Laid-back comfort Chez Monique

If you like your businesses ethical, perhaps family-run and never multinational, you could do far worse than booking into Chez Monique.

Just over the road from City Hall, Monique Jacquettes guesthouse is a clean, central, good value, and above all, friendly Bed & Breakfast during the summer months. But over the winter, it is a long-term haven for students and foreign workers, who might otherwise lose their battle against Reykjavíks chronic shortage of homes to rent.

Although French, Monique has lived in Iceland for 36 years and her main job is at the hospital. Her winter guests are sufficiently self-sufficient (so to speak) to allow her to work in peace while in the summer she uses her annual leave to take care of the guests.

Monique modestly describes the low rates she charges for long winter stays as nothing more than convenient for her lifestyle but with so many visitors now in the city during the colder months, many would forsake the workers and students and chase the wads of tourist cash. By not doing that, there is more than a hint that she is trying to help her fellow foreigners make a mark here in Iceland.

Moving to Smoky Bay can be tough after all, but its comforting to know there are people out there doing their best to make it less so.

Reviewed by Alex Elliott