Saxa Vord Hostel
This former RAF base is not the most atmospheric lodging, but the barracks-style rooms offer great value.
This former RAF base is not the most atmospheric lodging, but the barracks-style rooms offer great value.
One of Shetland's best, this energetically run waterfront place has very stylish rooms featuring sheepskins, local tweeds and other fabrics and views over the harbour.
Follow the puffin signpost a mile short of Hillswick to find the most wonderful welcome in Shetland.
This stone former bank is a delightful place to stay. Imbued with a sense of space and light, the rooms are large and very well furnished, with good en suites, fridges, and DVD player.
Sheltering under the fortress walls, this friendly place offers summery en suite rooms, including great singles. Views down the pedestrian street are on offer in some; sloping ceilings and oriental touches add charm to others.
Genteel, characterful Busta House has a long, sad history and inevitable rumours of a (friendly) ghost.
This 35-bed hostel is very clean, has most spacious dorms with lockers, family rooms, a garden, an elegant lounge and a wee conservatory dining area with great bay views. You can camp here too. The bus stops right outside.
This is a simple and comfortable hostel run by the Shetland Amenity Trust, with peat fire (£5 a bag), power and decent hot-water bathrooms.
There are four spacious berths in this cute wee stone böd with its challengingly low door. It’s very basic; there are no showers or electricity.
This cute little campsite is right on the harbour – you can watch seals and otters playing in the water, and buy shellfish straight off the fishing boats.
In previous incarnations, this booth by the pier was a fishing shed and knitwear factory, but it’s now a camping böd, with coin-operated showers and fuel for sale.
This solid old manse near the water makes a great base. Rooms are spacious and comfy, with sea views and separate (but private) bathroom – we particularly like the upstairs one.
Brightly decorated, commodious rooms – some bigger than others – inside the building are complemented by wooden chalets arrayed around the lawn.
This hotel in the centre of Hillswick occupies a wonderful wooden mansion built in 1896.
This original fisherman's shack has the most picturesque setting of all Shetland's böds, poised on a rocky point only a couple of metres from the high-water mark (in rough weather the waves wash over the approach).
The former home of poet Hugh MacDiarmid is now a camping böd. There’s no electricity or shower, but there is fuel for sale. Heading out of Symbister towards Isbister, it’s on the left about half a mile from town.
There’s plenty of comfort at the Orca Country Inn, which offers great views from its lounge area and its cosy chambers, all named after birds. They're decorated with great photos by one of the owners, who also runs photography courses here.
Below the haunted ruins of Windhouse, and on the A968, you'll find this well-kept, clean, snug camping böd with power and a pot-belly stove to warm your toes. Book via phone or the website.
Centrally located Leraback B&B offers accommodation and good food.
Drumquin Guest House is a large, laid-back place with good rooms (mix of en suite and shared bathrooms) and chilled hosts. Breakfast is served in a light-flooded conservatory.
Solbrekke is a welcoming spot that overlooks the isle of Mousa from its hilltop vantage point.
Near the ferry, this is friendly and provides comfortable-enough accommodation and tasty fishy bar meals (£7 to £9).
Perched high on Wormadale Hill, 8 miles west of Lerwick and 4 miles south of Weisdale, the Westings Inn enjoys one of the finest vistas in Shetland. The bedrooms are neat and functional, and all share that magnificent view.
The friendly Gord B&B has terrific sea views and two twin rooms and one double, all with en suite.
Not far out of Symbister, the Oot Ower offers self-catering bungalows, a weekend-only bar (11am to 1am Friday to Sunday) and Chinese restaurant (1-10pm Saturday). You can camp here, too.
Decent tent pitches and tasty light meals served in a cafe (Thursday to Monday, dishes £3 to £10) with stunning views over St Magnus Bay and its weird and wonderful rock formations, are on offer here.
Offering huge colourful rooms and marvellous views back over the sound towards Lerwick, this unusual place is appealingly decorated with Asian art. Room rates include use of the sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi; massage treatments are available.
Runs Shetland's network of böds – simple rustic cottages or huts with peat fires, which might mean bringing sleeping bag, coins for the meter, or even a campstove – and provides a central booking agency.
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