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
- 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 2023RichardHawkins41
Location was great, room was good size, food was excellent and the staff were absolutely BRILLIANT. Thank you all for looking after us on our stay - bringing food... read more to the room when we were not well. Use of the other rooms (Library, sitting room) as well as the garden were great ways to relax.
6th June 2022 - Merrowmum
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 meals were the best I had throughout our tour!
13th August 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 2021Sophie S
Thank you for our AWESOME stay in February. Our group of 8 all had an incredible time; from the food to drinks to the lovely rooms and the fantastic service.... read more Everything was brilliant. I'd highly recommend the espresso martinis and the lasagne. The coffee is like rocket fuel too!
9th March 2023 - abi_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 2021Suey245
Now this the best restaurant we have been to in a long while it’s fabulous the food is amazing and the staff where very helpful wonderful atmosphere GO…..
Extremely... read more clean and a very wide menu…
We will definatly go back…
Super location right near the sea..
1st December 2021 - 591ryanl
We were both impressed with the room we stayed in (Muckle Roe) and the quirkiness of it. Sadly the hotel and restaurant were much quieter than they would normally be... read more due to COVID restrictions so didn't maybe have the atmosphere it might normally have. That hasn't affected the staffs moral who were friendly, attentive and extremely helpful for the duration of our stay and are a credit to the hotel. The hotel has clearly worked very hard with regards to COVID restrictions and requirements to keep operating and that should be a comfort to anyone visiting as they couldn't do more to try and keep their guests safe. We have both been very impressed with the hotels efforts through the COVID pandemic and wish them all the best for 2021 and beyond.
Ryan and Amy. More
16th March 2021Connie M
My son and I had lunch here on our five day visit to Shetland. The ambience was genteel, the food delicious and we were looked after superbly by a lovely... read more young man called Andrew. We enjoyed ourselves so much we went back two days later to repeat the experience and were not disappointed. We would happily recommend this hotel to anyone looking for good food and good service.
27th October 2022 - Chris1922014
somewhat of a 'curates egg'. There are some very positive features but also areas for improvement
Staff were helpful and lovely - 9/10
Location beautiful, shame the Voe couldn't... read more be easily seen from the hotel as there are mature trees in the garden, but as trees are almost non existent on Shetland it was nice to see some - 8/10
Building has an interesting history with the Queen visiting in 1960. However there needs to be internal maintenance as damp patches are evident, worn carpeting, flaking paint etc. Garden pleasant to sit in, providing the midges don't find you! However the long lounge is a lively room to sit in - 7/10
Room - We had a lovely light room of a good size. The bed was comfortable, but again improvements are needed, e.g. sash windows not in working order, carpet worn wallpaper coming off in a few places, electrics somewhat basic - 6/10
Bathroom, probably the worst I have experienced in a hotel. Lighting very poor. Shower fine for people less than 5ft tall! Shower in the bath, but no grab rails to assist getting in and out. No shaver point and the decor pretty dour. Needs modernisation!! - 3/10
Food was good, both evening meals were enjoyable and potions a good size, the breakfast menu had a good choice. 8/10
21st July 2021IanH 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 - lorrainer186
We got such a lovely welcome arriving for our two nights stay. The hotel is a little tired but once you get over that you realise what a special location... read more it is. The staff are super friendly and helpful, the food is of the standard of very good pub grub. Fantastic breakfast. We enjoyed a walk around the Hams of Muckle Roe.
19th May 2021marilyng1109
Our choice to spend a night at the Busta House Hotel proved to be the right one - excellent. The staff welcoming and very helpful, the food delicious and... read more locally sourced, the place quirky and fun while the bedrooms very comfortable. We met other guests in the Long room after our dinner and had a very socialable evening.
Couldn't recommend Busta House Hotel more...................
12th October 2022 - andydU6547FD
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 2021muggsb
love Busta house great friendly staff made us very welcome when we arrived very efficient nothing was a problem food excellent absolutely delicious from start to finish ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ well worth... read more it. Will be back very soon another family meal.
20th June 2022 - 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 2020Julie L
Another excellent stay at Busta. We stayed in the Muckle Roe Suite which was lovely. Heating was on when we arrived and it was very comfortable and cosy.
Our... read more evening meal was delicious and the service was great. Nothing was too much trouble and the staff were very attentive.
Breakfast in the morning was equally delicious, a good choice, and the cooked Scottish breakfast certainly set us up for the day.
Would highly recommend Busta to anyone wanting a lovely, relaxing time away from home, with top notch food and service. We’ve already got another stay booked.
6th February 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 2020
