Top Hotels in Kirkwall

Explore Kirkwall with stays near iconic landmarks, luxury hotels, and top boutiques for the best shopping and dining

Ayre Hotel & Ayre Apartments
8.3 (102 reviews)

Ayre Hotel & Ayre Apartments ★★★

📍 Ayre Rd, Kirkwall

"Good hotel. At the centre of Kirkwall. Great food at its restauran"

The Kirkwall Hotel
8.1 (42 reviews)

The Kirkwall Hotel ★★★

📍 Harbour St, Kirkwall

"This is a lovely hotel and in my experience the best hotel in Orkney. The rooms are beautiful. They have loads of character. They are very comfortable and spotlessly clean and they are warm. They also have a huge lounge area where guests can relax and chill with sea views and a lovely bar. The breakfasts are delicious and the staff are extremely helpful, welcoming and accommodating. The customer service is fantastic here. I have stayed here 3 times and once at The Shore hotel next door, and I cannot fault the hotel or the service. Its a very comfortable and welcoming stay. I'm extremely grateful to Stuart, one of the reception staff at the Kirkwall Hotel who went the extra mile to make me feel welcome. All round, a great experience and I'm very grateful to The Kirkwall Hotel for everything they did for me during my time in Orkney. Highly recommend this place. You wont find better in Orkney and the prices are reasonable for what Orkney prices are."

Albert Hotel
8.9 (78 reviews)

Albert Hotel ★★★

📍 Junction Rd, Kirkwall

Karrawa Guest House
9.6 (50 reviews)

Karrawa Guest House ★★★

📍 Inganess Rd, St Ola, Kirkwall

"It was a very cozy guesthouse. Anyway, it's close to the local bus stop, but it's hard because there are only a few buses."

The Shore
7.9 (49 reviews)

The Shore ★★★

📍 Shore St, Kirkwall

Grainbank Mews
9.4 (170 reviews)

Grainbank Mews ★★★

📍 Grainbank House, Kirkwall

"The family is lovely and very helpful; they are locals who know the area well and can provide great tips on what to do in Kirkwall and the surrounding area. The facilities are newly renovated and quite modern. We did the continental breakfast; they have a menu you fill out the night before which is great for reducing waste. The food was fresh, well-prepared, and more than enough to keep us going for a long day of exploring the islands. Our room was clean and well equipped and the beds were comfortable. They are located about a kilometre outside of the city centre so if you are travelling without a vehicle be prepared for a little bit of a walk into town."

West End Guest House
7.5 (9 reviews)

West End Guest House ★★★

📍 14 Main Street, Kirkwall

"Be careful when booking here based upon the reviews. This establishment has downgraded its offering from a full service hotel to a guest house offering B&B only. The guest house is largely unstaffed. Check in is a key box on the wall, check out is a letter box to drop off your keys in. There's no dining room offering evening meals, and no bar. My room was simple but adequate. There are tea and coffee facilities, and you can help yourself to top ups from a central store. Breakfast comprises a limited hot menu, which is cooked to order, alongside a coffee machine, juices, cereals and toast. Service from the front of house breakfast team was good. Location wise, it's a 10 minute easy stroll down the main shopping street to the harbour. Price wise, £95 per night is high for what's on offer. Is it comparable with other similar establishments in Kirkwall? I don't know. But whilst the West End is fine, I've paid less for better places many times. "

Royal Oak Guesthouse
9.7 (56 reviews)

Royal Oak Guesthouse ★★★

📍 Royal Oak House, Holm Rd, Kirkwall

"We were booked here thru Rabbie´s and we had a very comfortable two nights at the Royal Oak Guest House. We were given a twin room en suite and it was a very spacious room with a lot of space for all your belongings. Since we were on a Rabbie´s tour our nights here were basically in and out with long days on the road. We did stay in since we were to tired to walk down the street to Kirkwall center. Our tour guide made a stop at the local Lidl so we bought some "tv-dinner" to heat up in the microwave in the lounge up stairs. Alice made a very nice breakfast for us. You basically fill in a form the evening before what you want for breakfast. Plenty to choose from."

The Orkney Hotel
7.5 (54 reviews)

The Orkney Hotel ★★★

📍 40-41 Victoria St, Kirkwall

"Sadly this hotel has so much potential, it has a great location in the heart of Kirkwall. It has a beautiful stairway as you enter and our room should have been great. Unfortunately, it was not clean when we arrived and a complaint the first day was ignored. On the second day the cleaning staff came in to tidy up while we were there so we complained directly to them which also fell on deaf ears. Basically the attitude from the top down seems to be “we are really sorry, but we aren’t going to do anything about it”. We ended up cleaning the room ourselves. Breakfast here was very basic, not as good as other hotels we stayed at. Aside from the location I don’t see any reason to stay here."

