While recently doing the "North Coast 500" route around the Scottish coast, we stayed at the John…read moreO'Groats Guest House as a stopping point, and are so glad we did! Under new ownership, the lovely couple that now own it have put their heart and soul into the house, and it shows! The rooms are updated with new furniture and fixtures, as well as upgraded with all the technological plug-ins you could need while traveling, such as Wi-Fi, Netflix, etc. The night before your stay you will get a message from the owners, who live on-site, asking what your special request is for any meals you would like. Since there are limited dining options at John O'Groats, this was hospitality above and beyond most B&B's we have stayed at. The owners are fabulous chefs, and only use locally sourced meat, cheese, eggs, milk, jams, etc. which are delivered to them fresh from local farms. We requested the Local Meat & Cheese Tray as our starter, and it was wonderfully fresh and delicious! Our locally sourced pork burger was fantastic as well. Breakfast is also included with your stay, and the owners did not disappoint with a list of local options for breakfast that you select the night before, and tell them what time you would like breakfast. It was such a nice way to start our day on the next leg of our journey around the Scottish coast. The warmth and hospitality we received at the Guest House was unexpected and very welcome. We would stay again.

We recently stayed at the John o' Groats Guest House, and it was a highlight of our month's…read morevacation in England and Scotland. Located near the ferry landing for trips to the Orkney Islands, we knew it would be a great location for us, surrounded by the stark but beautiful northern Scotland scenery. What we did not anticipate, though, was that the owners, Mary and Mark, would be the most welcoming and accommodating people ever. Not only did they provide a very nice room and great food, they did everything possible to make our stay pleasant. Mark even took us down to the ferry for our Orkney tour and picked us up at the end of the day. We had such a good time dining with them and the other guests and hanging out after! It was what you would always like to experience in a small B&B or guest house, but rarely do. If you are going to be in the area, you could do no better than to stay at the John o' Groats Guest House.

Nearest accommodation to the Pentland (Orkney Islands) Ferry terminal in Gills Bay. Beautiful open…read morelocation, comfortable building, large rooms, panoramic views, very friendly proprietors. What's not to like? We picked this randomly from the roadside and were delighted with our choice. The price of GBP 60 with breakfast for a double in May was very reasonable. They probably could charge more because there are very few choices in the area.

Sands Hotel provides a perfect, secluded base from which to explore Orkney. While the village of…read moreBurray doesn't offer the amenities of Stromness or Kirkwall, it offers instead quietude and charm. Sands Hotel is prettily situated on Waterside Bay along Burray Harbour. Each of the six ensuite rooms overlooks the water and the folksily painted fishing boats in dock. We were fortunate enough to book the Waterside Suite which provided more than enough space and sleeping accommodations for five, as well as a kitchenette. The rooms were comfortable, modern and clean. Breakfast (ample and delicious) is included with the price the room as well, served in the hotel's ground floor restaurant. Evenings, the restaurant's bar fills with colorful locals enjoying a beer or a game of snooker. It's a convivial place to partake in a dram of Orkney Scapa whisky or a pint of the iconic Dark Island Scottish ale from the Orkney Brewery. Kirkwall may be livelier, but there's something to be said for the peace and solitude provided by Sands.

Had a lovely weekend at Hammersmith - it's centrally located on the Orkney Mainland, making it…read moreideal for exploring the island. We were travelling with my parents and enjoyed sitting in the sunroom both nights after a day of touring, to plan the next day out - with a lovely view of the countryside. Personally, I liked their breakfast menu system - I hadn't seen this before in a B&B, using dry erase markers we picked our breakfasts for the next morning - and the breakfasts were all delicious, we sampled the full cooked (with homemade tattie scones!! and LOVELY mushrooms), the haddock and poached egg, the salmon and scrambled egg and the poached eggs and cheese on crumpets... mmmm - would definitely stay again!

Great place to stay, lovely, warm and clean. Welcoming people, would deffo stay again even tell my…read moremother to stay here! Cracking breakfast.. shame the ferry to Orkney was rough over though.

The Pierowall hotel is famed for serving up the best fish in Orkney. When they say 'fresh' they…read moreliterally mean straight out of the sea. You can't beat it. It is situated on the Island of Westray, one of the bigger Isles off the mainland of Orkney. Fun piece of trivia: the shortest flight in the world (1 and a half minutes) runs from Westray to Papa Westray. Anyway, the hotel. The food is excellent, the service good and it has a great old fashioned feel to it. Definitely worth a visit if you are a foodie type.

