The Shore

Our 3-night stay in Kirkwall was . Note, The Shore is cosy annex of the Kirkwall Hotel - only a couple of steps away. The rooms are modern, well-appointed and we found the bed to be very comfortable. The Shore's location put you right on the waterfront in downtown Kirkwall so you have ready access (i.e., walking) to plenty of eateries, pubs, sights and shopping. The breakfasts in the Kirkwall Hotel were lovely too.

Walked past the Kirkwall Hotel to get here only to find a note pinned to the front door of the Shore telling me to go to the Kirkwall to check in. Probably would have appreciated this in an email prior to arrival. |Room clean. |Terrible view. |Plenty of teabags. |Sadly this room (number 16) gave me one of my top 3 worst hotel nights ever. Just before 4.30 there was a noise of rushing water next to my room - super loud. I thought it was an early departer in the next room having a shower. However the rushing water and loud droning noise then just carried on about every 15 minutes or so until I had to get up anyway, so I don't think it can have just been an adjacent room - maybe a water tank or pump. No sleep at all after this and the noise did drive me mad. Unacceptable to take money off people to sleep next to this row IMHO. Reception staff were polite but not very interested when I checked out.|The window wouldn't open and the blind didn't meet at the window sill so light started coming in early in June, not helping the 'no sleep' situation. (The friendly guy who showed me over to the room from the Kirkwall did say he was going to get maintenance to look at the dodgy window.) |In the day the blind really needed to be kept shut as well because the window of this room looked over the dinghy roof straight into someone else's bedroom a short distance away. Felt a bit creepy. |PS if the shower doesn't work you might need to pull the cord in the bathroom. I didn't know this, but a lovely friendly cleaner helped me when I couldn't work out why the 'on' button didn't work lol.

Cozy rooms with a shower and facilities for tea and coffee. Within two blocks of most things downtown with a bus stop right in front. Grocery stores. Coffee shops, pubs and restaurants near by. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Floors are a little thin and we had a lot of footstep noise from the room above.

The world's smallest room, as you are an annex of the hotel next door you are forgotten about. Uncomfortable bed, can hear everything next door, paper thin walls so kept waking me up. One pillow only. Have no choice to stay here due to hotel shortage due to the festivals. Breakfast is good though.

|I had read some poor reviews from previous years but obviously improvements have been made. Public areas clean and freshly painted with new carpets. Bedrooms clean and well equipped. Good breakfast in the Kirkwall Hotel.

The hotel has been completely refurbished since my last visit and it has been done to a very high standard. They have a variety of rooms and all have modern facilities and beautiful decor. It is a complete transformation from a few years ago.

Location really good but the booking website did not explain that “the Shore hotel” had closed during COVID lockdown and property was being managed by nearby Kirkwall Hotel. No good food and lively bar as described!||Linen , towels (obviously came from large hotel next door) and room very comfortable , but corridors and stairs smelled damp and slightly “fursty”, no staff in building and concerningly our first floor room, rear facing overlooked an empty yard and blank wall. The windows did not lock, there were ladders lying in the yard which was open to the Main Street via an alley||Would have booked elsewhere had we known

Stayed for one night, researched hotels in the area and wasn't disappointed with this one. Staff were really friendly and professional. Hotel was very clean throughout including our room. We had a few drinks in the bar, we didn't eat in the restaurant. Later in the evening the bar did become busy but everyone was enjoying themselves, after retiring to our room we didn't hear any noise from the bar below. The breakfast was very good with good size portions. We would definitely stay again.

We stayed here for 4 nights in August and loved this place. The rooms were clean, the bed was comfortable, and the hotel was quiet. More importantly, the bathrooms had been updated recently, with a good shower and heated towel rack. My only complaint about the bathroom was that the hot water took a bit to heat up but it got plenty warm and had good water pressure. We also ate in the bar for lunch and at the restaurant for dinner. Both meals were excellent. The staff was very helpful, let us use left luggage when we arrived early and let us settle our bill the night before/gave us instructions for leaving our keys when we checked out very early. Location is convenient to buses at the visitor center and to the city center for shopping, sight seeing, and dining.

The shore provides some lovely rooms, a restaurant, a back bar and a bar open to the public. The food is always delicious, the staff friendly and everything is spotless. The bar is the only place in town where you can get a proper cocktail, which are always delicious. The interior is stylish, with leather sofas, a tv showing sports and a tempting display of bottles behind the bar. It is right by the harbour and open for lunch and dinner for food.