Welcome Puffin Hostel
Welcome Puffin Hostel descritpion
Situated in Vík town centre next to Kötlusetur Museum, this hostel is 10 minutes’ walk from Vík’s famous black beach. Guests have access to a communal, well-equipped kitchen and shared TV lounge.
Each room at Welcome Puffin Hostel is simply decorated and has shared bathroom facilities.
Jeep tours around the surrounding mountains can be arranged. A public indoor swimming pool is a 10-minute walk from Puffin Hostel. Horse riding activities are within 40 minutes’ drive, in Skálakot.
Recommand
Low rates——No booking fees • Save money!Best price guarantee — enter dates to see these prices!
13 properties in Vík——Including hotels, apartments, villas and more.
Manage your bookings online——Sign up for a FREE account·View a single booking.
778 independent reviews——We verify all reviews from guests who've stayed at Welcome Puffin Hostel. Find out more about Booking.com Reviews.
The staff speaks English——Welcome Puffin Hostel's staff speaks:Icelandic,English
Booking is safe——When you book with us your details are protected by a secure connection.
Facilities of Welcome Puffin Hostel
Kitchen ：Shared Kitchen
Food & Drink ：Bar
Services ：Vending Machine (drinks) | Shared Lounge/TV Area
General ：Non-smoking Rooms | Family Rooms | Heating | All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)
Languages Spoken ：Icelandic | English
Reviews for Welcome Puffin Hostel
Review 1：Location close to supermarket, gas station and swimming pool, easy to find. Little town close to impressive scenery, beach, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls. Allows outdoor activity and exploration of the area. Kitchen and common areas available. Small but comfortable rooms, generally well-kept.
Review 2：The stairs are very narrow, so this might not be the best choice for a larger individual. The only other dislike was the lack of a third floor bathroom!
Review 3：Me and two friends got a small upstairs corner room. We didn't have to see anyone about check in, which was easy and simple. Town is very small, so everything is across the street. Great place with great kitchen.
Review 4：Too cold. Heater not very warm
Review 5：Facilities are good. All equipments are available in e kitchen and the house is clean. The view outside the house is great too
Review 6：There was a mouse in the kitchen and everything was quite old. The showers were ice cold and there was water all over the bathrooms. The room was small and the sink in it didn't work. It was not worth $60.
Review 7：The bed was comfortable and it was very close to the main road, grocery store, and restaurant
Review 8：The check in process (lack there of) was confusing. There is no reception. We called using the free phone at the hotel entrance many times before speaking to someone. For a young couple on a budget we paid a lot for a tiny room with two single beds.
Review 9：The guesthouse was warm and the kitchen was equipped to prepare meals. Located in Vik, this guesthouse is in a great location as a stopover if you're road tripping the south coast of Iceland.
Review 10：Horrible Customer Service. Awful kitchen. Due to Booking.com problems with payment, our accommodation wasn't confirmed and room was not ready. We arrived there about 7pm and had no chance to contact anyone. We had to fight for next 3 hours to arrange accommodation there. Mouse in room trying to bite our cloths and backpacks during the night.
Review 11：The phone reception service. The fact that we saw no-one who worked there during our stay.
Review 12：The fact that it was a cosy place, lots of corridors and little rooms and the location.
Review 13：The hostel needs a good clean and some serious maintenance- there were no locks on the bathroom/shower and most light switches were hanging off the walls- how can the owners think this is acceptable? Budget accommodation doesn't mean that guests wasnt to stay somewhere sub-standard. We've stayed in hostels all over the world but this is definitely one of the worst.
Review 14：Clean bed and hot water but these are the only positives here
Review 15：The room was small, but enough to sleep. The house is made wooden, so a little bit noisy
Review 16：There was no staff on the hostel. For some, like me, it's better not be annoyed from staff. Also good for using kitchen.
Review 17：Greeter was a little rough (Check-in would probably have been easier if I had gotten my confirmation directions). The stairs are old and crazy steep. One of the shower doors did not lock (What has been seen cannot be unseen).
Review 18：Location was close to the black sand beach and groceries. The room was clean and comfortable. Good amount of water closets and showers to the amount of rooms. Older building in a small older town (Vik).
Review 19：no-staff. I must have called to them. they let me know my room and I could find mine, But the room was changed as I got the room. Actually I didn't check my room in advance. while staying in the room, the other guest knocked my room and he insisted that's his room. quite embarrassed each other at the moment. they called to the staff and it figured out. you guys should note that is non staff accommodation.
Review 20：just place I can stay.
