A hotel with heritage
Book directly
Enjoy exclusive benefits
Located on the shore of sheltered Busta Voe on mainland Shetland, Busta House Hotel is an ideal base to discover Shetland. Our fantastic location, paired with the rich history and heritage of the hotel, sense of community and service of the team come together to make a stay in Busta House Hotel a memorable experience. We look forward to welcoming you.
History
Busta House Hotel has an intriguing and storied history. It is a tale of class, love, tragedy, and deceit. Find out more about Busta House’s past, the story of the Gifford family and the ill-fated Barbara Pitcairn.




Our Team
Busta House would be nothing without all of those working both front of house and behind the scenes. Find out more about the team dedicated to making your stay as enjoyable as possible.
Reviews
- BFG123
We LOVED this property for just about everything. We had two twin beds on the top floor. The room was quiet and comfortable, with seemingly new bathroom fixtures (it... read more was an en-suite room). The service on check in and during the stay, and in the nice restaurant, was FANTASTIC. We quickly latched on to Bradley, one of the nicest and hardest working people I've seen in a long time. He was friendly, professional, helpful with suggestions on our ferry trips and walks on Shetland. The property is an historic one, so they have a rustic character and is very charming, as is the garden. Its location is fabulous for touring the whole mainland. We'll be back! From the guest log we can tell that there were a lot of satisfied customers like us.
29th September 2022johnmY8834LI
The setting is charming; room was very comfortable. Food was very tasty. Long room experience was excellent. The internet was very fast; not only in common rooms but in bedroom... read more as well. Overall, terrific experience.
11th August 2021 - Pelupi
Stayed one night as part of a tour. Service and food fantastic. Would thoroughly recommend the lamb. Historic house in scenic location. Our only small quibble was that... read more the bathroom in our room was exceptionally small. Anyone larger or with mobility issues might struggle with the gap of only 1ft between the toilet and the accessible part of the bath / shower. Bathroom was recently refitted and immaculate but just a trifle snug.
10th May 2022catherinesB4074ND
Spent 2 nights at the Busta House at the end of our annual trip to Shetland. Never stayed at the Busta House before but have heard many good things about... read more it. It lived up to our expectations. The staff could not have been more welcoming and there were plenty of them. The room was comfortable and spacious and we had a good nights sleep both nights. The breakfast was plentiful and tasty and the best hotel coffee we have ever had. Good selection of cereals, really enjoyed the hot smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and the bannocks were delicious. We ate in the hotel one night and enjoyed pre and post drinks in the long room. It's a fantastic room to sample some of the vast selection of whiskies and/or the local Shetland gin. Food was great and local produce where possible. Only criticism was that my glass of table wine was disappointing and didn't match the standard of everything else. A thoroughly enjoyable stay.
Have already booked again for next year!
6th September 2022 - Tiderace
This was a return two-night visit after our first one in February 2021 and if anything service was even better this time if that were possible. Staff at Busta House... read more are very well trained and extremely attentive. Our room this time (Muckle Roe) was unexpectedly large and very comfortable with excellent heating and a very comfortable bed. The menu and food served were nicely varied and always of a high quality. Service was very quick and efficient at every mealtime and it was easy to see why so many locals had booked to dine here each night of our stay. The building has a lovely atmosphere and great character.
6th February 2023Merrowmum
An old characterful building in a gorgeous setting next to a quiet loch, I had an enjoyable overnight stay here as part of a group tour of Orkney and Shetland.... read more The young staff were all incredibly warm, friendly and helpful yet still really efficient - oh that all hotels were as well staffed as this! The public rooms in the hotel are in the style of the place as a whole, but clean and well maintained. My room (Bigga) was a quirky one - the sloping floor being its most notable feature! (I tried to put the kettle on the bedside table and it immediately slid off...!) The purposely exposed historical graffiti on the plasterwork was an interesting touch; the wallpaper was clean and looked quite new, but sadly the carpet was in quite poor condition and had also creased up in several places around the room. The bathroom was modern but tiny; the shower was ok. The bed was surprisingly comfortable given the slope! The room overlooks the kitchens so was quite noisy with the window open, and sadly you can't see any of the surrounding area. The Wifi is excellent, really fast, but I couldn't get any phone reception inside the building. The highlight of any stay here, however, is the food - both our dinner and breakfast were superb and the organisation and efficiency of the eating process, given COVID protocols, was amazing (particularly at breakfast). Both... An old characterful building in a gorgeous setting next to a quiet loch, I had an enjoyable overnight stay here as part of a group tour of Orkney and Shetland. The young staff were all incredibly warm, friendly and helpful yet still really efficient - oh that all hotels were as well staffed as this!
The public rooms in the hotel are in the style of the place as a whole, but clean and well maintained. My room (Bigga) was a quirky one - the sloping floor being its most notable feature! (I tried to put the kettle on the bedside table and it immediately slid off...!) The purposely exposed historical graffiti on the plasterwork was an interesting touch; the wallpaper was clean and looked quite new, but sadly the carpet was in quite poor condition and had also creased up in several places around the room. The bathroom was modern but tiny; the shower was ok. The bed was surprisingly comfortable given the slope! The room overlooks the kitchens so was quite noisy with the window open, and sadly you can't see any of the surrounding area.
