Views from Siglo to Mountains
the hotel’s wooden walkway. Next to it is
the hotel’s outdoor spa, steaming quietly.
It is heated geothermally as is the hotel
and entire town. Inside are black and white
images that date back to the town’s herring
heyday. It is charming and contemporary
and, most of all, effortlessly comfortable.
There are 68 rooms and suites in all. Robert
is also responsible for two restaurants
that make the harbour a colourful centre
of activity while other enterprises, such
as the Segull micro-brewery, are a perfect
demonstration of how a town can spring
back to life. Perhaps this rejuvenation also
attracted film makers as this town was used
as the backdrop for Trapped, an Icelandic
detective series shown on BBC4. Series 2
recently finished filming and a Hollywood
crew has been here, too, although that
project is very hush hush.
The purpose of our visit to the north coast
of Iceland was simple: learn about the
benefits that Benecta offers golfers and play
some golf… at midnight. Yes, it was June and
as we teed off on the Siglo golf course at
11pm we were playing in daylight. That right
there is bucket list stuff. The golf course is
new – we can thank Robert for that. The
nine course is astoundingly fun and the
par three 7th may well make it onto a list
of ‘1,000 holes to play before you die’. The
green sits in the middle of an angry river,
which is one of the course’s key features,
while its shape reflects the mountains
around it: big shoulders and slopes and no
forgiveness. It’s a thriller and there’s plenty
more in this deep valley to tempt golfers.
Volume 4 • Issue 45
55