Heimaleiga

Paying 100.000 ISK for a peaceful rest, forget about it. Screaming/ crying kids and non stop construction all day. What they offered me was 15% off next stay. What a joke! Avoid like wildfire if you want peace and quiet.

I had such a difficult time with this place. I first want to say, I travel for a living and have only ever left one other poor rating/review online. This company is managed remotely from a company that seems to be Eastern European. It is “self check-in” and this was not listed in the booking listing that I read. In my opinion, having a rental place that has absolutely no one on site to support makes things really difficult when something goes wrong. Firstly, we never received an email with our check in information. I couldn’t get ahold of anyone before we arrived so I figured we would get help when we got there as I had a confirmation email. This, of course, didn’t happen since there’s no one there. There was no obvious sign for the “hotel” on the outside so we walked all over so confused trying to figure out where the property was. Once we finally figured it out, there was a locked door with a sign saying to enter our access code. Since we never received an email, we didn’t have a code. I tried calling the number on the plaque and I couldn’t complete the call - not sure what was happening with their phone. I had to get back in my car and track down customer service for the place we booked (booked through America. Airlines travel, another mistake). They had me on hold for 23 minutes while they tried to contact this company. They eventually did and were able to get me an address code to the building. I went back and entered the building to find that absolutely no one works there. I couldn’t find maintenance, housekeeping, nothing. By the elevator there was a QR code for me to get in touch via chat with their support desk (this option was not available outside). I did get in touch with chat, and after some time this person finally sent me the email I needed to gain access to my room. I tried to go find my room and could not find a room with that number. I tried to get back in touch with my chat support person and they didn’t answer me at all. After sitting in the hallway waiting ten minutes, I called my booking company back and told them I wanted to cancel this reservation and get a refund. They said they would ask for a refund and I needed to wait on hold - they put me back on the phone with this company who argued with me until I demanded a refund. They said they couldn’t because I booked third party. They refused to give me a refund and since I had pre-paid, there’s nothing I can do. The company I booked with said they have to have permission from heimaleiga to give a refund. They both pointed the finger at each other and I will never ever use this company or American Airlines travel booking again.

Avoid this company — You will not get the apartment you book and the management company Heimaleiga will not help you when you need it. We were not given the apartment we booked (a “deluxe double studio”) and the management company, Heimaleiga, was unable to put us in the proper apartment or find a suitable replacement property. Instead we slept in a smelly basement apartment. What we booked: a light-filled ground floor apartment with a large living room, kitchen, and shower. What we got: a small, smelly basement studio apartment with no shower (just a large tub with a hand shower that sprayed water everywhere), signs of water damage and possible mold, and a tiny efficiency kitchen. You can hear noise from the unit upstairs and the apartment is right on the street, so you’ll also hear plenty of traffic and passers-by. The management company. Heimaleiga, acknowledged that we were not in the right apartment, but was unable to put us in the proper apartment or find a suitable replacement property. Their solution to the issue was to offer us complimentary late checkout, but we didn’t want to stay in that smelly basement a minute longer than we had to.

We had a great time, the self check-in service was very convenient for our midnight arrival and early departure. Online communication was flawless and on a very high level. Thank you guys for making our family stay in Iceland unforgettable!

Good - location on the high street Bad - 4 flights of stairs not advertised - Shared Stairwell doesn’t get cleaned, littered. - Cold and drafty in winter - No air extraction, any cooking leaves place smelling of food (bacon) - Radiators not working, reported it, promised a maintenance visit, ended up bleeding radiators our selves after no one turned up. - Heating system requires all radiators to be on, makes smallest bedroom unbearably hot and furthered radiators barely get warm. - Think twice about visiting in winter - Advertised as refurbished, in reality very tired and ‘lived in’ - Left valuable item in apartment on check-out day, realised after checking out and contracted host, was told cleaners have placed in cleaning room. Questioned if it was safe, told they wouldn’t be responsible for it, went back a few days later which was coordinated with host (we were staying an hour away) and unable to locate said item, host not very helpful and left without item… various messages to complain.. they then found item after I’d left to fly home.. cost me €70 to get it shipped back. Absolute joke of customer service. - I would avoid this place - over priced and run down.