Reykjavik hotel recommendations for tourists on foot

Hi!
We stayed at the ION City Hotel (Marriott), and I thought everything was very close---I loved the location and the proximity to restaurants, shopping, and major sites in Reykjavik.
Hope this helps!

we stayed in apartments near the big church that we found on booking.com. good location, decemt prices

I recently stayed several nights at the Hotel Fron. Very centrally located. In the heart of the city, and thus within easy walking distance of the sights and many eateries. Modest but comfortable.

Hotels right in the central part of Reykjavik that we have enjoyed include these:
4th Floor Hotel
Center Hotel Laugavegur
Center Hotel Midgardur
Center Hotel Plaza
Hotel Centrum
Hotel Fron

All of these are great and very well located for walking all over as well as being close to the bus stops.

Edited to add sidewalks are often a mess once the winter weather has hit. Bring shoes with sturdy soles and Yaktrax. You need to take the Yaktrax off before entering any establishment, so have a bag ready for those.

I also stayed at City Hotel Plaza and it was a great location for walking. The rooms were perfectly fine and the breakfast buffet was pretty good (though no variety - I was bored after 5 days). Tourist Bus stop #1 (City Hall) is a few blocks away, Skuli Craft Bar is just around the corner. My stay was part of an Icelandair package so be warned it might be busy with Icelandair package people, but the front desk staff are quite accustomed to that.

Once you choose your lodging, go to the Flybus website to reserve your ride. They will tell you how to get to your lodging (it's a little complicated. Everyone takes the bus to a central location, then you get on another bus to get closer to your hotel).

We stayed at the Hotel Borg just one block from the bus stop that will take you to the bus transfer station. Then you will transfer to a bus to take you to KEF. Reservations on Flybus are necessary. Very easy and efficient with a decent price.

We enjoyed the Hotel Borg very much last February.

I stayed at the Center Hotel Laugavegur and enjoyed it. Great location and the Flybus stop is right outside.

I've also stayed at the Canopy by Hilton a few times. Very nice hotel. Amazing breakfast buffet but lots of noise from outside.

The first 3 hotels that I mentioned all had bus stops right smack in front of them. The other 3 we did not use the bus stops, so I have no idea where they were located.

The flybys tickets can be purchased ahead of time or even at the airport once you land. They do not sell out as they work the buses around the flight schedules so they know how many flights are arriving etc.

Taxis are more efficient time wise since they are door to door, but they run about $150 each way. We do that now instead of Flybus, but usually we rent a car. It all just depends on what you are doing.

Thank you all for the detailed and thoughtful responses. I really appreciate it. Definitely bringing my boots and the additional details on how Flybus works is super helpful, as well as hotel recommendations!

Hi CAL,
In August, when in Reykjavik I stayed at Berjaya Reykjavik Marina. It's right on the waterfront in close proximity to restaurants and downtown. I didn't have a car, and walked around the city, w/o any problems. Location: Mýrargata 2, 101 Reykjavík.
Website: https://www.icelandhotelcollectionbyberjaya.com/en/hotels/reykjavik/reykjavik-marina.
Some of the people on our tour took flybus to the airport, but not sure where they picked it up.
Can't answer your question about sidewalks in Winter either. Reco buy some cleats that you can put over your shoes/boots.