
hangover. It has a humanizing affect.
In fact, when hotel sales manager Gréta
Blængsdóttir had trouble with the pass key in one of
the doors, I was amused entirely because I knew this
would be the last time it would happen. She turned out
to be unflappable, and guided me through effortlessly,
swapping keys with the staff in a sleek handshake, and
continuing the tour.
“This won’t be a hotel for just one type of
people. This is a city hotel, a place where everyone
is welcome,” she told me as I asked to stop at the
stairwell to check out the railings, artisan ironwork in
a Celtic-influenced uniquely Icelandic pattern that you
can only see at this hotel and at the Culture House on
Hverfisgata.
The highlight of a tour for those interested in local
history was the fourth floor, particularly rooms 414 and
412. These are extremely handsome and roomy suites
made out of the former chairman of Eimskip’s office.
If you wonder how two large suites for full living could
be made from one man’s work space, you’re in good
company. In addition to their size and full amenities,
these suites on the fourth floor also contain small
touches of the original masonry from the building’s
construction in 1919.

As the tour went on, I met with owner Andri Már
Ingólfsson, watching him lift carpets and help staff
with a range of work that one doesn’t expect a hotel
owner to take part in. It was at that point that I was
told that 1919 is more local than a Radisson: while
Andri Már is partnering with Radisson, the hotel is his
project, and he seems to have had a hand in every piece
of its construction, giving the place its local character.
The common spaces and areas closer to the bar and
restaurant Salt were the most approachable for me, and
the most reminiscent of the styles of city hotels that
have become a part of the social scene in New York
and Miami in the past few years.
By the end of my tour, the building was ready for
business, camera crews filming the first man to check
in. By the time the cameramen left, the hotel looked as
though it had been open for business for months. With
the local history, the location, and the competence
with which this hotel was constructed, the 1919 will
be such an institution, that few will believe it hasn’t
always been a key part of the city in a month’s time.
Radisson SAS 1919 Hotel, Pósthússtræti 2, 101
Reykjavík, Iceland. Phone: 599-1000. For more
information visit www.1919.reykjavik.radissonsas.com.
Radisson with Local History
By Bart Cameron
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