Hotel Holt was opened on 12th of February 1965.

It was the entrepreneur Þorvaldur Guðmundsson and his wife Ingibjörg Guðmundsdóttir who opened the hotel. The hotel has stayed in the family ever since and is today owned by  their daughter Geirlaug Þorvaldsdottir.  Mr.Guðmundsson and his wife were passionate  art collectors as Hotel Holt aptly demonstrates .

Hotel Holt was originally a 36 room hotel but in 1973 the capacity was increased by 50% into 53 rooms. In 1993 the hotel rooms were renovated extensively and then the rooms were taken back down to 42. This way the hotel increased its suite catalog from 4 to 12. The purpose was to meet the needs and expectations of the market. All the rooms have been decorated in a classic and simple style. From the year 2006 the capacity of the hotel has been 41 rooms, since one of the rooms was converted to a fitness studio with treadmills.

Hotel Holt has been a member of international hospitality affiliations for many years, focusing on the opportunities that represents. Since 1991 the hotel has been member of SRS Worldhotels (Steigenberger Reservation Service). Today the WORLDHOTELS chain is the 11th largest one of its kind in the world, with over 500 hotels worldwide, all of which are privately owned and with a unique quality. Indeed, the guiding line of WORLDHOTELS is "unique hotels for unique people".

The Restaurant - Gallery Restaurant

The restaurant of Hotel Holt, Gallery Restaurant, has consistently been  regarded as the best restaurant in Iceland ever since it opened four decades ago. The capacity is 75 seats. In January 2008, the kitchen was extensively renovated and a custom made stove was brought in from Moldin in France. This is a machine built entirely based on the preferences and standards set by our head chef, Mr. Friðgeir Ingi Eiríksson, who then joined his father and Hotel Manager, Eiríkur Ingi Friðgeirsson in running the enterprise. 

Since spring 2011, the father and son team have been focusing on running the restaurant part of the business as well as running the catering for Viðey Island in Reykjavík, while Snorri Valsson runs the hotel-side for Geirlaug Þorvaldsdóttir the owner. Snorri was the Guest Service manager for 3 years working for Eiríkur and Friðgeir so there is still a great deal of synergy between the two companies sharing the builiding.