Hotel review
Deplar Farm review: Iceland’s most expensive stay, honestly assessed
Deplar Farm is the Eleven Experience all-inclusive lodge in a remote Fljót valley on the Troll Peninsula. Thirteen rooms, helicopter access, all-inclusive from $2,400 per night. The question is not whether it is luxurious. It is whether it is worth $17,000 a week.
Deplar Farm sits in the Fljót valley, 90 minutes north of Akureyri by car and 25 minutes by the on-site helicopter. It is Iceland’s flagship Eleven Experience property (the Colorado-based ultra-luxury operator). Thirteen rooms, all-inclusive with heli-ski access in winter and salmon fishing in summer. Full-board including alcohol. Yoga studio, geothermal pool, indoor-outdoor infinity soak, and a chef who takes Icelandic langoustine as seriously as a three-star kitchen takes turbot.
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Category context
Deplar Farm (this review)
Iceland’s ceiling. If money is truly no object and you want helicopter-access privacy, this is the answer. The heli-ski in February and the salmon program in July are qualitatively different from any competitor.
Price band: $2,400 to $3,800 per night all-inclusive. Direct via elevenexperience.com only. No Booking.com listing.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon (alternative)
Half the price, still a splurge, still qualitatively different from any Reykjavík hotel. Better for a couple that wants spa over sport.
Price band: $1,600 to $2,400 per night, room only. Booking.com widget; bluelagoon.com direct.
Hotel Rangá (honest downshift)
A quarter of the price and 80 percent of the aurora experience. Book Rangá for four nights instead of Deplar for two if the aurora is the priority.
Price band: $380 to $520 per night. Booking.com widget; hotelranga.is direct.
Three practical notes
1. The value equation is the sport
If you do not use the heli-ski or salmon program, Deplar’s math does not work. You are paying for helicopter time and guide-days. A couple who wants a hot tub and a nice dinner should book Búðir or the Retreat at a fraction of the cost.
2. Book directly with Eleven Experience
Deplar is not on Booking.com, Expedia, or Mr and Mrs Smith. All reservations go through elevenexperience.com or a luxury travel agent (Original Travel, Black Tomato, Scott Dunn). Agent bookings sometimes include added helicopter time worth $2,000.
3. The Troll Peninsula weather is real
The Fljót valley gets serious weather in February. In two of our guest network’s five Deplar bookings, one heli-ski day was lost to storm. The lodge substitutes cat-ski or backcountry-touring days; the promise holds, the plan changes.