Merkister Hotel — Hotel in Mainland

We stayed at the Merkister as a group of 5 adults for a five night working/sightseeing/family visiting holiday (3 of us are a band and had several bookings to play in various venues while there). The accommodation, food and service were all outstanding. Every member of staff was polite, friendly and courteous and nothing was too much trouble. We even had two dogs with us so the hotel staff thoughtfully set out our meals in the lounge so the dogs could be with us.

The hotel is situated on the banks of a loch, so the views and scenery around are beautiful. It's also well placed for sightseeing, close to Scapa Flow and only a 20-30 min drive into Kirkwall.

The food at the Merkister deserves a special mention - we initially only booked an evening meal on the first evening, but ended up eating in the hotel on 3 of our 5 evenings, the quality and value were just fabulous with lots of choice too. Breakfast was also excellent, you make your choices from a huge selection the evening before and then your chosen breakfast is served to you when you come down in the the morning, a great system.

All in all, I can not recommend the hotel highly enough, we will definitely be staying there again on future trips...

This hotel is absolutely lovely! Amazing views (even with the wind and wet weather), quiet rooms, lovely food and areas designated for residents to sit, read and relax. The staff were all friendly, smiley and happy to help.|The rooms were small but comfortable with an en-suite toilet and shower. The rooms we stayed in had a tv in each with hot refreshments available. They also had homemade shortbread, so can’t get much better. The beds were comfortable with homely bedding.|We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel (price of the breakfast was included). The food was really nice and cooked fresh. It was hot, well cooked and left me feeling full without the heavy feeling. Breakfast was quiet and relaxed, you can preorder your breakfast so it is ready for the next morning when you arrive at the restaurant. The table was set for us with our room numbers on the table so there was no waiting and we felt relaxed and welcomed for breakfast.|100% recommend staying here for either long or short stays and will definitely be staying here again if I make it back up to...

everything about our stay was perfect. This is a lovely peaceful location on Oakney. The staff are first class, they couldn’t do enough for you and everything was done with a smile and true hospitality. The room was spacious, comfortable, nicely furnished, with a lovely view and great facilities, with a shortbread treat as a welcome gift. at dinner we had a full seafood platter which was superb. if I had one suggestion, it would be to have better chips! Perhaps skin on, or big chunky ones. However, I can’t fault the chef and Team - a sneaky look through an open door showed that the kitchen looks big and well run. |it was a silver wedding anniversary that week, and they gave us a card with hearts on at our table, and left little wooden hearts on the tablecloth, such a kind and thoughtful touch! breakfast was also great and served with smiles.|all in all, a lovely haven on Orkney, keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you for a...