The room was spotless and the staff I spoke to were very attentive and engaging. I was very pleased to see the room was spotless. The sign of any good hotel is a high level of cleanliness. It shows attention to detail. Get the back of house right and everything else fits in like a rubric cube.

A common trait in older hotels is that the furniture and decor in the rooms can be shabby. Seats need repairs, the surface tops can get discoloured or badly marked. Everything in the room was old and the desk was in need of a French polish, the radiator was in need of restoration of the finishing. Wish I had taken photos.to illustrate.

The hotel was central, its was clean, bed was comfortable and room was nice and warm and peaceful.

Staff are welcoming and helpful ( we needed an early check in and they swiftly organised everything for us at no cost), rooms are spacious, clean and atmospheric . We needed last minute reservation due to change of plans which were brought with the storm and were absolutely lucky to find space in Royal Hotel. It's quite a big hotel in the middle of the town,but it was so quiet in the room we were not bothered by any noise from other people(which is quite rare benefit, due to the thin walls and squeaky floorboards in old buildings),only at breakfast we realised how actually full the hotel was. Breakfast was really good with choice of both traditional British food and continental. We weren't limited in choice or quantity. The croissants with fresh berries were to die for.

We were fine but the parking lot is absurdly small for such a big hotel, though it's understandable because of its central location,and there's another one down by the river free one, again not massive though.

Very central location with an old world charm. All the staff were helpful and welcoming. Don't be put off by the winding corridors & the intermittent sloped floors, the rooms are worth it. Great beds!. Great breakfast. Lovely & relaxed atmosphere.

The family room is facing the main street and on a Saturday night the sound of boy racers on the street might haunt your dreams!. If you're a light sleeper, request your room towards the back of the hotel where you'll hear nothing and sleep like a log.

The staff were lovely. Food was good.

We entered the hotel from the carpark and was shocked at how awful it looked. It would be enough to make you turn round and find somewhere else to stay. Shopping trolleys filled with rubbish, weeds, rotten windows and debris. Myself and friends have mobility difficulties and there was no lift. We had 4 flights of stairs to climb. Only one of us with great difficulty could manage the suitcases and for this reason would not stay again. Entering from the front the reception, restaurant and bar are pleasant . I'm.sure in its day it was a lovely hotel and they have made some changes but I believe it's an ongoing project.

Stayed in Thurso to get early morning ferry from nearby Scrabster and it seemed it's purpose well. Thurso very run down. Hotel originally rather grand and is struggling but keeping it's head above water, it's clean and tidy. Invictus bar to relax with a drink on a night.

Chaos at breakfast, everyone wanted serving at 7a.m but that's when they opened the doors to the dining room. Workmen needed to be off, other people catching the early ferry. Would've been a more relaxing start to the day if breakfast started a bit earlier, as we were all waiting for the doors to open well before 7a.m.

Clean and tidy basic room which suited my needs. Good selection of options for breakfast and centrally located in the town

Nothing. Could possibly do with a bigger selection of beers in the bar but that seemed to be an issue in the whole town.

The whole experience was exceptionally good considering the earlier reviews, either they were unfair or the staff have done a tremendous job turning things around. I hope the latter as I don’t like to bad mouth people, but I do like to say well done and thank you when they not only listen but act on it.

This isn’t a new build so yes it’s a little dated, but everything is clean and regularly refreshed and the staff are polite welcoming and approachable and helpful if they can be.

Comfy bed, on-site parking, and bar. Staff were very friendly. Breakfast was ok. Facilities in reception were very good.

The hairdryer in the room was broken. The room was clean, but cobwebs were not noticed. The bathroom was dated. Breakfast is self-service and a complete bun fight. No idea where we should sit or how breakfast worked. Had to guess. Waiting staff were doing their best, but the food tables were a total mess, thanks to the people before us. It was not very appealing and definitely not the most relaxing breakfast I've ever had as guests pushed in and crowded around me while I was trying to serve myself.

The hotel is clean and cosy. Staff are friendly and try to be helpful

The restaurant wasn't busy, but the orders were mixed up . Staff were unaware who ordered what, and orders were wrong. Waiting time was long, and staff didn't seem to know what was going on. There was such a mix-up, and when we got the bill, we were slightly overcharged but didn't complain as staff seemed incompetent at sorting out any problems. However, the next morning at breakfast, we were accused of not paying our dinner bill by a member of staff in front of a hall full of customers. We were not happy and brought the whole matter up to the manager who apologised but couldn't have cared less as he was taking in and counting keys and wasn't even engaged what we were saying. Even when we told him we had been overcharged for dinner, he just seemed very dismissive.