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Reviews of St Ola Hotel

3 out of 5
St Ola Hotel
Harbour Street, Kirkwall, Scotland

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 19 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 31 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 7 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 72 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

James

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
Very close to ferry’s and bars and restaurants
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Barbara

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Staff was very helpful and friendly. Facilities a bit long in the tooth
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

Linda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Room was ok, but beds had very hard mattresses. Noise from extracts and chillers from kitchen kept us awake. Whole hotel could do with a re vamp
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

4/10 Poor

Lenore

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Gary

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Friendly staff, especially in the restaurant which also had great meals. Room was a bit jaded, with view of a wall and low doorway into a tiny bathroom. Parking was a pain with time limits outside and the free space round the back not inspiring confidence about the security of our bikes.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Olivia

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Veryl

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2023

4/10 Poor

David

Business traveller
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I usually pay a lot less for a lot more
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Susan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good for a one night stay
Quick overnight stay after a late ferry from the Shetlands. Clean, breakfast was really good. Hotel dated but had everything you required
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

6/10 Okay

Colin

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Tired room
Hotel is nice but the room was in major need of an update.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location but very dated noisy hotel
Stayed at the hotel Friday Saturday Sunday room allocated(no 1) was over the bar area and overlooking bins and smoking shelter. Friday/Saturday bar open until after one in the morning and was very noisy. I would say the room is not suitable to be used at weekends. The room itself is very dated and dull with badly stained carpet. On the plus side staff were friendly and polite.Sadly won’t be staying here again.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2021

8/10 Good

Andrew

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service
St Olas Kirkwall
Centrally located, with reasonable food. A bit dated, and very expensive, but it was booked in height of season when everyone was staycationing during Covid
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A great place to stay
The St. Ola Hotel is very convenient with easy access to the harbor and shops in Kirkwall. The staff were friendly and helpful, offering input on the best places to see on the island.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2020

6/10 Okay

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Basic but comfortable
Not bad for the price, good location on the harbour front, friendly helpful staff.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Drew

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel
Nice hotel room looking over the harbour. Very comfortable & staff lovely
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

6/10 Okay

Melinda

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved this hotel. All the workers were excellent and worked so hard for us. We appreciated all the efforts and the Orkney Islands as one of the most special places to go in the world. St Ola was perfect for us in its unique characteristics and wonderful staff.
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Marilyn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
The beds were the most uncomfortable I have ever slept in, room was dark and dreary, really in need of some tlc
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Alan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Welcoming hotel
Didn’t get there till gone 11pm off the ferry on a windy February night. Welcoming staff, nice bar area and a warm clean room. Hotel overlooking the harbour. Would definitely recommend
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Frank

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A great place to stay and visit!!
Nostalgia trip. Dad based on the ships at Scapa Flow. The Hotel, things to see, public transport, people in general, had a ruddy good tie and will most definitely be returning to the Orkneys and using the same hotel. There’s so much to do and see. Highly recommend St OlaHotel!!
Stayed 7 nights in Oct 2018

6/10 Okay

Lesley

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
People (staff?)talking loudly in doorway, blocking entry - not great. Long wait for someone to come to checkin counter - not great. Friendly and helpful staff eventually - good. Thin walls to rooms meaning noise until well after midnight - not great. Restaurant service and food OK.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

10/10 Excellent

Alice

Great hotel and good value
This hotel has an amazingly helpful and responsive staff. The room was also very clean and tidy. Access to many local tourist sites was excellent and the site also was a great coordinating point for meeting others arriving on my tour.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort
If you want to stay awake half the night with noise from bar and street... come here!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Prime location but pricey for what it is
This hotel is ideally placed for the centre of Kirkwall. Everything is in walking distance in terms of cafes, restaurants, pubs and local shops. You'll need to have a car or a tour booked to see some of the historic sites on the mainland or other islands of course. Only complaints were the shower didn't have too much pressure and the bed was quite hard. One of our nights was a Friday and there were a lot of folk out in the street quite merry after the pub kicking out time at 1am so we were woken up, it quickly gets quiet though. Just remember it is a 3 star location so the amenities match this, as opposed to the price of the room which we felt was excessive for what it was. Orkney was inclredible though, so we were happy with our stay.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2018

8/10 Good

Brian v

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Historic hotel on the waterfront, nice facade but precious little historical character remains inside. My room had everything I needed but was nothing special. No problems with noise, though it was early in the week. Hard-working and versatile friendly staff. I ate dinner twice in the restaurant, really enjoyed the food, and as a vegetarian it was nice to have a few choices; breakfast was fairly average though. Parking out front was in keen demand and it could be difficult to find a (legal) spot at times.
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Popular Location
Previous reviews seem accurate. Excellent central location right on the dock, right on a popular strip of eateries and other hotels (with restaurants). This hotel's restaurant was good, too. Yes, it was a bit on the loud side late on a Saturday (other colleagues had same issue at different hotel the same night). Very quiet though on the following Sunday. Consider the day of the week you book. Staff seemed gracious. Very busy on Saturday night. Clean. Would stay again after comparing prices with competitors.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice little hotel facing harbour
The St Ola is a nice hotel directly opposite Kirkwall Harbour. The staff were friendly and helpful. The room was nice. The bathroom was small and basic but functional. The breakfast was really nice but the opening window at the weekend was quite short (08:30 - 10:00), particularly as check out was at 10:00. The bar was small and “rustic” but pleasant enough and the beer was well kept. Food in the restaurant was simple “pub grub” but tasty. Overall, a nice little hotel in a great location
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Too noisy
Unfortunately my room was above the bar & therefore extremely noisy until about 01:30. The walls were so thin I could clearly hear the conversation from guests in the next room. It was as if we were in the same room.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