See All Hotels in Kirkwall

Real Traveller Reviews of Kirkwall Hotels

8.3
Excellent Community Rating
Real & verified guest reviews from all over the world
G

HK GabaZhao

Solo traveler
Ayre Hotel & Ayre Apartments ★★★
"The location is excellent, not far from the airport bus stop and several restaurants, and it's right by the sea with a sea view. The facilities are a bit dated, but acceptable, and the heating works fine. There's a damp smell upon entering the room, which is much better with the windows open. For a small archipelago town, these conditions are acceptable."
★★★★★
2025-03-04
s

sam w

Traveling with friends
The Kirkwall Hotel ★★★
"It was a very happy week at the KIrkwall, an hotel in old Victorian premises with all the advantages and disadvantages that brings. My room overlooked the harbour. It wasn't the room, or the good food, which which made the difference. It was the staff. Sometimes in hotels, particularly top of the range 5 star, the relationship with reception, the maitre d'hotel or the chambermaid can be formal and cooI. Fiona the Reception Manager, Sheena, the restaurant manager even the chef were warm, thoughtful, appropriately attentive and spoke to us as though we were family. I noticed Orcadians (Orkney) people generally were warm, friendly and caring. Give yourself a real treat- visit the Orkneys"
★★★★★
2025-07-15
G

JP Guest User

Solo traveler
Karrawa Guest House ★★★
"It was a very cozy guesthouse. Anyway, it's close to the local bus stop, but it's hard because there are only a few buses."
★★★★★
2026-04-24
G

Guest User

Couple
Grainbank Mews ★★★
"Exceptional hospitality, lovely room with super comfy kingsize bed, bathroom spotless and powerful hot shower. Dietary needs met in full - much appreciated. Albert and Aileen have achieved very high standards and this is now our benchmark for other places to stay! Location is excellent - 2’ drive or 15’ walk into Kirkwall."
★★★★★
2025-06-26
G

Guest User

Traveling with friends
West End Guest House ★★★
"This establishment cannot be described as as a Hotel. At best it’s a Hostel. No facilities, no personnel on site . It’s jaded & apart from the Linen & towels is in need of major refurbishment. The location is reasonable if visiting Kirkwall or touring from the port /airport"
★★★★☆
2025-06-24
G

Guest User

Other
Royal Oak Guesthouse ★★★
"Here for four nights, welcomed by Alice and baby Poppy (very cute). The room had recently been updated and was all new throughout and plenty of power points for charging gadgets (a pet peeve) the bathroom was very nice with a good sized shower, In the morning Eric cooked us breakfast with a smile, nothing appeared to stress him. As a local he was also able to give us advice for places to visit and eat. The Royal Oak is very well located for visiting the city, just a short trip from the airport. We had a very relaxing short break and would definitely recommend to friends hoping to visit the islands."
★★★★★
2024-03-08
G

Guest User

Other
The Orkney Hotel ★★★
"Booked to stay one night with husband and that was more than enough. This is a tired old place well past its prime. The room we stayed in was basic with dated decor, not clean with dust on surfaces and a spiders web with lots of dead flies on it. The carpet needed a good hoover. The bathroom was ok but with old fittings and the bathroom door didn't shut properly. The bed and mattress were of poor quality and I wakened through the night with back pain. We had booked an evening meal at 6.00pm. On arriving at the dining room it was locked and we sat around for approx 10 mins until a member of staff opened it. Food at dinner and breakfast was ok however the staff were clearly overwhelmed as there was a large group of travelers eating together and therefore other diners had a longer wait for food. The staff we encountered were all very pleasant however I would not recommend staying at this hotel. The hotel is in a good location in the centre of Kirkwall however the room rate was far to high for the standard of room we encountered and honestly we couldnt't wait to leave."
★★★★☆
2026-06-08

Kirkwall Travel Information

⚡

Power Plug & Voltage

230V/Type G

💵

Exchange Rate

1 AUD ≈ 0.53 GBP

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Local Payment

Cards/ApplePay/Cash

📱

Connectivity

EE/Vodafone/O2/Three

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Current Weather

Mostly cloudy

More Information About Kirkwall Hotels

Data

Detail

Number of reviews

476

Total properties

12

Weekday Avg. Price

AU$ 266

Weekend Avg. Price

AU$ 261

Trending hotel

The Shore

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