Standing Stones Hotel

The hotel has recently reopened after a couple of years and new management is making every effort to breathe life into this lovely hotel perfectly situated on the shore of Loch Stenness. Indeed what could be better than a view of the Stenness Stones and the Ring of Brodgar from your hotel window? We dined in the bar twice and the food was excellent. Breakfast choice was expansive and catered for all tastes and appetites. We wish Isla and Heather and the team every success with their new venture.

We spent 3 nights at the Standing Stones Hotel and came away with mixed feelings about our stay. The hotel had only opened in April after a 2 year closure when clearly some refurbishment had taken place eg new carpeting. The entrance was not well signed and we entered into a very unwelcoming reception that was spacious but cold and sparse. The staff however were great, welcoming, friendly and very accommodating. Our room was spacious and well appointed, with a comfortable bed and super bathroom with corner bath and large walk in shower. We had a balcony overlooking the Loch but underfoot was covered in bird droppings and the chairs were very dirty and unusable. The evening meals were served in the bar which was newly furnished but very much a pub atmosphere. The meals themselves were tasty and well presented but it was a limited menu. The location of the hotel was very good being situated on the road between Stromness and Kirkwall and the views from it were excellent. If more attention was given to making the entrance and reception welcoming and comfortable we would recommend this hotel.

The positives, good location, cosy clean room with nice decor and lovely view of Loch Stenness and Standing Stones. Unfortunately there was nobody at reception on arrival just a mobile number to phone which we did and the call went to voice mail. When someone did appear we did not receive a warm welcome. The cooked breakfast was very anaemic the bacon and sausage looked as if they had been steamed. The continental selection was adequate on the first morning, but on the second morning most things had run out and were not replenished !! Poor value for money. Would not recommend.

Hotel has an amazing location in the midst of all of the Neolithic sites on Orkney. However, the staff is NOT friendly or helpful at all. In factN it appeares the desk only operates during check-in. The toilet in our room was not flushing properly and there was no one to contact about it. At some point the cleaning staff left only one coffee mug in a room where 2 people were staying. They do NOT clean the room at all unless you put out the "Please make up room" sign. And the rooms are quite small - not enough room for 2 people and our bags.

We had such a wonderful stay here whilst we were over on Orkney! Some of the reviews I have read absolutely don’t do the hotel justice - I have no idea how anyone can say anything negative about the staff, rooms or breakfast!! We arrived at the hotel later than we’d anticipated but the lady who checked us in (Lauren) was so lovely and was straight there to greet us when we arrived. I can’t comment on dinner as we’d already eaten before we arrived, but once we’d dropped off our bags we headed down to the bar for a drink. What was going to just be one drink turned into two and a bottle of wine, simply because of the wonderful Lauren behind the bar who chatted away to us and made us feel so welcome - she is a great person and was so funny and lots of fun to talk to! She even gave us some tips for the rest of our journey along the NC500 which was really appreciated! We were on the late side coming down for breakfast in the morning, but there was still a full cooked breakfast available (bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes), as well as coffee, a range of fresh juices, cereal and croissants - despite the fact we only got down 2 mins before breakfast ended, the staff were extremely accommodating and offered us coffee etc straight away. Again, I have no idea how some people have complained about this in other reviews I’ve read!! The location of the hotel is great - we had left our car in Thurso and travelled across on the ferry. We were able to get the X1 bus from directly outside the ferry terminal which took us right to the hotel (probably a 2/3 minute walk from the bus stop), and the hotel is also located very close to the Standing Stones (1 mile walk) and the Ring of Brodgar (a further 1 mile past the Standing Stones). With the bus stop being close, it’s also really easy to hop on the X1 down to Kirkwall/ The Italian Chapel with very little fuss (though my advice would be to plan your journey in advance as the X1 bus only runs once per hour across the island). Overall I thought this stay was excellent value for money - the hotel didn’t cost too much for our stay and we couldn’t have asked for anywhere better to spend the evening/ night!