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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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 2022We 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 -
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 2021Very 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 2020 -
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 2022Busta 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 2022 -
We have just had an amazing two night stay at Busta and feel thoroughly relaxed and pampered. We had a lovely room with fabulous views out over the garden and... read more sea. It had the most enormous bed which was great for sipping the recommended gunpowder gin in! The staff were unfailingly attentive, helpful and cheerful. Nothing was too much trouble. They are a wonderful team who worked hard to make sure everyone is safe. We had really excellent meals from the deliciously opulent smoked salmon and scrambled eggs to a wonderfully tasting char grilled steak. We will definitely be back for more!
3rd April 2021Why 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 2022 -
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 2023Another 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 -
A fabulous few days at a beautiful hotel. Fantastic food, amazing wine, gin and whisky lists and absolutely incredible staff. Nothing was too much trouble- even organising a last minute... read more taxi to Up Helly Aa.
What a great team of people - we were sad to leave and will definitely hurry back. There’s nowhere else we would rather stay in Shetland now!
1st February 2023My 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 -
The inn is old but extremely well-maintained. Everything you would expect from an inn with history: winding hallways, croft-type deep windows, cozy sitting room, impeccable service. Full breakfast and bar.
30th May 2022I 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 -
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 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 -
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 2020Great 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 -
Although I’ve eaten here on previous visits to Shetland this was the first time I’ve stayed here and it won’t be my last. The hotel was clean and comfortable. It... read more is rustic and traditional and although it might be considered tired by those preferring a modern hotel I loved it.
The housekeeping of the rooms was excellent but what really stood out was the standard of customer service from all the staff. Made to feel incredibly welcome with a real can do approach. The meals were first class both breakfasts (wide choice) and the extensive dinner menu.
The attention to Covid 19 safety meant our stay was worry free.
Thank you for an excellent stay More
10th October 2020We 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