ION Spa

The ION Spa is part of the ION Adventure Hotel, built on a lava field at Nesjavellir near Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland, where the hotel's angular design was constructed to sit lightly on the volcanic landscape. Its setting is a hybrid of hotel spa and wilderness lodge: the outdoor geothermal pool looks across the lava field toward the Hengill volcanic area and, on clear nights, offers a chance at the Northern Lights directly from the water. Signature treatments draw on Icelandic ingredients, with massages and body treatments incorporating local herbs, glacial minerals, and geothermal muds, delivered by therapists trained in Nordic massage technique alongside more conventional spa modalities like deep tissue and hot stone work. Facilities include the outdoor infinity-edge geothermal pool, an indoor relaxation lounge with panoramic windows, a sauna, and an outdoor cold-water plunge pool fed by glacial meltwater for contrast therapy after the warm pool. Booking is by reservation for treatments, though pool access is generally available to hotel guests without a separate booking; day-spa treatment slots for non-guests should be reserved ahead given the hotel's remote, limited-capacity setting. The overall reputation is built on combining a design-forward Icelandic hotel with a genuinely quiet, low-traffic geothermal soak, an alternative to the larger tourist lagoons closer to Reykjavik.