My Sundlaugadeildin champion:

Fylkir

Pool	Árbæjarlaug
Distance	95m
Distance Grade	A+
Quality Grade	A
Final Score	10.5

What I believe might be the most attractive sundlaug architecture in the country is found in the eastern Reykjavík suburb of Árbær. Entering the building into the expansive glass dome sets the tone, before you have the option of indoor and outdoor changing rooms. This is the only public pool I’ve been to where you can enter the water inside and use a tunnel to get to the outdoor section. Once outside, the variety and number of pools and hot pots is pretty great. I’ve been here multiple times and never really found it to be very busy, though there is always a queue for the massage jets. The football pitch seems a lot closer than 95m when you leave the pool again, but you can’t get much better than that regardless.

2nd place:

Kr

Pool	Vesturbæjarlaug
Distance	400m
Distance Grade	B
Quality Grade	A
Final Score	9

This pool in the west side of the city has a special place in my heart as it’s the first one I ever went to. Maybe that nostalgia is what bumps it up to the same grade as the previous pool, but it certainly has some strengths of its own as well. The main lounging section here (pictured) is quite compact while offering some variety in temperatures and seating, which makes this a great social pool. As far as I’m concerned, the “wading” pool, which is most commonly used for lying down, has the perfect heighted edge for comfortably resting your head. There are also circular hot pots which feel small and removed enough that they can offer respite from the chatter even when it’s otherwise busy. Finally, the steam room is one of my favourites I’ve used. The temperature just seems to hit pretty well for me. Meistaravellir could definitely be closer to the pool, but it’s still a very gentle stroll and there is ice cream on offer if you take a slight detour.

3Rd place:

ía

Pool	Guðlaug
Distance	0m
Distance Grade	A+
Quality Grade	C
Final Score	8.5

It might be a surprise to see this pool here rather than the more regular Akranes pool that is seperated from the football ground by just a chainlink fence. While it’s possible to see some of the action from the water there, the entrance-to-entrance distance is actually slightly further than it is from Guðlaug, where the changing rooms are under the terraces. With the sea and beach views, this is a very pleasant pool in nice weather, but it’s small size makes it extremely limited and I wouldn’t want to be there when it’s busy.

4TH place:

Fram

Pool	Guðlaug
Distance	100m
Distance Grade	A+
Quality Grade	C
Final Score	8.5

Another pool that gets a lower grade due to its small size. There is still plenty of good stuff going for Dalslaug though – it’s super-modern, fits a variety of temperatures into the small space, and you can even get a book from the library it shares a building with (if you’re a local). The walk to the also brand new football stadium is just slightly greater than at Fylkir as you might expect for a purpose-built suburb where everything is new and theoretically convenient, but the sleek modernity and digital lockers aren’t enough for me.

5TH place:

Stjarnan

Pool	Ásgarðslaug
Distance	260m
Distance Grade	A
Quality Grade	C
Final Score	8

Another fine but small pool. I mentioned the steam room at Vesturbæjarlaug and while the temperature of these is very much personal preference, I found this one to be the most pleasant I’ve visited on that front. Aside from that, it really is just two hot pots and a wading pool that’s too small to be relaxing if children are using the play equipment. While very close it does somehow feel like the entrances could be a bit closer together.

6TH place:

Þróttur

Pool	Laugardalslaug
Distance	500m
Distance Grade	B
Quality Grade	B
Final Score	8

If you’re surprised to see Laugardalslaug with a higher quality grade than the previous few pools then I’m going to assume it’s because you dislike how busy it can be. You wouldn’t be wrong that the pool with the largest capacity in the country can still feel very cramped at times, but that’s why its grade isn’t even higher. It still has to be admitted that the facilities at this Hot-Pot-Hot-Spot are great. The rocky social area and the multitude of hot pots get an exclamation point with the somewhat unique addition of a salt water hot pot. The distance to Þróttheimar is deceptively long, but still short enough to get a B grade, plus you get to pass the national football stadium for most of the way.

