‘Hundreds of rats forced from homes’

Linda Bjork and Pall. Photo submitted

Karuna Guesthouse is located in Litlu-Gröf in Langholtin, Skagafjörður, and is a family-run guesthouse owned by Pál Einarsson and Linda Bjarkar Jónsdóttir. “We used to live in Reykjavík but wanted to change to a quieter, more rural atmosphere. We both grew up in the countryside, me in Skagafjörður and Pál in Vik in Myrdal. We had seen Litla-Gröf for sale but we had some problems with it, but then we decided to go ahead and completed the purchase in the summer of 2013. Then Guðlaug (Gulla) lived in the old house, and when Fekir asked them how they got the little grave, they always call it Guruhus today.”

“We started renovating the apartment building and the outbuildings, and Gulla was very happy with the work and said she would be happy if we could make good use of her house as well. After Gulla passed away in 2017, Páll started to think about turning the building into a guesthouse, because we hadn’t thought of renting it out and having neighbors live in the back garden,” says Linda Björk.

When did you open the hotel? Was everything finished and ready to go as you envisioned, or was it constantly changing and improving? “We got Gulluhus and the barn up and running really quickly. We opened on July 18, 2018, not knowing what we were getting into or what was going to happen. The accommodation was really just ready at the time, but the hall, the old barn was still just a foundation and there were interruptions due to the closure of Wow Air and the coronavirus pandemic. But we decided during the coronavirus pandemic that it would be best to use this time to finish the barn. We opened in January 2022 and have been renovating and getting it to the state we envisioned. We still need to finish the surrounding area, build the sun deck and clean up the site. So, it is a dream to have an observatory on Sulista, but the view from there is priceless. But it will only be possible if the business environment in Iceland improves so that people can start and maintain an operation without always having to risk that the loan will double every few years.”

What was in the house before and what had to be done to restore it? “Gulluhús was built in 1934 by Arngrím and Sigríði, and their daughter Gulla lived in it until her last day. We had to open up all the walls and ceilings, shovel out old newspapers, tarps and other types of insulation that had fallen when the house was built. We moved a doorway, replaced the upstairs living room with four icebergs. Then, of course, everything had to be fireproofed, all the walls were plastered and there were fire doors everywhere. Then we opened up the house to the ‘old’ garage, which is now the reception. The old barn was mostly demolished and hundreds of rats were forced out of their home,” Linda says happily, but the barn now has five spacious rooms. “Each herberg is really like every space in the barn, the room at the end was the old milk house, and then there was a room that was a sour hey tower. We always wanted to build the barns and barns in the same way as before, just more modern and with the right height proportions.”

How many rooms do you have and how many guests can you accommodate? “There are ten rooms in Karuna, five spacious rooms with private bathrooms in the barn, and five cozy rooms with two shared bathrooms in Grunhus. We have beds for 27 guests. Our favorite room is certainly the one in the sour hay tower. Guests love knowing that they are sleeping in an old hay barn. Jói Þórðar deserves thanks for not demolishing it at the time and suggesting that we use it further.”

How long did it take to apply your makeup? What was the hardest part? “It was a difficult process, time consuming and a complete waste of money. But it was fun to see how old things slowly gain new life and purpose. It took a lot of time to decorate and for us to agree on the end result. We were responsible for the styling of the rooms and halls ourselves.”

Will there be entertainment or meals for guests? “We have a hot tub and sauna for guests, and every room has a TV. But other than that, we assume visitors will find lots of interesting things to do in the fjords, and we try to point them in the right direction. In the summer, we offer a light breakfast, but we haven’t started selling evening meals yet.”

Linda says that 90% of the visitors to Karuna are foreign tourists, but there are always some Icelanders who sneak in, but they are mostly related to the sporting events in Sauðárkrók and Laufskáláréttir.

When you acquired Litla-Gröf, the idea was to open a hotel, for example, but do you do anything else besides looking after and running the hotel? “No, it’s not on the drawing board, we just want to slow down and get into a quieter environment. We’ve been foster parents since 2007 and we’d rather be in the country with our dogs and horses.”

Is there enough to do? Is it fun to be in this industry? “Summers are busy and there’s little free time, but winters are much quieter. Then we can close up and go for the summer break like most farmers do. Fun is probably not the word I would use, it’s a lot of work and commitment. But it’s nice to do something rewarding and see the benefits of all the hard work.”

Do you know the guest? “No, not really, the vast majority of people just stop for the night and have little idea of ​​what Skagafjörður has to offer. They drive around Iceland, our first stop was Keflavík, the next was Myvatn. But those who do stop to learn a little bit usually go horse riding, hiking or boating.”

Linda says they generally get positive feedback from visitors. “Of course, there are always people who expect five-star service but complain about everything. Some will make you turn pale, but at the same time, you can’t help but smile when you walk into the kitchen and it’s full of foam because they put washing-up liquid in the dishwasher, or the fire system has activated when trying to heat water on the electric stove-boiler. But these are definitely exceptions, and the vast majority of guests are nice people who know what they are talking about and are a pleasure to communicate with.”