Review 21：Actually, this place might have thin walls indeed -but - our little two bed room was somehow charming and emanated the atmosphere of a simple Icelandic home - the small wooden kitchen alone is worth having a look at - hey, it's a hostel and I've seen much worse The room we had was just sufficient for a short stayover in Vík and we'd book it again if we're ever going to return to Vík which hopefully is going to happen.
Review 22：There was no hot water! We had a cold shower in ICELAND! The hostel smelt, the bathrooms and taps were old. There were no staff. There was nowhere to park our car. I expected better fro $150 AUD per night.
Review 23：Not much.
Review 24：There was hardly any hot water in the shower, but apart from that, all good.
Review 25：Easy to find, great location, very cosy and comfy. The hostel was very clean and the facilities were OK.
Review 26：Very little hot water in the shower, wifi was quite slow, about 5 people who came in after us never got their email with their check in information, the self check in is very unclear we had to explain it to everyone after us and none of the bathroom doors locked. I wouldn't mind any of this if I hadn't payed so much for the room. Just not good for the price.
Review 27：Location is fine, beds are clean and you can meet other travelers.
Review 28：Too many bedrooms for the facilities (not enough showers). Toilet and shower doors did not lock.
Review 29：Old building has some charm. It is ok as a place to sleep but not somewhere to spend a lot of time.
Review 30：The shoddy electrical wiring in the upstairs WC will be a real problem when some one doesn't dry their hands well. Check in was difficult and we looked everywhere for our room everywhere before finding it.
Review 31：Not much!The fellow travelers we're great.
Review 32：I could tell My pillow cover wasn't changed, had a sweat smell. Early morning , 5:00 AM two guys sleeping in the living room, sign of overcrowed. Squeaking flooring so you could hear guys in and out, small kitchen for the number of people, but everyone respected ea other.
Review 33：Location. Great for travelers without car. Weak Wi-Wi. Supermarket 100 meters from Hostel.
Review 34：Very old building, worn out interior. Only 2 bathrooms, both were on the ground floor. Very steep narrow staircase.
Review 35：Price. Had a washbasin and mirror inside our room.
Review 36：Check in was a little unclear. There was a sign saying to call, but the number did not work. Thankfully we ran in to other guests who explained we needed to email to get access to our room. We wound up sharing this info with 5+ other guests who were just as confused. Also the bed sheets were not clean -- they had hair all over them.
Review 37：Other guests were friendly. Fun environment. Restaurant right next door was very nice. Cozy.
Review 38：This hostel is absolutely disgusting. The floor in our room was putrid, our tap didn't work and there was a long black hair in our bed. Self check in confusing. Frayed wires on power sockets with sticky tape around it. Oh and there is no locks on the shower doors so anyone can walk in on you! Wifi choppy and slow.
Review 39：Nothing.
Review 40：This is a guesthouse without receptionist : you call to have the number and key room. Old house who is charmed. kitchen and bathroom communs. Expensive for the quality : i think that yo can find best hotels for the same price.
Review 41：The shower room is not good because the unstable water flow and temperature...
Review 42：Actually is not that bad as other people's comments. If you want to cook your self then it will be a good place, the kitchen function is well.
Review 43：It's so hard to find the hostel, there's many hostels in that area but no sign to help you find the puffin hostel. The room is so small, if you open your luggage on the floor, there's no place to walk. There's only 2 bathrooms for around 15 rooms , it's so inconvenience. And the hostel is kind of smelly. It's really not worth on 90euros per night.
Review 44：None
Review 45：The building is not good for tall people. My boyfriend (6 feet) did not fit through the doorways and bumped his head a few times. Also there was no hot water in the showers.
Review 46：The facility was very clean and it was a good value for the price.
Review 47：The walls are very thin so you hear everything happening outside your room. No hand towels or paper towels provided in the bathrooms, and no towels or mats outside the showers. Cleanliness spotty, and no staff were seen from the time we arrived until we left. Calls for help with check-in were unanswered, had to pay for wifi nearby to look up information.
Review 48：The mattresses were comfortable, good place to spend one night with friends on a roadtrip.
Review 49：It is a hugely over priced backpacker style hovel with 3 toilets and 2 showers (often cold) to service over 30 guests. Access is through narrow a spiral staircase. Wash basins outside my room and in corridor had no running water. It is difficult to locate any staff. This hostel was much more expensive than many lovely guest houses in Iceland.
