A hotel with heritage
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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
- catherinesB4074ND
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 2022hanwgeov
We visited the Busta House Hotel Restaurant several times during our stay, both for lunch and dinner, and the food was always delicious! Portions were extremely generous and the puddings... read more were lovely too. Staff were super attentive, friendly and organised. I would go so far as to say that this has been the most covid-secure restaurant I have visited, with numerous hand sanitising stations, a one-way system and pagers at the tables.
19th October 2020 - Martin L
Not your average hotel, the Busta is one with plenty of character! Despite the age of the building it is well appointed with a long spacious lounge, well stocked bar... read more and serves first class food. We stayed as part of a walking group, so ate dinner in the library, which was a treat. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Accommodation was varied as one would expect from the age of the building, nevertheless we found our room more than adequate.
28th September 2021BFG123
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 2022 - EmiliaDel
Me and my partner have stayed at Busta first night of the "soft" opening after the second lockdown.
All staff were very friendly and pleasant and have made us... read more feel safe and welcome right from the beggining when were discussing our stay through messages up to checking in, meal time until the last service at breakfast.
The meal was superb, we both had steaks from the Valentine's menu and they were very good!
The chef went out of his way to accommodate me with Dairy free options which was very much appreciated!
We can't recommend Busta and the staff highly enough!
We will definitely be back.
Thank you for your great service and hard work, we really enjoyed our night away from home in Shetland More
28th February 2021RosaBonheur
I often have had meals at the wonderful Busta House Hotel but have never stayed overnight. Recently I decided to get away from my home for a night. It’s the... read more best decision I could have made. I had a fantastic time and feel rejuvenated. The staff are amazing, hard working and incredibly nice, enthusiastic and committed to their work. They are attentive without being intrusive. They make you feel special, relaxed and at home. I can’t recommend staying enough. I can’t wait to go back again for another stay.
22nd March 2021 - johnmY8834LI
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 2021wohauckIII
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 2022 - Rachel G
Busta House Hotel always have welcoming, polite and attentive staff. The food was great, both in quality and quantity, with the menu including a number of locally sourced products.... read more My room was very comfortable and had an en-suite bathroom.
1st April 2022abi_cynthee
Had such a lovely stay, such a nice feel to the rooms and great walks around. Service is lovely and the team are so nice. I’d definitely recommend coming... read more here for a few days The food is really good as well, so tasty. Cocktails were lovely too. 🙂 🙂
29th July 2021 - henryc677
Why would anyone stay elsewhere in Shetland? Classic Scottish charm. Delightful staff. Good food at a sensible price. Well place to explore the islands.
We really can’t fault it. Perhaps... read more in this environmentally aware age, our sheets and towels didn’t need changing every day nor our bedroom lights switching on in anticipation of our return. I’m sure energy costs will highlight those issues anyway!!
Well done and renewed thanks.
29th April 2022IanH H
We have visited Busta House several times since we moved up to live on Shetland in 2017, and on every occasion we have been delighted with the atmosphere of the... read more place, the delicious meals and the quality of service, so our son and daughter-in-law decided to hold their wedding there.
Right from the outset we were very impressed by the professional yet friendly manner in which all the details and requirements were taken, and arrangements were made to get the ball rolling. During the months leading up to the wedding, we spoke to several people who had either held their own wedding there, or had been invited as guests, and every single person said "You`ll have nothing to worry about, everything will be perfect, they will take care of everything!"
And they were absolutely right. The friendly, efficient yet relaxed manner of service, the impressive quality of the meals, drinks and surroundings; nothing was too much trouble to the staff, right down to helping us carry luggage and wedding paraphernalia from our cars up to our rooms.
We cannot praise the whole team at Busta House highly enough. A huge `Thank You`to you all.
13th September 2022 - WearyExplorer
Stayed here for a few days and would fully recommend it as my 'go to' place when in Shetland.
The hotel is full of character being hundreds of years... read more old and a listed building yet it has great WiFi, satellite TV in the rooms and food to die for. There's none of the miniscule portions you get with some restaurants and it's great quality local fayre. Being in Shetland, seafood is a speciality but there are plenty of other options and vegetarian dishes and along with the bar, it’s all at very reasonable prices. The staff couldn’t be more helpful so I’m sure they would do their best to cater for any other dietary requirements.
The rooms are being fully refurbished and are en-suite with numerous power outlets for laptops etc.
I can’t wait to return.
30th August 2021andydU6547FD
Wonderful hotel. The young and dynamic staff are a credit to the hotel and the travel industry in the Shetland Islands. Although I was part of a large group the... read more efficiency and care of us at dinner was superb. I enjoyed a dram after my meal and I really appreciated the lovely young female member of staff who was wonderful in conversation and made me feel very welcome. I am sure fault can be found in any hotel but come with the right attitude and you will feel privileged to stay in such a lovely setting with such caring staff.
25th August 2021 - alansW7254GL
We live in Shetland and do not often have the chance to try local hotels. Busta was delightful. We felt completely safe because Covid measures were perfectly applied. Staff were... read more universally charming. Dinner was very good and the wine list was exceptional. We had a Grand Cru St Emilion at a bargain price. Our room was immaculately clean and very comfortable. Busta has definitely become the best hotel inShetland.
5th October 2020Thorr978
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 2020 - 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 2022Merrowmum
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 - claphamwoman
This hotel was quite a distance from Lerwick, but with a beautiful view over the lake. The room at Busta House was smallish, but with good storage, although access to... read more the hanging cupboard was hampered by a trouser press hanging on the inside of the cupboard. The major problem was the shower, which did not produce hot water until the 3rd evening. We complained about it early on the morning of the second day to the staff (who in general were friendly and helpful) promised to look at it, but we think that it was our complaint to our tour company, which triggered action and I was finally able to enjoy a hot shower on the third evening. They gave us the 3rd evening meal “on the house” in recompense. Nice, but I would have rather had a hot shower. The water provided for the bath was not hot enough for my husband to have bath on the first evening, but was on the second evening. I can’t use a bath, because of 2 knee replacements. The standard of the restaurant meals (breakfast and dinner) was generally very good, of excellent value and served in huge portions. I was pleased that the restaurant offered a good choice of smoked fish dishes for breakfast. The COVID precautions were reassuringly thorough
15th October 2021Tiderace
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 2023
