The Shetland Hotel

Just completed a 4 night stay in Shetland and we found the Shetland Hotel to be a lovely place to stay. Yes, it is not a brand spanking new hotel but the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful (kudos to Jane and the team) and we enjoyed the food and service so much in the restaurant that we chose to eat there each night. Some of the better value for money meals in our entire time in Scotland. Room was also spacious and the bed comfy.

Very comfortable hotel with nice size rooms, nicely polished furniture and updated bathrooms. Rooms are serviced on request and the supplies you need (shampoo, towels, toilet paper, tea ,cookies etc.) are available at a table across from the reception desk. Their restaurant is good and our group ate there two nights. There were favorable reports on the lamb. The ferry terminal is across the street, so some rooms (like mine) are blocked from harbor views due to that building.

On a coach trip so had to eat at the same time and different menu to rest of hotel guests but food very good, the flatbread starter on the first night was amazing. Joseph was outstanding as was the lady who served us tea/ coffee in the lounge on the house on our final day when there was nothing to do before the ferry time. Didn’t catch her name, sorry. Pity breakfast wasn’t buffet as would have liked to pick what to have and amount. Room very good.

I was apprehensive about staying here after reading a few of the reviews. I've found it very clean, very friendly and with everything you would need. Rooms are cleaned daily if you ask. I don't need my room cleaned daily. Otherwise you can help yourself to tea/ coffee/ biscuits refills and towels from reception. It's a 20 minute walk into the centre of Lerwick and a taxi back if about £6. Standard breakfast and dinner fare.

Stayed here with a tour group - the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. Outdated decor, dark painted creepy hallways, filthy windows, an elevator that says max 10 people, but a posted sign says 3 max so not super confident about state of elevator. The springs on the mattress on my bed were jabbing me in the back. No room cleaning service. Pick up new towels and toilet paper from the lobby. No fridges, safe, water bottles or tissues in room. Felt really grungy! Restaurant was ok, and location to ferry ideal. Needs a big makeover and cleaning!

Stayed here for one night after cycling tour of Shetland. The hotel is immediately adjacent to Ferry terminal and was the major attraction . The room was large, well appointed, very clean and comfortable. The breakfast was very good with a wide choice. The service was brusque but not unfriendly. The only reason for marking my review down was the insistence that I vacated my room by 10.30. The room staff were waiting outside. I later learned from checking my booking that the time should have been 11.00. I was, however, grateful to he able to leave my rucksack and cycle bag until time for the Ferry.

Jane and her team were amazing, made me feel very welcome with nothing too much trouble. The room was lovely and spacious, bathroom newly refurbished with shower over the bath. Highly recommend, I will definitely book again new year

On entering the hotel we were stopped from proceeding to the dining room, very abruptly by the member of staff. We were not offered a drink or any other service, just told to sit down until the dining area was open. When told we could now access the dining area, we were shown to a table. After ordering, we waited 50 minutes for our starter, food was acceptable but neither the quality or quantity justified the price. The service from the waitress was poor, we had to repeat our order several times , to enable her to understand what we wanted. One the dishes ordered was not available. Why put it on the menu? We waited another 30 minutes for our mains. Again, the quality of the food was truly awful . I had the seafood salad and the prawns were tiny, shrivelled and tasted very cheap and unpleasant. Not one of us were satisfied with our meal. We then placed an order for sweet. However, it took so long to arrive that we had to cancel as we had a theatre booking that we were going to be late for, due to the appalling service in the hotel. When we came to pay the bill, the never of staff said ‘I won’t charge for the puddings’ as if he was doing us a favour! No mention of compensation, only a mumbled ‘we only have one chef’. Poor staffing levels are not the fault of the customer!! Overall , we were extremely disappointed in the service we received and of the quality of the food. The overall ambience of the hotel was unwelcoming and we felt as if we had inconvenienced the staff. We certainly won’t be repeating the experience, and will be warning others of the very poor welcome, poor food and bad service we received.

First impressions not very good, the hotel is in major need of refurbishment. Upon walking into the hotel on the ground floor I was greeted by a lift that mentioned health club (on the button for floor number), after checking in I asked about the health club and was told it closed around 20 years ago. I decided not to go any further with questions. Walking to my room on the third floor I would compare it to the shining movie. A red uninviting abyss that is not particularly appealing. The room was found to be very clean and tidy. A printed sticker on the bathroom door informed me to "slide" which wise words. It is expensive for a hotel of such poor standard. The other hotels in the area seem to follow a similar standard which is a shame considering the beautiful landscape. I hope the owners take the plunge to fully refurb the place and take it back to what a hotel of this magnitude deserves.