We stayed in the self-contained Loft apartment associated with the St Magnus Bay Hotel, about 300 metres up the hill from the hotel on the edge of the village. We had fantastic views over the bay from the front windows and great views from the kitchen over another bay. From the front door it was a short walk to a beach and the start of the Ness of Hillswick circuit. There was a good store in the village if you wanted to be self-sufficient. We ate in the St Magnus Bay Hotel every night and had the included breakfasts there too. Excellent food. We stayed several nights and met most of the staff - all genuinely lovely people. Great accomodation in a dramatic out of the way location - yet only 45 minutes drive to Lerwick.

The Loft bedroom is spacious but the ceiling is relatively low. At 5 ft 7 inches I had to bend slightly. We used the washing machine while there but it was difficult to get going despite being relatively new - something that needs to be fixed. One of the front windows needs some repair work as it didn't close completely at the top - tissue paper pushed into the gaps minimized the inflow of cold air during a storm, but it obviously needs attention.

Full breakfast was included and was very good with a wide range of choices. We stayed in an Airb&b apartment separate from the hotel, this was comfortable with amazing views. We had two dogs with us, the hotel were very accommodating with them which is unusual for Shetland. We ate all our evening meals at the hotel. Having worked through most of the menu choices I can say that they were all excellent. The staff were amazing, really friendly and nothing was too much for them to help. Thoroughly recommend. Paul and Andrea, the owners were very welcoming. A great place to stay.

There is some ongoing building work but this does not affect the quality of the stay at the hotel. I am unable to find anything that I didn't like.

Very friendly, helpful staff. Beautiful, peaceful location overlooking water and surrounded by small farms. Apartment we stayed in was spacious and separate to old hotel, short walk to enjoy breakfast (hill climb walk OK for us, but might be a problem for those with low fitness or mobility challenge, but those people drive everywhere anyway (for us a nice way to stretch the legs). We also got to enjoy a couple of local community events in Hillswick during our stay which were great fun.

The bedroom ceiling in the apartment is VERY low - not possible to stand up in it. Mezzanine area.

The Magnus Bay Hotel was actually built in Norway, and featured in the Glasgow Great Exhibition in 1899, being moved up to Hillswick, in kit form, a year later. Its hard to imagine now, as this is so fantastically remote, but in the 1920s there were cruises from Edinburgh, and the hotel was something of a feature as it dominated the bay, in a landscape where there are no trees. Now the cruise ships are long gone, but the hotel is still something of a feature, and is very popular in the summer, as there is some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK within easy walking distance. Its a lovely hotel with friendly staff, a large bar (very welcome after the 5 hour hike round the amazing Ness of Hillswick), a restaurant and a huge, very tasty buffet breakfast included in the price. It also has tables outside with a great view over the bay, if you, like me, live in Shetland and are acclimatised to the wind. I was in a single room, and it was actually pretty spacious, comfy and the bed was the larger single size which was just fine. The room had all the amenities you would expect, but i did really like the kitkat biscuits next to the coffee, and the USB ports in the electric sockets. I may as well say that Shetland is expensive and this hotel, nor any other, is a bargain basement price, but after a strenuous walk in bracing wind, it was an absolute pleasure to hobble up to my cosy room. It was a very enjoyable stay.

nothing

I loved this hotel, the room was so homely, the decor really made you feel good . The food is excellent, with a great choice of menus. The fish is locally caught, I tried the Scollops, and I have never tasted any as nice as these. I also had the steamed Haddock, which was absolutely beautiful. The breakfast was a help your self, and again, it was cooked to perfection . The hotel staff are wonderful people, really friendly and nothing is too much trouble. You are made so welcome that you feel like a part of the family. Thank you so much for making my holiday so nice.

There's nothing not to like, this place is situated in a beautiful place, the people are great hosts, the food is excellent, and the rooms are great.

The location is absolutely superb - overlooking St Magnus bay with lovely walks from the front door. I liked the restaurant very much and had the most delicious meal of scallops - best I’ve ever had and the breakfast was also fantastic. The staff were unfailingly polite, friendly and helpful - giving us advice as to where we could walk. The rooms were comfortable with a kettle and tea-making stuff and the water was nice and hot. It’s a little dated, but that was part of its charm and I will be booking again.

It didn’t bother me, but some people may find the absence of a lift a problem - unless I missed it!

Lovely breakfast each day in a beautiful dining room overlooking the bay. Fresh tea and coffee according to your taste accompanied the breakfast and other hot/fresh items if desired if the hot items were already a bit picked over when you got to breakfast in addition to the granola/cereal/yogurt/toast etc offered.

Everything was great. The room was clean and comfortable and we slept well. Dinner and breakfast were delicious and we had drinks in the bar in the afternoon. Easy to walk right out the door to do the beautiful Ness of Hillswick walk (highly recommend)! There is also a wildlife sanctuary and we were able to see some adorable baby seals. Doing anything else in the area is quite difficult without a car so I do recommend having one if possible or else plan very carefully (we were lucky enough to get someone from the hotel to drive us to Eshaness and our cab picked us up from there instead of from the hotel as originally planned).

The owner Paul and his team were fantastic, lovely people. So welcoming and friendly and obviously knowledgeable about the Island. Nothing was too much trouble and we were so glad we have experienced the St Magnus Bay Hotel and if the opportunity arises one day with our busy working lives we would love to go back. We had first class cooked breakfasts, and delicious home cooked food for evening meal, absolutely perfect after a long day of sight seeing and exploring the breath taking views the Islands have to offer. Thankyou paul, you are a gentleman sir

Friendly staff led by generous and thoughtful hosts. Excellent food, and plenty of it: perfect when you've been battling a northern wind all day! Good options for vegetarians. A comfortable room with great supply of hot water. And a pretty decent whisky selection too!

Only improvement I can think of for us southerners not used to the "simmer dim", would be blackout blinds for the windows.

On the main bus route. Beautiful views of the ocean. Comfortable bed, good shower, Friendly staff. All meals available at the hotel. Good food.Particularly grateful to Andrea for her help and local knowledge. Some local walks close by.

To really see Shetland we needed to hire a car. The hotel is about an hour and a quarter away from the airport and the bus service is limited, although there is a main hub in Lerwick.