Hotel Wants Noise Limit On Club Next Door

The owners of 101 Hótels have called upon noise limits to be placed on Gamla Bíó, a venue trying to have a cultural renaissance as more venues are closing.

Eyjan reports that Guðvarður Gíslason, the managing director of Gamla Bíó, revealed that the venue was forced to cancel a concert featuring legendary singer Páll Óskar as city officials would not approve increasing the allowable volume for a concert.

Guðvarður added that 101 Hótel had talked about better soundproofing their rooms that are next to Gamla Bíó, but never did. Instead, they have filed repeated complaints about noise levels from Gamla Bíó. Ultimately, Gamla Bíó’s acceptable noise level was capped at 95 decibels, while standard rock concerts can be as loud as 115 decibels.

The revelation comes in the wake of recent news that several of downtown’s most popular nightspots for live music and DJs may be turned into tourist-oriented shops. Despite the millions foreign guests pay for Icelandic music, tourist shops and hotels seem to be gaining the upper hand in Reykjavík.