Hugarró Nature Retreat

Hugarró is being created in one of Iceland’s most remarkable natural settings. That is both a privilege and a responsibility.

From the beginning, our ambition has been to develop a wellness retreat that works with the landscape rather than against it. We are not interested in building a resort that simply occupies a beautiful place. Our goal is to create a retreat that protects, strengthens and celebrates the natural qualities that make this location special.

As our planning develops, we are using international nature and landscape principles as important reference points, including the Council of Europe Landscape Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. These frameworks all point in the same direction: development should be planned with care, ecological knowledge, respect for local landscape character, and a clear commitment to avoiding or minimizing harm.

For Hugarró, this means turning broad environmental principles into practical design and construction choices.

A landscape-led approach
The Hugarró concept is based on the principles of landscape hotel design. Instead of placing large, dominant buildings in the landscape, we are designing the retreat to sit quietly within its surroundings.

The natural slope of the land, the existing tree cover, the views across Hvalfjörður and the character of the site all guide the design. Buildings are planned to be low-impact, carefully positioned and visually integrated. Where possible, we use the topography and vegetation to create privacy, shelter and a sense of calm, rather than relying on heavy built structures.

This approach supports the goals of the European Landscape Convention, which recognizes landscape as more than scenery. Landscape is part of local identity, ecological quality and human well-being. At Hugarró, we want the built environment to remain secondary to the land itself.

Building faster, with less disturbance
One of the most important choices we are making is to use modular, pre-fabricated construction.

This means that much of the building work can be completed off-site in controlled conditions. Once the modules arrive, the on-site assembly can take place in a much shorter period than traditional construction. In practical terms, this allows us to reduce noise, traffic, soil disturbance and the overall length of heavy construction activity.

This is particularly important for wildlife. By shortening the construction window, we can plan the most disruptive work outside sensitive periods, including the bird breeding and nesting season, subject to ecological surveys and guidance from the relevant specialists and authorities.

A shorter construction phase is not only more efficient. It is also a way to reduce pressure on the land.

Protecting habitats and biodiversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity emphasizes the need to understand and minimize impacts on ecosystems. The Bern Convention places particular importance on the protection of wild flora, fauna and natural habitats, including migratory and vulnerable species.

For Hugarró, this means that environmental planning cannot be an afterthought. Before construction, the project should be informed by site-specific ecological surveys, including vegetation, habitats, bird life, water systems and any species that may require particular protection.

Our planning principles are straightforward:

• First, avoid sensitive areas wherever possible.
• Second, reduce the development footprint.
• Third, use construction methods that minimize disturbance.
• Fourth, restore and strengthen native vegetation where the land is affected.
• Fifth, monitor the site over time so that environmental commitments remain active after opening.

We are especially conscious of the value of Icelandic birch woodland and native vegetation. Our goal is not merely to compensate for disturbance, but to protect and improve the ecological quality of the property over time.

Water, geothermal energy and responsible operations
Hugarró is rooted in Iceland’s geothermal landscape. Our planned hot springs, wellness facilities and accommodations are designed around renewable energy and responsible water use.

The project is being developed with closed-loop thinking wherever possible: using geothermal heat efficiently, reducing waste, limiting unnecessary water consumption and designing systems that can be monitored and improved.

This is important because sustainability is not only about how a destination is built. It is also about how it operates every day: how it uses energy, how it treats wastewater, how it manages visitors, how it handles waste, and how it protects the surrounding landscape from gradual wear.

Our objective is to create a retreat where comfort and environmental discipline are not opposites.

Protecting the night sky
Hvalfjörður’s night sky is part of the experience of the place. It is also part of the natural environment.

Poorly designed outdoor lighting can disturb wildlife, reduce the quality of the night landscape, create glare, and contribute to light pollution far beyond the immediate site. For that reason, lighting design is a key part of our environmental strategy.

We plan to work with lighting specialists to keep outdoor lighting to the minimum needed for safety and orientation. Our lighting principles will include:

• fully shielded, downward-directed fixtures;
• warm color temperatures;
• low light levels;
• motion sensors and timers where appropriate;
• no unnecessary decorative uplighting;
• careful control of light spill toward natural areas;
• a site-wide lighting management plan.

Our ambition is to pursue the most appropriate dark-sky recognition for Hugarró, whether through DarkSky Approved Lodging or, if feasible with the wider local context, a relevant International Dark Sky Place pathway. Certification is not something we can simply claim in advance. It must be earned through design, measurement, policy and long-term stewardship.

A retreat that remains accountable
International conventions and environmental guidelines are useful because they ask practical questions.

• Have we understood the landscape?
• Have we surveyed the habitats and species?
• Have we avoided unnecessary disturbance?
• Have we reduced the construction footprint?
• Have we protected the night sky?
• Have we planned for monitoring after opening?

These are the questions we want to answer clearly and transparently as Hugarró moves forward.

Our aim is to demonstrate that a high-quality wellness retreat can be developed in Iceland without losing sight of the land, the wildlife, the water, the darkness and the quiet that make the place valuable in the first place.

Hugarró is being designed as a place to unwind. But it is also being designed as a place of restraint: careful in its footprint, quiet in its architecture, responsible in its operations, and respectful of the natural systems around it.

Hugarró Í Hvalfirði sem er í innan við klukkustundar fjarlægð frá Reykjavík. Þar er hafin þróun á ferðaþjónustuverkefni sem leggur áherslu á sjálfbærni, samfélagslega ábyrgð og náttúruvernd. Hugarró er verkefni sem sameinar lúxus og náttúru á nýjan og ábyrgari hátt en áður hefur þekkst á Íslandi.