The Wifi is excellent, really fast, but I couldn't get any phone reception inside the building.
The highlight of any stay here, however, is the food - both our dinner and breakfast were superb and the organisation and efficiency of the eating process, given COVID protocols, was amazing (particularly at breakfast). Both meals were the best I had throughout our tour! More
13th August 2021 - Mav10Aug
Very friendly welcome. Hand washing/ sanitising facilities at the door. Room was excellent although no proper chairs to sit on. Meals were excellent, as always. Pre and after meal drinks... read more in the Long room were very well organised with good social distancing - liked the individual buzzers.
21st December 2020MarkNottingham2
Great location. Interesting building and grounds with some great history. The hotel was just opening post lockdown but had put in place clear and thought through precautions.
Good... read more food would recommend eating here.
17th August 2020 - Billy M
Lazy relaxed location with lovely gardens. Beautiful building inside and out with loads of character. Warm and cosy throughout, very high quality food and service. Staff are extremely polite and... read more friendly. It really is difficult to fault the place and its clear that the current owners are really interested in it with money being spent on bedroom upgrades to decor, carpets etc. Highly recommended. Try it once. I could almost guarantee you'll want to return.
28th November 2022Stuart P
As a fairly regular visitor to Busta, we are always delighted and impressed with the very high standard of service and customer care they provide. Saturday was no exception and... read more despite how busy the hotel was we were very well looked after and enjoyed a superb meal. A beautiful and very well run hotel with a great team of enthusiastic and friendly staff. Thank you, and we are very much looking forward to our next visit.
30th January 2023 - wohauckIII
Fantastic. Old hotel with impeccable service. The floors creek and are uneven and the place is a rabbit Warren. Love it. The en suite was nicely updated... read more only negative is wifi is spotty and on the final day house keeping, who does a great job, left our door unlocked and removed a half bottle of wine we were planning on finishing. Told the front desk who said they would look. Into it.
Yes I would return. Great place to walk and relax and the long room is nice with a peat fire. Love it.
The restaurant and bar are very nice. Again with great service and value.
2nd June 2022hfcastell
Three night stay here and couldn’t fault the staff and the welcome. The food is great and there is a great choice of whiskies. Lovely quiet room with view. It... read more is good to see how they are fighting back after Covid closure and many measures are in place.
20th August 2020 - Thorr978
Myself and my now wife had our wedding here in 2018 we a magical day, Grant Joel and Alan made the day really special, the food was fantastic as was... read more the surroundings beautiful rooms and fantastic service. In whole this place is special to us. We love it.
22nd November 2020HanaBana21
My husband and I were recently married here and had the most perfect day. Joel and the staff ensured everything was running on time and guests were informed of what... read more was happening and where to go etc. There was no stress, and the hotel and gardens were beautiful for taking photos. All the guests thoroughly enjoyed their day and the meal was spot on! Thank you Busta for helping make our day unforgettable.
11th June 2022 - MadMamW650
I actually won this night in Busta House in a raffle, which they had very kindly donated.
As usual, everything was just perfect. We were in the Vementry room,... read more which has a lovely sea view. The bed was lovely and comfortable, and massive lol.
Our evening meal was excellent! We had the prawns for a starter, my husband had the haddock, which was HUGE, and I had the steak, which was cooked exactly as I like it. The Bailey's cheesecake was to die for.
Full Scottish breakfast set us up for the day.
Full marks for the staff. Everyone was polite, attentive, helpful, and smiling.
Hope we get to come back soon xx
23rd February 2023Stuart P
Enjoyed another fantastic evening at wonderful Busta to celebrate a birthday…comfort, food, service…perfection! Thank you to Joel, Grant and their superb team for another memorable stay and we very much... read more look forward to our next visit…cheers!
24th October 2022 - EmbsayBrian
We have dined once or twice each time we have visited Shetland over the last 15 years and have never been disappointed. So many things have changed permanently... read more since lockdowns with so many comforting extras removed. But not at Busta House. We enjoyed two evening meals at Busta House this year and found the welcome as friendly, the food as good and the service as professional as ever. Congratulations to Grant and Joel and their cheerful, efficient team.
12th June 2022turtlede
It’s said all the time but our stay at Busta House really was a highlight of our five week vacation.
Just a wonderful mix of old world service,... read more friendly helpfulness and charming accommodation.
The meals were fairly simple but very well done and nothing we asked for seemed to be too much. Being taken through to dinner after enjoying one of their many, many scotch selections in front of the open fire make each evening feel like a special occasion. The young people working at Busta House couldn’t have been nicer.
16th December 2022 - John G
The Covid precautions are spot on. I had no worries about using the restaurant. Had a very good meal. The staff were excellent. They have a pager system for ordering... read more the meal and any other queries. Book early - Shetland was quiet when we were there but the hotel restaurant was busy.
10th September 2020522alastairg
We only had one night here after a week on Unst, and we’ll definitely return for a longer stay. It’s a very atmospheric country house hotel with a friendly, enthusiastic... read more and very efficient staff. The dinner menu is comprehensive and the food is very fairly priced. The bedroom, though slightly on the small side, was comfortable with a well equipped bathroom. Great location for exploring the west mainland of Shetland.
2nd July 2022
