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
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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 2022Spent three nights at Busta House in July. We were lucky with excellent warm weather enabling us to explore and enjoy Shetkand from Unst to Mousa and Jarlshof.
The hotel... read more was comfortable. Food and drink tasty and well served. Drinks in the Long Room a delight and the young staff friendly and attentive.
Well recommended.
2nd August 2021 -
We ate here twice during our stay on Muckle Roe after popping in for tea and coffee while waiting for our cottage, the staff are so welcoming, great service delicious... read more coffee and shortbread, the meals both nights were delicious, home made and plentiful. The long room is lovely for a pre dinner drink or coffee and the service is excellent they even recommended a place for us to visit as it was sunny when we first arrived we took the advice and had a lovely afternoon at Eshaness.
13th September 2022A very relaxing and cosy stay at Busta House at a chilly time of year. Staff were very welcoming from the start and gave us a choice of rooms on... read more arrival to our taste. Room was warm, well appointed and welcoming to arrive to. Staff were amongst the most efficient and attentive we have experienced anywhere. The building is quite historic which adds charm to a visit with interesting rooms and furnishings throughout. Food is excellent from a varied menu with a wide choice at breakfast too including locally sourced Smoked Haddock and Kippers, all delivered efficiently. Good adherence to covid guidelines at this tricky time too. Some renovations were taking place ready for the season but any fallout from this will presumably be cleared up prior to busy times ahead and it didn't impact adversely on our stay. Hotel is quiet and in a beautiful island location. We have booked for next year already. More
20th February 2022 -
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 2021My 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 -
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 2022We 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 -
Beautiful location; huge room with sea view; lovely old building; cheerful and highly attentive staff; fascinating wine list; hundreds of whiskies; generous portions of well-cooked food - we loved it... read more all!
28th June 2022 -
3 of us stayed for 3 nights. Ate in the restaurant twice. Rooms have plenty of space and are clean. Decoration in places is a bit tired but kind of... read more adds to the charm. Food is lovely. Staff are really friendly and accommodating to every request and are happy to give recommendations on where to go and when.
Covid meant a few things were a bit different to what they would have been, but it didn't affect the enjoyment of our stay at all.
Every time we told anyone we were staying at Busta, they always told us we'd got the best hotel on the island. Have to say, I think we agree!
10th October 2020Spent 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 -
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 2023We 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 2020 -
We stayed here for 3 days in July and when we arrived it was sunny and warm, so drinks in the beautiful grounds it was. The Staff here are... read more fantastic and had the COVID Distancing nailed, by being very organised without feeling regimented. Good breakfast and evening meal. The Staff here really look after you and the Service is super, including the new Staff who were being trained. A relaxed atmosphere here which is nicely helped along with the vast whiskey collection. Their packed lunches for our long walks were epic!
21st July 2021somewhat 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 2021 -
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 2021Myself 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 -
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 2021We regularly have a weekend stay. The food is excellent with lots of choice on the menu. They cater for gluten free options too. The rooms are lovely particularly... read more the upgraded bathrooms. The management and staff are friendly, knowledgeable, efficient and attentive. We would highly recommend to anyone
5th June 2022