Verkefnið samanstendur af glæsilegu fjögurra stjörnu hóteli með 32 herbergjum ásamt 25 lúxus smá hýsum sem tryggja að gestir geti ávallt notið útsýnisins án þess að trufla náttúru upplifunina. Í kringum allar byggingar verður notast verður við mjúka og hnitmiðaða lýsingu sem lágmarkar ljósmengun og varðveitir næturhimininn fyrir bæði gesti og dýralíf á svæðinu.

Áhersla okkar er að byggja á eins umhverfis vænan máta og hægt er, til að mynda,  verða náttúruböð okkar að vera sérstaklega hönnuð með virðingu fyrir núverandi landslagi. Tré náttúran í kringum alla framkvæmdina verða varðveittar eins og unnt er. En böðin samanstanda af sjö laugum sem verða á mismunandi hæðar þrepum. Þannig skapast næði og persónulegt rými fyrir gesti með stórkostlegu útsýni yfir Hvalfjörðinn og Botnsdalinn. Sérstaða náttúrubaðanna liggur í orkusparandi og nýstárlegri tækni þar sem vatnið er hitað með varmaskiptum og síast stöðugt án kemískra efna. Vatnsgæði eru vöktuð reglulega með sjálfvirkum búnaði, sem tryggir einstaka tærleika og gæði vatnsins.

Sjálfbærni er leiðarljós þessar verkefnisins. Hugarró notar síað vatn úr nágreninu fyrir öll þrif og salerni. Svart- og grávatn verður aðskilið, hreinsað og endurnýtt í samræmi við ströngustu staðla um umhverfisvernd. Með þessu er sóun vatns lágmörkuð og neikvæð áhrif á náttúruna takmörkuð verulega.

Öryggi, aðgengi og þjónusta fyrir nærsamfélagið er mikilvægur þáttur í verkefni okkar. En við erum mjög meðvituð um sögu Litla Botns og að fyrir komu Hvalfjarðarganga þá var Hvalfjörður og sérstaklega þau litlu stopp sem voru á leiðinni mikilvægur staður í samfélaginu. Þessi menningararfur glataðist við komu Hvalfjarðarganganna, en með tilkomu Hugarró þá mun þetta svæði fá þá þjónustu sem var eitt sinn í boði nema í uppfærði mynd. Í dag er svæðið best þekkt hjá þeim heimsækja fossinn Glym eða þá sem fara hér í göngu. Það er markmið okkar hjá Hugarró endurvekja það mikilvæga hlutverk að ferðamenn sem leggja leið sína í gegnum Hvalfjörð geti stoppað og notið sín hér Hvalfirðinum. Verkefni okkar tryggir einnig að það verður ávallt fólk til staðar á svæðinu sem getur gripið inn í ef á reynir hjá ferðafólki sem komið sér hefur í neyð á svæðinu. Þess að auki mun tilkoma Hugarró bæta innviði svæðisins með því að tryggja hita vatnsöflun fyrir nær samfélagið og bæta háhraða internetaðgengi fyrir íbúa og fyrirtæki á svæðinu. Með þessu leggjum við okkar að mörkum að tryggja að nær samfélagið fái við til komu okkar bætta þjónustu með komu okkar, aukið öryggi og nýjan vinnustað sem stutt er í.

Við verðum einnig með vellíðunarstöð á svæðinu býður upp á einstakar upplifanir, þar á meðal súrefnisklefa, saltböð, innrauða klefa og súrefnismeðferð í þrýstiklefa. Þjónustan verður í hávegum höfð með umhverfisvænum lausnum og notkun náttúrulegra efna. Vellíðunarstöðin er hönnuð sem griðarstaður fyrir líkama og sál þar sem gestir geta endurnýjað orkuna í samræmi við umhverfisvænar og sjálfbærar lausnir.

Hugarró leggur áherslu á gott samstarf og opið samtal við samfélagið í nær umhverfinu. Ráðgjafafyrirtækið EFLA hefur verið fengið til þess að tryggja að skipulagsvinna fari fram af fagmennsku og í góðu samstarfi við íbúa. Tillaga að endurskoðun á aðalskipulagi hefur þegar verið lögð inn og verður gerð opinber fyrir alla sem vilja kynna sér málið frekar. Síðan verður haldinn opin fundur þann 13 mars 2025 þar sem verkið verður kynnt.

Með verkefninu í Hvalfirði býður Hugarró gestum sínum upp á einstaka upplifun þar sem lúxus, náttúra, vellíðan og samfélagsleg ábyrgð mætast á þann hátt sem gerir svæðið að fyrirmynd í sjálfbærri ferðaþjónustu.

If you want to learn more about what’s going on in Iceland and your Icelandic language skill leave something to be desired,  https://www.ruv.is/english/ is a good resource.

This article shares from the Iceland Tourism Board on growth of tourism. 

IInteresting article on Travel Weekly.

Hospitality’s biggest players are heading into the wild, with Marriott International becoming the latest hotel giant to stake its claim in the booming outdoor accommodations market.

Last month, Marriott acquired nature-focused  Postcard Cabins at the same time that it forged a long-term agreement with Trailborn, an outdoors-oriented boutique hotel brand.

Botnsdalur Valley is home to an exceptional abundance of trees, a rare sight in Iceland. While predominantly made up of native birch forests, it also includes a mix of non-native species. In the fall, the valley transforms into a vibrant tapestry of colors, offering a stunning visual spectacle.

Below you find a collection pictures.

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