7TH place:

Valur

Pool	Sundhöllin
Distance	1500m
Distance Grade	D
Quality Grade	B
Final Score	6

Conversely to Laugardalslaug, this city centre pool is a relative hidden gem considering it’s proximity to so many tourist sites, in particular the ever-bustling Hallgrímskirkja. The changing facilities make it easy to believe you’re at the oldest pool in Reykjavík, and from the men’s showers your first view is that of the original indoor hall. On that upper deck though you will find the two pots (pictured) that feel cosiest and to me the urban surroundings adds to that rather than feeling like an incursion. Downstairs is another regular lap-swimming pool and another hot pot that runs for most of its length. The wading pool is fine, and that’s what you’ll see first coming from the women’s side. To call this the local pool for Valur is the greatest stretch in these rankings so far. It’s just slightly closer by walking than Nautholsvík Geothermal Beach, but a kilometre and a half gets a D.

8TH place:

Breiðablik

Pool	Kópavogslaug
Distance	1500m
Distance Grade	D
Quality Grade	C
Final Score	5

At virtually the same length is the distance from Kópavogslaug and Kópavogsvöllur. This is the main faltering point for another pool that is good but not great in my opinion. I’ll admit that it’s been a while since I visited, but it really can’t have left much of an impression because I can’t think of any one area where it excels beyond the competition.

9TH place:

Víkingur

Pool	Breiðholtslaug
Distance	2900m
Distance Grade	F
Quality Grade	B
Final Score	4

This is the furthest stadium from it’s nearest pool in the whole Besta deild, which is quite shocking really. The ranking gets slightly propped up by the fact that I think this is actually a pretty nice pool. It’s certainly not the greatest and some areas feel a little less-well looked after than at some pools, however it does feel like this place is underrated just because of the neighbourhood it is in. When I visited it was a dark and cool Spring evening and it was just exactly as busy as you’d want a pool really. But I wouldn’t want to attempt the long walk to Víkin in those conditions.

10TH place:

Vestri

Pool	Sundhöll Ísafjarðar
Distance	900m
Distance Grade	C
Quality Grade	F
Final Score	3

So we reach the inevitable end of the ranked section with a pool I went to purely because I don’t drive. Common consensus from locals is that you just don’t go here if you want the standard Icelandic pool experience. I’m sure it’s fine for learning to swim but, especially in water that isn’t even heated geothermally, the dinky little hot tub isn’t going to cut it. While still under a kilometre away, it’s not the shortest walk to the football ground. The section before you hit the main road is quite pleasant though.

Keflavík

Pool	Waterworld
Distance	120m
Distance Grade	A

This pool is very close to where Keflavík play football, and the consensus is generally that it’s a good pool and the slides are fun. Personally I’ve only been on the trampoline slide in Vestmannaeyjar, so it’s not really my area of expertise.

Tindastóll

Pool	Sundlaug Sauðárkróks
Distance	230m
Distance Grade	A

Is it fair to use a digital impression of still-to-be-built redevelopments? maybe not, but the pool which previously looked like a Krispy Kreme box with just the lap-swimming pool and two hot pots is getting a major upgrade. A former Tindastóll player said it was cozy and has great staff.

KA

Pool	Sundlaug Akureyrar
Distance	850m
Distance Grade	C

The only pool in the “capital of the North” gets very favourable reviews, but its monopoly is what lets it down in the opinion of some, as it makes for large crowds.

FH

Pool	Sundhöll Hafnarfjarðar
Distance	1900m
Distance Grade	F

The most common review of this pool is that the town has better options, notably Suðurbæjarlaug. A player from Hafnarfjörður told me that the hot tubs outside are great and it is cosy thanks to the lack of people there, however another reviewer said that it’s frequently closed. At nearly 2km, this pool isn’t even very close to FH so they would get a pretty poor grade here.

HK

Pool	Salalaug
Distance	2300m
Distance Grade	F

This is a pool that I’d like to visit in particular, it looks great. I’m told its very popular though, so best avoided on weekends if you don’t like crowds. This one really isn’t very close to Kórinn, but what is?

Þór/KA

Pool	Sundlaug Akureyrar
Distance	2500m
Distance Grade	F

The second appearance of this pool on the list. There’s not much more I can say about it but the distance for this team is even further, bordering on Víkingur levels of bad.