I think areas North and East are sketchy. I drove all over that area because we stayed in the area (Blue Lagoon area near airport). It was all new development, clean and I even went out and walked a few places alone.
We stayed at Homewood Suites Blue Lagoon. They offered free wifi, breakfast, weeknight dinners with wine, and airport transfers. It was clean. The staff was wonderful and I highly recommend it. When we arrived, their shuttle was down and they paid for TWO cabs to get our family and luggage to the hotel for us. The food was also really good. They have a pool and nice lagoon views.
The other thing that made me choose this location was because there is a grocery store within a (long-ish) walking distance to get wine and snacks.