Radisson Blu Saga; I Ate Dried Fish with a President in Iceland

Radisson Blu Saga is one of the Iceland’s biggest and most known hotels in Reykjavik. I spent a month in Saga and this is what it was like.

Some years ago my work sent me to Iceland for a month. As so many others, I too fell in love with this very unique and amazing country. Many of its natural wonders are breathtaking, and I had plenty of time to explore the country and get to know the culture during that month.

For a month I lived and worked in the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel. The goal was to refresh my skills in the hospitality field and see the latests trends, since I was working as a teacher in that field. I was able to visit every department of the hotel and work with the local people. And the best part; I was able to attend some tours that were sold in the hotel.

I went to see all the best sites in Iceland such as the Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon and the southern coast. I also went to a whale watching trip and trail ride with Icelandic horses. But one of the most memorable moment was when I got to meet the president of Iceland at my work.

RADISSON SAGA BLU HOTEL

The Radisson Blu Saga was a high quality hotel with all of its facilities and amenities. I actually had some really great experiences from Radisson Blu concept already from Radisson Blu Aleksanteri in Finland where we stayed in a special Rock’n Rose Room.

Radisson Blu Saga had 235 rooms, two restaurants, a gym and a beauty salon. In the lobby at downstairs they had a small souvenir shop where you could also book different kinds of tours.

There were many events and conferences in this hotel as it had really great facilities for that. Some of the hotel rooms had been updated, so during a reservation I would recommend asking for a newer room.

The hotel was not quite in the downtown of Reykjavik, but you could easily walk there. Along the way there was a beautiful pond that usually had swans swimming around.

Since I was in Iceland in February, the weather was anything from sunshine to rain to snow storms. Maybe that is why it seemed to me that there weren’t that many tourists.

We organised multiple big functions at the hotel during my stay. Everything was always done in a very professional matter and planned well.

Many foods and table settings were traditional Icelandic style, and some of it to me seemed a little old fashioned. But I enjoyed seeing how things were done in another county.

During my stay I was able to try many Icelandic delicates. I learned that all kinds of fish dishes and even a cooked lamb head were popular there.

Instead of having bread baskets on the tables, we often had baskets of dried fish with butter and seaweed. It was my first time to try out the dried fish too. It might of not been my cup of tea, but in the same event the president of Iceland was eating it as well. So I was eating dried fish in quite a company!

THE GRILLIРRESTAURANT

Radisson Blu Saga Hotel had an excellent breakfast buffet in the mornings. This same restaurant also served lunch.

But the real highlight was their rooftop fine dining restaurant; Grillið. It was a classic, and had been serving customers on their eight floor more than half a century already!

Not only that the food was amazing but they really did great job with the service too. I would always recommend the dinner time when it is already dark outside because the views with city lights are beautiful.

The Icelandic cuisine has been popular for sometime now already, and their chefs are some of the best in the world. This is a restaurant that should be on every fine dining lovers list!

🧂🧂🧂

A month in Iceland was a wonderful and teaching experience. Even though I felt like it was not very easy to make friends with Icelandic people, I saw how nice and warm they were under their shells. Kind of like people in my home country; Finland. And I did make some life long friends too.

And the best part, I got to see a whole new country and tour all of the best sights of Iceland! I hope to go back there soon together with my family.

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Update: Unfortunately it seems like both Radisson Blu Saga and the Grillið Restaurant have been permanently closed during the pandemic, in the winter of 2021.