8/10 Good

George

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very friendly Staff, Very good quality of Food and a relaxing Bar to have a drink and chill out time
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

8/10 Good

julie, Nottingham

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great time getting over to the isle of sanday, ferry terminal just across the road, only stayed two nights, very enjoyable and relaxing very friendly staff that just couldn’t do enough to make your stay just great.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

joan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Location a Mixed Bag
The location of the hotel is close to city center by the waterfront, easy to walk to restaurants, St Magnus, and Earl's Palace. However, since it is near city center, it was very noisy until at least midnight both nights (music, partying, conversation). This made it very hard to sleep. Angela did an amazing job of making us feel welcome; other staff members were s little glum. The on site restaurant serves breakfast and dinner. The room was clean but the sheets were a bit thread bare.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2017

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Downtown close to everthing
Nice clean and good restaurant with it and close to downtown
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
MG
The room was clean and tidy however, the single room bed quilt was old and sparse, and I had to put my heavy coat on top of the bed to compensate. The walls aren't well insulated as you can hear folk talking on their mobile phones at 0600am! Wednesday night was a quite night throughout, and the staff were very nice. I was surprised to find out that the hotel isn't manned during the night but there is an emergency mobile number to contact which didn't fill me with trust.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

Sheila, Whitehorse, YT

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Old Hotel facing the Harbour
We loved Hotel Ola for a few reasons. We were tired after a LONG trip from the Yukon and were greeted so very warmly. The room was quaint and clean. Our window faced the harbour and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Upon arriving at our next Hotel in Kirkwall there was a 'memo' that Ola had called and we had forgot two items in our room. Service PLUS in my eyes. We LOVE the 'older' places with character and charm.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2017

4/10 Poor

linds, canada

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to ferries
As a solo traveler I didn't really feel safe in this hotel. I was there on a Saturday night and it was extremely noisey due to the pub. Up to 1:30 am people were yelling and arguing outside my window. My room was also over the pub washroom and I could hear the door slamming and the hand drier going. Up to 2:30 there was door slamming and it was at least 3:30 when I got to sleep. Also as I was leaving the fire alarm went off. All the staff were outside and hadn't bothered about the guests!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

6/10 Okay

Martha

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice people- tired room
People are nice and restaurant has good food. We had to carry our suitcases up stairs - and no air conditioning. Tiniest shower I have ever seen.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2017

6/10 Okay

Anne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Room was airless & stuffy as window couldn't be open because of the smells from the kitchen. Their 'refurbished' bathroom was a joke - shower is made for very short supermodels … no room for ordinary folk!! The advertised complimentary "onsite self parking" does not exist … it's first in best dressed in a busy street outside several pubs!! Also the advertised "laundry facilities' are not what they would seem - they take your items for washing … charging a couple of £'s for EACH T-shirt or jeans etc!!
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2017

10/10 Excellent

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Thomas, Aberdeen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel friendly staff very close to attraction
Very good experience fun and friendly staff and people amazing sites to see and visit.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Right in the heart of Kirkwall
This hotel was newly remodeled from a historic building. It is across from the docks and around the corner from town. All staff were very warm, welcoming and helpful. The food at the hotel was delicious and there was a large menu to choose from.

8/10 Good

Vijay

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Comfort in Kirkwall
Reasonable and comfortable

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A lovely stay
Comfortable and cosy wee hotel. The staff are absolutely delightful

4/10 Poor

Allan, US

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
I was there on a Fri and Sat night.
The hotel is great, but on Sat night the band was so loud in the bar below that I had to leave. I actually went to another hotel down the street. St Ola has not refuneded my money as yet, but they should.

4/10 Poor

Anna, Stockholm

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice but noisy
The hotel was generally fine. It was clean, food good and most of the staff was friendly. However, as the hotel bar seem to be popular and has with bands playing several nights per week it was impossible to sleep until the bar closed at 1-2 am. When pointing this out to the staff they only shrug their shoulders and seemed uninterested.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Thoroughly enjoyable time. Everyone very helpful and they couldn't do enough for you.

8/10 Good

Kathy, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A good clean hotel with plenty of ammenities
Whilst the website said that we may get some noise from the bar on Friday and Saturday nights (which we expected) we didn't expect or get warned that a band would be playing directly under our room until 1am on Saturday. Good music but impossible to get to sleep until they'd finished