Review 50：It had a kitchen
Review 51：Kitchen was sticky, very old establishment in general. It was also a no shoes place, stepping into that kitchen even with socks was kind of gross. *cringe*
Review 52：Awful experience - run from this lousy hotel. I have never seen that. No staff here and very unfriendly at the phone. Very dirty rooms. I think it is even unsafe in case of fire. Common bathrooms are very very dirty and smelly. There are only 2 bathrooms for 15 rooms and 1 is not working (only boiling water). What's more, there is not enough hot water so if you take your shower too late you don't have any hot water. Never seen such a low quality-price ratio. All customers were shocked.
Review 53：Nothing
Review 54：We had a very bad experience at this hostel and the accompanying Vik Hotel. There is no one at registration and the only way to check in is through a telephone system with their central booking office in Reykjavik. The instructions for phoning the office are on the wall in reception, but only give a number to call and not the additional instructions to press a certain button on the phone first before dialing the number. Finally, after trying to call many times, I figured it out. As the evening wore on and we passed the reception area, many people trying to check in were having the exact same problem. The woman at the booking office told me we were registered at the Vik Hotel even though our reservation was at The Puffin Hostel. She gave us our room number at the Vik and a lock key number. We went to the room and unpacked. After dinner with friends we returned to our room and were getting ready to go to bed. At 9 pm there was a knock on our door and the lone staff member told us someone else was booked in our room. We had to pack up all of our things and go to a room at the Puffin. So we did. When we got to the Puffin, someone else was staying in that room! And so we moved all of our stuff back to our original room in The Vik. The carpet was dirty and the radiator was falling off the wall. I felt bad for the staff member because he said these kinds of problems had been happening all summer. At breakfast the next morning we met some girls who had stayed at the Puffin and they said it was disgusting and filthy. The water was awful.
Review 55：DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOSTEL OR THE SISTER ESTABLISHMENT, VIK HOTEL!
Review 56：Room on third floor was extremely small - you could barely walk around the 2 sides of the bed that were not against the wall. Sink in room did not work. Neither did sink in hallway. First floor bathroom shower was difficult to control water temperature. A man stayed the night in one of the common areas.
Review 57：Breakfast, which was served in hotel next door, was the standard guesthouse breakfast.
Review 58：It really is a last resort sort of place. There isn't even someone to welcome you to the place, a box gives you your key. The place is not nice, the washrooms are ok when they have soap and hand towels, the kitchen is so old it's hard to know if it is clean or not... As I said, last resort, if you really don't feel like sleeping in your car.
Review 59：Nothing. Maybe where it is situated in Vik, near the sea.
Review 60：There's nobody in the reception, you have to call in order that somebody attends you. We paid a lot of money for a triple room and it was very very very little, there was a little bed and another one a little bigger... The kitchen was dirty and it looks neglected.
Review 61：Just the location.
Review 62：The walls are very small so you can hear anything. The room is very small. The toilets and bathrooms stink (moistures, very old). It needs urgently a renovation ! The carpet is disgusting, you have to remove your shoes but you are scared of what you'll collect on your sockets
Review 63：Much too expensive compared with the services. The hostel is uncomfortable, the water temperature of the shower can't be chosen, the rooms are too small and the staff is reachable on the phone just for few hours a day.
Review 64：The bed sheets were clean but the rest of the hotel is small and needs to be redecorated. It's old and you mustn't be claustrophobic to stay there. A sink in the room with a drop of water. Useless! And the price is too expensive for this. Extremely disppointed!!!
Review 65：A bit loud neighbours but that's a risk you always take when sleeping in a guesthouse.
Review 66：Very good location with well equipped kitchen. Good wifi connection.
Review 67：Expensive for value. Shared bathroom had broken shower, hot water took so long I had to take a cold shower, and everything was wet (floor, toilet,...). Uncomfortable.
Review 68：Comfortable beds.
Review 69：Extremely overpriced closet with a tiny bed. This place is ripping tourists off because there is limited space available in Vik over the busy months. No staff at all, there was a key to the room in a lock box.
Review 70：I had a bed to sleep in.
Review 71：Way to expensive compared to quality and what we have paid elsewhere in Iceland. Rooms were dirty and not in a standard which can be rented out.
Review 72：Close to the beach
Review 73：it's a dump, high price low value. the rooms very small and the toilet smelly.try to avoid....
Review 74：the location; it's next to a great restaurant with good food, the only positive thing about Puffin
Review 75：Location is a bit hard to find as it is in the second line of the buildings on the street. The shower in one of the bathrooms was not working during my stay.
Review 76：There is very convenient check-in system with a key from the room being locked in a special box which can be opened with code.
Review 77：Very poor decorative state, damp marks all over walls, peeling wallpaper. Generally unpleasant. Poor value for money.