My first stay with Arcondel BnB. excellent location, off the main street area, easy to pay and…read morereserve. adhered to covid protocols. absolutely fabulous host !! the family always makes or breaks a BNB stay and i felt warmly welcomed and comfortable. Great room, well appointed (tea and coffee hot pot, snack to recharge you) bathroom ensuite was super clean and well appointed. i stayed two nights and had an incredible breakfast each morning !!! food was delicious and the fab host was very observant of my dietary restrictions ! (so appreciative) I had two great evening walks along the cow pasture to the dock area and absolutely thrilled with the quiet and bliss of Kirkwall. Thank you for letting me stay in your lovely BnB - I hope to return to the Ardconnel again !

I had a lovely stay in the Ardconnel B&B this past spring. The B&B is under new ownership, and…read moreTheresa was incredibly welcoming. When there was a slight mixup with the room, she gave us a free bottle of wine, which was completely unnecessary! The complimentary breakfast was delicious. The breakfast room has a lovely view of the harbor. Our room looked out onto wide open fields. You felt like you were really alone in the country even though the town is about a mile away. It was beautiful and peaceful. The one downside is that the B&B is about a mile outside of town. It's walkable but takes about 25-30min. If you have a car it isn't an issue. The remoteness also contributes to the tranquility of the place. Thank you to Ardconnel for a wonderful few days in the beautiful town of Kirkwall.

The Albert Hotel is a delightful guest house in the centre of Kirkwall. It has plenty of character…read moreand smart rooms newly refurbished to a very high spec, cracking Orkney breakfasts with plenty of choice for vegetarians too, and inexpensive metered parking alongside. There was free wifi throughout the hotel and our room had a flat screen tv, a proper hairdryer and one of the most comfartable beds I've slept in. A lift to each floor came in handy when we had cases in tow. The welcome was warm and staff went the extra mile to ensure our comfort. The Bothy Bar at the front of the hotel was warm and cosy with a nice selection of drinks and a homely vibe. The Bothy was also very popular with the locals and was a good spot to wind down and relax after a day of sightseeing. The meals served in the rear bar weren't amazing, and the dried out Hunter's Chicken had seen better days, but everything else about The Albert Hotel was pretty darned perfect. The tea and coffee making tray was generously replenished daily with the makings for multiple cuppas, and some very nice shortbread. We also got a bottle of water each every day. Its those little touches that make a place special. We'd come so close to not staying in Kirkwall, frightened off by hotels where woodchip wallpaper, swirly-whirly patterned carpets, chintz curtains and migraine-inducing bedspreads were a feature. So glad I persisted in my search for somewhere smart, fresh and clean with all mod cons. Mind you, there's not much competition when it comes to Hotels in Kirkwall - there just aren't that many of them. If you want to visit in high season, be prepared to splash some cash! Highly recommended.

Inflation has definitely hit Scotland and the Albert hits pretty hard…read more We spent 4 nights here and our final bill was about 1,000pounds (1500$ us). So it is pricey. The room gets a 2 star because the bed was horrible. For that kind of money the bed should be plush and not curved like a motorcycle ramp. The bed was really bad. The food was ok. and the bar was generally decent but nothing to write home about. Drink prices lined up with all other bars in the area The hotel is fairly centrally located and everything was within walking distance. Our greeting by staff was pretty cold shoulder. Not trying to judge but it is customer service; she could have been nicer. Warning here: if you have to leave early (pre0700 check out) it could be an issue. We tried to prepay when checking in and they didn't let us. We had to leave at 0630 and no one was there. There was a sign directing us to the restaurant if we needed help and they couldn't check us out. When the desk got to work she emailed us saying we checked out incorrectly. Was a dance to check-out via email. Beware. Parking is a pain. it is not cheap! Bottom line: this hotel is a 2 star accommodation at best. It is overpriced and very expensive. The food is ok and beer is beer. (The scotch selection was ok). Is it a good launching pad for a vacation? Yes but there are better options. All, however, are expensive. The check-in clerk could have been more welcoming. We never had any major issues but the bed should have been tossed in the bin.