A friend and I spent two nights at the Lerwick Hotel this January. It is clean and comfortable. Staff are friendly and very helpful. Great selection at breakfast time. The views from breakfast room and sitting room are stunning! I`d happily stay again and would recommed it. The decor is a bit dated but does not detract from pleasure of the stay.

If there was a competition for the ugliest hotel in Britain - at least from the outside - then the Lerwick Hotel would have little competition. A grey pebble-dashed low-rise 1970's building, it looks more like a health centre or perhaps even a council estate.

Fortunately, once inside things get much better, although there's definitely a 70's theme going on with the interior design and layout. This was the only hotel in the Shetlands we stayed in which was using East European agency staff, they looked a fairly morose bunch but were helpful enough at breakfast time. The scattering of Scottish/Shetlander employees were also very helpful, being very willing to oblige with serving us drinks long after the bar had officially closed. The bar is a bit dark and dim, not the place to linger for too long, the restaurant didn't look too inviting either, but it did offer nice views over the bay onto which the hotel looks.

The corridors and rooms felt more akin to a Travelodge accommodation, the room in particular was tiny but it seemed clean and had a good tea/coffee making tray and a wide range of Sky channels to watch. The bathroom was well-stocked and in general the hotel seemed to be doing a good job of keeping the place tidy and in order.

The location is a litte bit out of the way, being 10-15 minutes walk from the town centre, or make that a scenic 30 minutes walk along the coastal path which runs along the back of the hotel. From here its possible to spot grey seals swimming in the bay. In the other direction, 5 minutes walk takes you to a picturesque site of a broch and to a Tesco supermarket. If you're visiting the Shetland Folk Festival, this hotel is perfectly situated almost a stone's throw from the leisure centre where the main acts play.

Not a bad hotel to stay in really, perhaps a little overpriced, like most places in Lerwick itself, good/friendly service and nice views, just a shame that it looks so grim from the outside (for a more atmospheric location, building and bar, try the Queens Hotel in the town centre, on the seafront).

This is a tired 70's version of a bad travel inn. I stayed for the last two nights on business but will not return to this hotel. The only positive point to this hotel is the staff who were all very helpful. My room was shabby, the bed cheap, nasty and uncomfortable with a bright yellow nylon type blanket on it, urgh!! When I complained I was moved to a better room but it was definately too little too late.

Expensive, dated, shabby - that's it really.

Shetland is a wonderful place but isn't well served by hotels. The Lerwick is really shabby and dated, it looks like it has been refurbished for many years. The room was tiny, looked directly onto a wall and the furniture and bedding was very worn.

The service at breakfast was appalling, made bearable only by the amazing views from the bay out to the sea.

I wouldn't stay there again.