Monday 18 September 2023 11:34 am

Done the Blue Lagoon in Iceland? Upgrade your next trip by visiting the Retreat Spa

You’ve done the Blue Lagoon, now enhance your Iceland trip with a visit to the more exclusive part, The Retreat, says Daniel Edward

Winter may be coming, but the water’s always warm in Iceland. If you know where to look, Iceland is one of the hottest countries on Earth. The roughly decennial volcanic eruptions remind locals and visitors of the tectonic tango surreptitiously keeping time beneath the snow. Iceland is a hot topic. In-keeping with the region’s tectonic fervour, I’m staying at The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, a 62-suite Scandi-chic idyll set in acres of medieval lava fields, dating back to a monstrous eruption in 1226.

Like pretty much everything in Iceland, The Retreat is powered and heated by geothermal energy tapped 2000m underground. The pearlescent waters of the naturally heated lagoon offer a peaceful yin to the volcano’s smouldering yang. Blue Lagoon, so-called for its milky blue, silica-rich water, was an unexpected consequence of Iceland’s move to geothermal power. Providing 89 per cent of electricity, Iceland leads the continent in renewable energy (though also, counter-intuitively, in greenhouse gas emissions per capita).

The first Iceland lagoon formed naturally in the late-1970s from the cooling water of the power plant and following discoveries about the water’s medicinal qualities – especially for psoriasis patients – the resort is now Iceland’s top tourist attraction. I arrive on Sunday afternoon to miss the weekend rush, and on Monday morning the main lagoon is comfortably scattered with guests, with occasional crowds around the in-lagoon bar. Luckily for me, my light blue wristband also offers access to the tranquil, secluded private lagoons reserved solely for The Retreat guests; the sort of 38 degrees waters that have massaged the svelte torsos of presidents and A-Listers.

Iceland has Northern Lights showings between September and April

It’s not a difficult choice to swap the larger tourist haven for the private paradise hidden round the corner. The atmosphere throughout The Retreat is one of hands-off luxury. Staff, part-time models who visibly advertise the benefits of silica-infused water on their radiant faces, have perfected the balance of laissez-faire attentiveness. There’s no fussiness, no hovering waiters, just everything you want when you want it. In the spa, I hang my robe and wade into the water led by Pálmi, a tattooed red-head wearing a skin-tight sleeveless swimsuit who spends six hours a day in the water and looks about half the age he claims to be. It’s like a scene from Titanic. I’m kitted out with a series of wearable floats and told to lie back and trust them. I’m not convinced I trust Pálmi yet, let alone the patterned scrum cap he’s strapped on me, but I quickly enter a surreal, yet blissful, sense of weightlessness. I can’t even tell if I’m moving. At the end of the 45-minute treatment – unsure if I did a good job – I ask my red-headed Viking how I’d done – I hadn’t kicked him, nor told him I loved him. He told me I was “buttery”.

Buoyed by my newly affirmed butteryness, I proceed to the spa ritual, a four-stage skincare regime involving scrubs, masks and nourishing oils. Dolled up with green algae, the third stage makes me feel like I’m at a Comicon movie convention but everyone has come as green characters. I get chatting with two Shrek impersonators who’ve treated themselves to a day pass. They’ve been in town for the annual Reykjavik Jazz Festival, which takes over venues across the city. The Grinch – who it turns out now lives in Kópavogur and is actually perfectly friendly in his swimmers – leans over and tells them they should return in January for the capital’s Dark Music Days. It turns out the Iceland music scene is punctuated with music festivals, with a Blues festival in April and Metal storming the city in May. The Grinch consults with his wife, Gamora, about whether he should tell us about the Penis Museum, which boasts the largest collection of pickled phalluses in the world. She rolls her eyes and smirks. Shrek and Shrek have already been and counter that the lamb hotdogs round the corner from there are to die for. The hot dogs were so good, in fact, they’re going back for another before their flight.

It’s a challenge to name a favourite dish, but the Icelandic lamb served on lava rock from the latest volcanic eruption has got to be up there

Though I make a mental note to try these Icelandic hotdogs, the thought is pushed from my mind as we sit down to a seven-course tasting menu at The Retreat’s Michelin-starred fine dining experience: Moss. Chef Aggi Sverrisson (a student of the inimitable Raymond Blanc) creates colourful dishes that boast local flavours with stylistic nods to the Retreat’s volcanic environment. Each plate eclipses its predecessor and the table steadily becomes laden with enough wine glasses to open a glassware boutique. It’s a challenge to name a favourite plate, but the Icelandic lamb fillet served on lava rock from the latest eruption has got to be up there… if it’s the same lamb in those hot dogs, maybe my spa friends have a point. All this lava on the table gets us talking about recent eruptions. Head Sommelier, Declan Jones, shows us a video he took within metres of the lava flow last summer. Was he scared to be so close? “No, I wish it had lasted longer.” That seems to be the general consensus; unlike the 2010 eruption that shut down large swathes of Europe’s airspace, the 2022 eruption was more lethargic in nature – but it gave locals a chance to get right up close to the oozing rivers of cracking fire-gloop.

Ruben – who moved to Iceland for the thrill of its unforgiving winters – takes us on a high-speed quad bike tour of the lava fields. Straddling our bright yellow ATVs in wool-lined “4×4 Adventures Iceland” onesies, we’re blessed with unusually bright skies, dry ground and a balmy 10 degrees. We hurtle across bumpy lava tracks at speeds I don’t think wise to admit in writing and carve our way past crests and craters to a gravel circle surrounded by smouldering rock. We continue on foot, careful to avoid particularly aggressive heat spots and marvelling at the views. At our elevated plateau, we notice a couple of blackened skewers discarded in a steaming volcanic crevice – a trace of previous visitors’ attempts at a barbeque. From the overwhelming stench of sulphur, they either barbequed eggs or they made a bad decision. I guess we’ll never know.

Visit Iceland yourself

Rates start from £1,294 per night for a Moss Junior Suite (min. 2 night stay) inclusive of breakfast. Return economy fares from London Heathrow to Keflavik with Icelandair start from £175pp. To book visit Icelandair.co.uk. The Retreat at Blue Lagoon is where Daniel visited, with milky blue silica-rich water. There is also the Sky Lagoon, Krauma Geothermal Baths and The Beer Spa