Spa Review • Europe • Iceland
Laugarás Lagoon: Iceland's Newest and Most Delicious Spa
Located on the Golden Circle, Laugarás Lagoon pairs geothermal springs with hyper-local fine dining by chef Gísli Matt. Here is what to expect.
Laugarás Lagoon
BY CHRISTINA VALHOULI
The experience
Set the Scene
In Iceland, soaking in geothermal springs is woven into the fabric of daily life, rather than seen as a wellness indulgence. There is no shortage of places to do this, from hidden hot springs and a thermal river to stylish spas, with the newest one being Laugarás Lagoon.
Laugarás opened in October 2025 in southern Iceland, along the banks of the Hvítá River along the Golden Circle route. What makes Laugarás different is its focus on fine dining, along with its striking architecture and under-the-radar status; it’s still mostly visited by locals.
At its heart is Ylja Restaurant, helmed by leading Icelandic chef Gísli Matt. He serves hyper-local cuisine such as Arctic thyme-cured lamb with sunchokes, bilberries, and feykir cheese, along with zero-waste botanical cocktails. The architecture draws on Iceland’s traditional turf-roofed homes and ancient Hella caves, while double-helix arches are a nod to Roman viaducts. Scent is also a key part of the experience here, and the spa’s Rjóður products are inspired by the surrounding landscape, with notes of Sitka spruce, larch, angelica, and yarrow.
Laugarás Lagoon
Treatment Notes
The treatment
The unbreakable rule of any Icelandic spa is that everyone must shower, completely naked, before entering the thermal waters. Laugarás’s single-sex locker rooms look more like high-end spas, with vanity stations stocked with high-quality hair tools. My instinct was to cover my body in a towel and scurry from my locker to the communal showers, but don’t, because nobody else does. Just channel Icelandic body confidence to walk across the locker room nude and rinse off. While there are individual shower stalls, the glass doors won’t hide much.
The spa is meant to be experienced as a meandering forest walk, and it’s spread over two levels connected by a thundering waterfall. After easing into the thermal pool and taking in the views, my first stop was the swim-up bar, where I debated between the rhubarb and mint cocktail and the signature Laugarás Highball, crafted from a house-made soda using Icelandic herbs. I opted for rhubarb. My body started to relax as I sipped, bobbed in the warm water, and explored other pools such as the tucked-away quiet grotto.
While the spa felt social with groups of friends and couples chatting, it was also peaceful thanks to its no-phones policy. As one of the few Americans there, Laugarás felt less like a tourist attraction and more like being invited into an Icelandic tradition.
Once my cocktail was done, I moved on to a circuit of wet and dry saunas, followed by an outdoor cold plunge, all with spectacular river and forest views accompanied by moody Icelandic skies.
Feeling thoroughly detoxed and calm, I returned to the locker room, where any awkwardness about communal showering had evaporated and I simply joined the group of laughing, chatting women getting on with their day. Rosy-cheeked and refreshed, I changed into dry clothes and headed into a multi-course dinner at Ylja, which felt like a natural finale to the experience.
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