ENIS
The main building at The Garage from the air: the converted garage and barn with their red roofs, the car park, two old tractors on the lawn, and the sea beyond the road

Ten kilometers from each waterfall.

Studio apartments in a converted 1940s garage and other farmhouses on a family property, former farm, under Eyjafjallajökull on the south coast of Iceland.

Seljalandsfoss 10 kmSkógafoss 10 kmA farm since the 1940s

Book a studio

Booking here comes straight to the farm and carries no booking fee. If you would rather use a channel you already have an account with:Booking.comAirbnbEmail us instead

Where it is

Almost exactly halfway.

Most people doing the south coast spend half the day driving back on themselves. From here you do not. The two famous waterfalls are about ten kilometres in either direction, and the rest of the coast is a short run east or west.

10 km west
The Garage
You are here
10 km east

Keep scrolling to drive the coast

A thin waterfall falling down a dark cliff face at sunset
One of Einar's photographs from around the farm.

The farm

Anna, Siggi and their family

Siggi's family have farmed at Varmahlíð for at least two hundred years. The garage his grandfather built in the 1940s stopped being a garage a long time ago, so it became apartments instead. The cowhouse beside it milked cows until 2000 and was rebuilt over the winter of 2016. The Haytower was a fun project we finished that one 2019, former tower where the hay was fermented. Newest project (still working on) it is the sheep house and a barn. We quit sheep farming autumn 2025

The area is called Undir Eyjafjöllum, under the mountains. The range and the glacier take the cold northerly off you and the sun comes in from the south. It is also, honestly, one of the windiest corners of Iceland in autumn, which is a fine thing to listen to from inside a thick walled house.

A painting of the apartments at Varmahlíð
The apartments, painted.
Built in the 1940s
Put up in two parts by Siggi's grandfather and his foster son Axel. One of the apartments still carries Axel's name.
Its own electricity
The farm runs a small hydro station on the creek behind the house and makes part of the power it uses.
A former working farm
We have quit farming now we only have Felix and Kani our friendly dogs, Kisi the cat, a cabbage garden in summer
What you wake up to
The waterfall behind the house, bird song, the geese talking on the lagoon, sometimes the wind howling.

Life at Varmahlíð

The four apartment doors, each with its name painted above it
Every door has a name on it.
Green fields seen through the studio window
Breakfast view from the 3 person studio.
The lagoon below the farm
The lagoon below the farm, trout included.
The apartments lit from inside on a blue winter morning
A winter morning, nine o'clock.
The lobby with armchairs and a long table
The lobby, where the garage doors used to be.
The small hydro station in the meadow below the slopes
The old power station. It still runs the farm.
The farm from above with the sun setting behind the ridge
Sunset over the farm.
Green fields running west to a turquoise shoreline
The farm, seen from the west.
The green slopes and a stream running down to the farm
The slopes above the house.
The white tower beside the red-roofed cowhouse
The tower and the old cowhouse.
The coast at sunset seen from the hillside
The shore at sunset.

The premises

Find your door from the air.

Everything sits within a hundred metres: the studios behind their painted doors, the hay tower, the hot tub, and your parking spot right outside.

The farm at Varmahlíð from above, the mountain behind: the villa on the left, Anna and Siggi's house, the old house, the hay tower, the barn and the apartments
The Studios
The Haytower
The Barn
The Hot Tub
Parking
The Farmhouse
The Villa
The Studios
  1. The StudiosStudios for two, three or four guests, each behind its own painted door. Ten in all, split between this building and the one by the old house.
  2. The HaytowerThe tower over the old barn, made into a room of its own. Sleeps four, and there is only one of it.
  3. The BarnStill a working farm. The barn, the tractors, and in season the sheep.
  4. The Hot TubOutside the main building and open to everyone staying here. Sea on the horizon, sky overhead.
  5. ParkingFree, and never more than a few steps from your door.
  6. The FarmhouseAnna and Siggi's own house. Someone is usually home on a working farm.
  7. The VillaThe 4 bedroom villa stands on its own along the cliffs, with its own hot tub.
  8. The StudiosMore of the studios, for two, three or four guests, next to the old house. Ten in all across the two buildings.

The apartments

Three sizes, one set of walls.

Each one is a self contained studio with its own kitchen and bathroom, behind its own painted door. The walls are the original board formed concrete, left exactly as it was poured.

2 person Studio

Sleeps 2

The smallest of the studios: board formed concrete, a kitchen along one wall, and a window onto the fields running down to the sea.

From 250 a nightCheck dates

3 person Studio

Sleeps 3

The same poured concrete and a little more floor, with room for a third bed without anyone climbing over anyone.

From 310 a nightCheck dates

4 person Studio – Sofabed / Twin Bed

Sleeps 4

The largest of the studios, with a full kitchen and a cowhide on the floor. The fourth bed is a sofabed or a twin, depending on the room.

From 350 a nightCheck dates

The Haytower

Sleeps 4

The tall white building above the yard: red ridged corrugated iron, its own door, and a boardwalk running up into the slope behind it.

From 390 a nightCheck dates

4 Bedroom Villa

Sleeps 4

A whole house to yourselves: four bedrooms, a dining table that seats everyone at once, a living room facing the sea, and a laundry of its own. The same board-formed concrete inside, under the same green cliffs.

From 900 a nightCheck dates

Good to know

The things guests always ask.

Can I drink the water?

Straight out of the mountain and better than anything you can buy. Fill your bottle before you leave. Buying water in Iceland is a waste of money.

Is there wifi?

Open, no password, unlimited.

What time do I check out?

Latest check out is 11.30 am. If you have already settled up you can just go, leave the key in the door, and you do not need to lock it.

Where can I eat nearby?

Hotel Anna is 3 km and Gamla Fjósið 2 km, Skalakot 4 km, Hotel Skogafoss 10 km, Faxi bakery / cafe 3 km. The mini market at Heimamenn, 6 km east, does coffee in the morning and a cheap lunch.

Is it always this windy?

This is the windiest corner of Iceland in autumn and winter. It sounds far more dramatic from inside than it is. Hurry in and listen to it.

The hot tub in evening light, with an old tractor and the sea beyond
Outside the main building, facing the sea.

The hot tub

Hot water, cold air.

The hot tub stands outside the main building, and it is for everyone staying here in studios. The villa has a private one. The sea on the horizon, an old tractor for company, and in winter you soak with one eye on the sky.

No. 1of 24 guest houses in Hvolsvöllur, Tripadvisor
5.0Tripadvisor rating
197guest reviews

Finding us

Varmahlíð, 861 Hvolsvöllur.

One warning about the satnav. There is another Varmahlíð in the north of the country, and it is five hours away. If that is where you are being sent, it has found the wrong one.

The front of the apartments, each door with its name painted above it
Every door has its name on it.
Get directions