Review 78：Very little, Iceland needs more competition in budget hotels so that this hotel is forced out of business
Review 79：Horrible place Booking should not include this hostel.. it is a fake, expensive and dirty. The beds are inclined, the carpets dirty and destroyed. The tube of the tap water did not open. Smelly, the bedroom is not high enough (less than 1,80m) Disgusting place and ghosts owners
Review 80：Besides from dirty, you don't get to see any stuff. You get there, call a number and they give you the code of a box where the key of your room is. A good way to avoid complainings and the face you get when you see the 2m2 single room with a 80cm bed and a tinny window for which you have paid around 100€.Kitchen is dirty and so are restrooms. Awful.
Review 81：Hot water cut off to a cold shower midway through. Breakfast is served next door - but not worth the extra cost. Overall an expensive accommodation for what you get - which is really basic.
Review 82：It is a quirky small old hostel for which self-check in worked fine; bedding and heater were sufficient - no extra blankets needed. Towel provided. Kitchen is old but was clean.
Review 83：No one there to resolve any problems. Just a telephone with a number next to it, and a message on the answer machine to say there's no one there! Not good when you can't get in to the room.
Review 84：Located in town next to a nice pub restaurant
Review 85：There was no hot water in the shower in the morning.
Review 86：We booked this hostel as the last available space in Vík and were a litle bit scared by the reviews. In the end it wasn't that bad. Rooms are small but managable and it was OK as a one night stand.
Review 87：No blankets, uncomfortable and crummy rooms. No social atmosphere. Way overpriced. No hot water.
Review 88：Vík was beautiful and even though it was over priced I stayed here because it was the only hostel available.
Review 89：The remote check in is kind of weird. It took me three tries to actually get a hold of someone. If this is going to be the way your property works, make sure you're available. Showers do not function well, and one of them is completely broken. The fact that this has been an ongoing problem on previous reviews tells me the owners have no intention of f fixing this. Rooms are VERY small.
Review 90：Rooms and facilities were kept clean. Good location.
Review 91：Only two showers, one of which doesn't work (and judging from other reviews this has been so for a year now…). The place can be loud, but it is ok if you take off early in the morning - just don't expect comfort and relax.
Review 92：Your room is 5 minutes away from Vik's fantastic beach, and walking distance to many facilities. During my stay room and toilets were clean enough.
Review 93：We didn't know which building it was despite given the house number. When we use the free phone to ring the staff, the guy was not helpful at all. He was rude and shut the phone. Another group of guests also felt the same and we all felt lost. Luckily the lady was nice enough to tell us. Besides, the hot water in the shower wasn't working properly. It changed quickly to cold water and we had to turn it off, waited for one minute and turned it on again to get hot water. It wasn't a very nice experience for the cold and windy weather.
Review 94：Like the free wifi, self check in system(rather than a counter with receptionist) and well-equipped kitchen facilities.
Review 95：Only 2 beds for 4 people and the only way to contact anyone from the guesthouse was via a phone in the hotel next door. The phone simply took you to an answer machine. Took over 1 hour of high stress before managing to contact someone to resolve the problem. Not worth the risk.
Review 96：Location - central to town
Review 97：The showers only had hot water for about 5 seconds then it was freezing. There is no reception and only reliance on email or calling someone on a phone where they may or may not answer.
Review 98：This location was perfect and the rooms were very comfortable and clean.
Review 99：There were bugs in my bed and the room was very small. I have stayed in other hostels for less money and they were way better!! Fungus on the walls and the kranes where broken and everything. Old stuff and I was glad I Booked only for 1 night. I wouldn't recommend this one!!
Review 100：There were two shared bathrooms with showers but both of them were faulty. It was not possible to take a proper hot shower.
Review 101：The staff were prompt and helpful.
Review 102：The staff was on strike and we did not see it at all. It is somehow crazy that I book a place and then come there and you are not welcomed.
Review 103：This is amazing accommodation.
Review 104：It was complicated to get the linnen for the beds, the walls between the rooms are paperthin (you hear every noise and voice), the toilet smells. That which defines hospitality (e.g. helpful and welcoming staff) is entirely missing. The price is not fair for the "comfort" offered, although the location is brilliant.
Review 105：The big clean towels... though I couldn't bring myself to use the shower.
Review 106：1 shower was broken, the rooms are VERY tiny, like I had to leave my luggage out of the room while being with two people in a twin room, if you want a blanket you have to pay 5 eur extra (which wasn't a problem, 'cos we knew about it and had our sleeping bags but considering the price, I would say the place is rather too expensive..
Review 107：common room and kitchen were cool.
