I’m not really sure what to say about the Blue Lagoon. I feel I should have liked it far more than I did, based on the reviews here, and wonder what went wrong with my visit. To paraphrase that Nathan Thurm character from the SNL sketch, “Is it me?...it’s them, right?”

Maybe it’s a combination of both. I did not have a rental car and was dependent on a bus tour to take me out there and back to Reykjavik afterwards. Three and a half hours is a long time to spend at the Lagoon and nearby grounds, especially if you aren’t getting spa services. (My advice: book well in advance for a massage. When I got there, there was only a 20-minute slot open – and I wasn’t about to pay 5600 ISK (roughly $71) for that, knowing that I could stand under the waterfall and get a similar result.) Maybe it’s better to go to the Lagoon on your way to or from Keflavik airport, since it’s a 40-minute drive from Reykjavik….a difference of 8 miles vs. 24. Driving that distance through the unending volcanic landscape ratcheted up my anticipation of this famous place....maybe unreasonably so.

The Blue Lagoon experience is clearly designed to coax you from your wallet. I spent 2900 ISK to get out there and then paid 1400 for admission – and 500 for a towel rental. Throw in a yogurt & cup of tea for lunch, and it was roughly $70 US for the privilege of spending 50 minutes in the water and not much more. If you've got your own way of getting out there, so much the better (and the lower your chances of grumbling afterwards).

The Lagoon’s marketing department does a great job of selling the place as a serene spa-like destination – but I found it more like a community pool that happened to be in an unusual setting. Want a robe? You’ve got to rent one. Locker rooms offer showers, hair dryers, lockers and that's it. I was reprimanded twice by the locker-room attendant (once for walking into the shower area, in my shoes, to retrieve a hair clip I’d left behind; the other, for accidentally locking myself out of my locker). I had a momentary flashback to my old swimming days at the local Y.

As for the water…it IS relaxing, and warm enough without being too hot – roughly 100 degrees F. And since guests are required to shower before entering, clean too. There are several pots of silica paste by the side of the pool that you can dip into and smooth onto your skin for exfoliating effect. If the waterfall becomes free (i.e. no one standing underneath), grab your chance – it’s a great pummelling, but it also means getting your hair wet. And if that sounds silly or overly vain, wait until you try shampooing/conditioning your hair back to its pre-Lagoon state! Claims have been made about the healing properties of the waters on skin conditions; I hoped it would help my sunburn and it accelerated my skin peeling. I guess that's good.

I was really wowed by the Golden Circle so this isn't a case of a grouchy tourist impervious to the natural charms of Iceland. But based on the time, money, and energy spent getting out to there, I now wish that I’d used that time to go to a couple of museums in Reyjavik instead. This is why it would be more time-efficient to plan your visit around arrival/departure time at Keflavik airport.

I'm not trying to discourage people from going...by all means, go there yourself; you're not going to experience a geothermal pool every day. But plan your services well in advance and decide first how much time you really want to invest in being there...and don't expect the amenities - or even customer service approach - you'd get from other spas.