Butterfly Guesthouse

I strolled into the Butterfly Guesthouse on a cloudy summer day and was immediately offered a cup of strong coffee. Þuríður Hjáltymsdóttir and Jon Olav Fivelstad opened Butterfly - a name suggested by their daughter - in 2003. The building itself is from the 1920s, and is on a quiet residential street, just a few minutes' walk from Ingólfstorg Square, gateway to the city centre.

I'm a little unsure about the relevance of the moniker "butterfly" for such a stable place, but the whimsy it implies is appealing. The six rooms, like the guesthouse itself, are snug and charming. Guesthouse Butterfly has singles, doubles, and two apartments with cooking equipment, television and bathroom.

Everything is sparkling clean. There is a selection of picture books and children's books by the entrance. Breakfast is not offered, but there is a small and well-equipped kitchen, plus tea, coffee, cookies and the basics for preparing a full meal.

Jon Olav and Þuríður have a good sense of humour about their guesthouse. The sole computer hidden behind the stairs is cheerfully shown to me as "the Internet café." Guests are welcome to watch the TV, a small unit perched above countertops in the kitchen corner, from "the sitting room," which is in fact a sofa along one wall of the kitchen. I like the place immediately.

Þuríður tells me that "people who stay with us don't want a hotel." The people who stay at Butterfly want the personal charm and the quirks of a family-operated guesthouse. They also like bumping into new people as they prepare dinner in the kitchen or watch TV from the sitting room. "It's so small here you must meet new people!" laughs Jon Olav.

As I finished sipping my cuppa, I suddenly realized that I had spent more time laughing and chatting with Þuríður and Jon Olav than I had spent viewing the rooms and checking the facilities. The Butterfly Guesthouse has that effect on people. And that's its best quality.

Reviewed by Eliza Reid