Review 108：Bathroom only in the ground floor. Also one of the showers was broken. On our first night, there was a blackout, not really a big Problem, though. Kitchen was a little old. Very narrow staircases.
Review 109：Adorable old building right by the Main Street. Nicely kept to keep the wonderful original inside and outside character. Soft Beds, complete Kirchen (without microwave), free parking and decent wifi.
Review 110：The water in the hot taps were boiling, not safe for children and one shower was not usable just for the fact the temperature control was not working so it was impossible to stand under the boiling water. I'm sure all fixable though.
Review 111：Vik was a great location, and the Puffin was a good open for group travel. It including a well equiped kitchen which was not always standard in Iceland hostels/guesthouses. Located centrally in little Vik, beach and restaurants easy walking distance.
Review 112：Not enough space for three people at all. Hot water broke down for a period. The sign in the hostel said that the supermarket is open until 9pm, but it actually closes at 2pm on Sunday. Many cookwares in the kitchen were quite dirty.
Review 113：Location.
Review 114：Shoebox sized room.with wallpaper flaking off, showers in the basement, no staff to give advice (you call them and they give you a code to a keybox).
Review 115：Nothing positive to say really. The only reason Welcome Puffin can be in business is that there are no cheaper places in Vik.
Review 116：We stayed here for two nights, good location to explore the south coast of iceland and good value for money. A nice, clean, comfortable hostel. Self check in was no hassle, the only problem was that we didn't realise it was sleeping bag accommodation and had to pay €5 each for bedding, but the hostel worker was happy to help with this even though we arrived after 10pm. I would recommend this hostel.
Review 117：It is just not a nice place to stay. One of the worst hostels I have ever been to. Even the price isn't that good, we stayed in some nice guesthouses in Iceland, for the same price, which included breakfast. In Puffin, you don't get anything, not even linen or a decent bed.
Review 118：I didn't like absolutely anything about this hostel except the price
Review 119：There are two places - Welcome Vik Hotel and Welcome Puffin Hostel, the first one has separate bathroom and toilet but has no kitchen facilities available, the other has got common bathroom and kitchen facilities. Altogether it makes a perfect combination.
Review 120：The whole property is very dated and on top, looks quite poorly maintained. Ok to be fair, I've slept on much worse places - it is a hostel afterall and experienced traveller knows what he can expect. However the reason for overall dissatisfaction is price/value ratio, which is really outrageous. Most of the guesthouses i've slept in during my stay in Iceland were cheaper than this hostel - and you get there completely different service and many time nice homey attitude. We choose this property as we had problems to find anything else on these dates in this location, and i would stay here again only if similar situation occured.
Review 121：The location is nice, close to black sand beach and cliffs. Unexpectedly good wifi.
Review 122：The house was older and in need if a little tlc. But if you are just looking for a bed for the night, then it will do just fine.
Review 123：Close to the beach, bank, grocery store and restaurants.
Review 124：Everything is old and small. Rooms are extremely small!! Ceiling is low. Kitchen extremely dirty and old. I didn't like anything from this Hostel, I will not stay there again, unless there is any other option.
Review 125：Mmmm.. What I liked is I just had to sleep there 1 night and then run away
Review 126：Poor setting, very old house and only one shared bathroom for three rooms. The light was broke and couldn't been turned on. The room was very small.
Review 127：location
Review 128：This was the WORST place I have ever stayed in my life. They crammed FAR too many things into this place so people are stepping all over each other. My room was the size of a small closet and you can hear everything at all hours. Everything is incredibly old and dingy and has a smell to it. The heater didn't work, all the rooms face some sort of walkway area, so it's noisy. There is zero customer service, everytime I went to the front desk, no one was there. I would definitely definitely NOT recommend staying here.
Review 129：Absolutely nothing.
Review 130：- double bed 120cm - room 7,5 square meter - shower very dirty and old - one bath/toilet for 7 people -> not acceptable for this price!!!
Review 131：- Big kitchen
Review 132：The bathroom situations were a little tough to deal with, with just one shower for the entire hostel.
Review 133：The beds and the bedrooms were incredible. The location couldn't be much better, being on the primary road in Vík.
Review 134：Too noisy, we had room no. 12, seems to be directly above the basement facilities, we could not sleep at all.
Review 135：Location is nice, close to restaurants and sea. Rooms are nice.
Review 136：Extremely expencive. Awfuĺl smell. One of the two showers was out of order. Too few power plugs to recharge our Phones. Blanket not included (not only the sheet). Stay away
The Fine Print
Please note that property has no reception. One week before arrival, you will receive check-in instructions from Welcome Puffin Hostel via email.