Royal Hotel ‘A Bespoke Hotel’

Royal Hotel ‘A Bespoke Hotel’ descritpion

Located close to the center of the small town of Thurso, this is an excellent base for exploring the north coast. Centrally located for business or tourism, near bus station and train station, the Royal's friendly atmosphere is unmatched.
Situated in the center of town, amenities, including an interesting selection of stores, are within easy walking distance.
A perfect base for business, with the friendly public bar and atmosphere of the Orkney Restaurant, the Royal Hotel will cater for all your needs.
The north coast of Scotland is an almost untouched paradise with miles of white sandy beaches contrasting with the craggy headlands and dramatic cliffs.

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Facilities of Royal Hotel ‘A Bespoke Hotel’

Pets ：Pets are not allowed.

Food & Drink ：Restaurant | Bar | Breakfast in the Room | Special Diet Meals (upon request)

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.

Parking ：Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).

General ：Newspapers | Non-smoking Rooms | Elevator | Heating | All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Reviews for Royal Hotel ‘A Bespoke Hotel’

Review 1：Not the hotels fault but it was very noisy on the street outside late at night with people shouting and cars 'doing the circuit'. Couldn't get wifi to connect.

Review 2：Lovely and warm. Good breakfast.

Review 3：not clear where to park, we parked on street, Shower could be a lot better poor flow

Review 4：Easy to find great Central location, welcoming reciption and comfy rooms

Review 5：My only issue - given free wi-fi password but I couldn't pick up the hotel's wi-fi signal, perhaps I was too far from the transmitter (my room was at the far end of the hotel).

Review 6：Ease of check-in and check-out, very swift process. Room clean and comfortable. Staff friendly.

Review 7：breakfast substantial but pretty basic, fair enough given price

Review 8：very convenient, room fine, was quickly relocated second night when radiator stuck full on

Review 9：Standard of cleanliness not brilliant - coffee stains on skirting board at side of bed. Also bed not very firm. Limited parking available.

Review 10：Good location, with bar and restaurant. Breakfast was good and served promptly. Room was spacious with usual facilities.

Review 11：Radiator in room had no thermostat so was unable to control heating. Contacted reception at 7pm and heating for all hotel turned down and was acceptable untill 10pm then someone turned heating up again which led to a very uncomfortable temperature. Not much sleep was had because of this even with windows open to full extent.

Review 12：Good location and breakfast was excellent. Reception and restaurant staff were friendly and customer care was good.

Review 13：.the rooms are way below standard. room 229 shower very poor curtains didn't fit properly, tiny tv, beds are hard the room is tiny l have seen bigger rooms in hostel. No food during the day with no other restaurants to compete with. A Staff member had a dirty white shirt on to greet the guests. Bar staff had tatoos all over on display wearing short sleeves behind the bar. Lobby area more like a factory canteen with the seating. Lots more.......

Review 14：Location only

Review 15：The guy behind the bar might have been having a bad day but he didn't even crack a smile when we bought him a drink! He seemed bored - we were the only people in the bar/restaurant and he was more bothered about checking his phone. Food could have been better too.

Review 16：The hotel is in a good location and the guy on reception duties when we arrived was very helpful and friendly. The room was okay - nothing luxurious, but we really only needed it as a place to sleep for the night.

Review 17：Noisy traffic. Music from downstairs. Waste bin in room had not been emptied. Long walk with luggage from reception to room. Dated furnishings in room.

Review 18：Leaving

Review 19：The bar (where evening meals were offered) was very modern, soul-less and totally out of keeping with the hotel. Just one large open box with a wooden floor, therefore noisy. Barman forgot to finish pouring our round after letting my guiness settle and just wandered off outside for a smoke.

Review 20：Nice old fashioned style/feel to the hotel. Very easy to find - right on the main street, in the centre of town.

Review 21：Building is a bit dated and could do with refurbishing. Was unable to open windows.

Review 22：Right in the centre of town with parking at the rear. Room was surprisingly quiet.

Review 23：Colin, the duty manager, very rude and more interested in the computer and watching the match between Australia & England on TV. Not interested in assisting guests or busy fellow work colleagues! Noise from bar next door and in the street until 3.00am!!!!!

Review 24：The young lady who checked us in at reception, bar and breakfast staff.Very helpful and pleasant

Review 25：Very average room overlooking back alley

Review 26：Lovely warm entrance with log fire roaring so was lovely and Scittish autumn feeling. Very good full breakfast and attentive staff Excellent location

Review 27：Location is perfect! However, we did not enjoy our stay there. We just felt uncomfortable and think we were the only ones in this large place. The front desk gentleman when we checked in was NO help with any questions we had. But the woman there when we checked out was a gem.

Review 28：Unfriendly staff, small room, heating uncontrollable, old bathroom, long ways to the room. Thurso is a run down small town without bars or restaurants just 3 old hotels. Best place there is the coop and the highway....

Review 29：We had a room overlooking the main road opposite traffic lights which would benefit from double glazing to keep the traffic noise down.

Review 30：The Royal Hotel is a basic commercial hotel which offers good value, clean rooms and a good breakfast. The staff were friendly and helpful.

Review 31：I can't think of anything that I didn't like.

Review 32：It was close to coffee shops and the sea. Also the night shift person was very friendly and happy to help us out whenever needed even though we arrived late at night.

Review 33：Limited parking We had a room that faced the main street and it wasnoisy for a few hours on Saturday night. Hotel is fairly old but is iscertainly ok.

Review 34：Location in town is central and close to the ferry at John o Groats (20minute drive) Can eat in the restaurant or the bar. Good breakfastToilet in our room didn't flush and it was no issue for the staff tomove us to another room Has a lift if you don't want to carry bagsup the stairs

Review 35：Poor quality breakfast, sausage poor quality Bacon Luke warm barely cooked no beans or mushrooms, Haggis was tasty, very cold room were breakfast was served, Bedroom door very haphazard for locking.

Review 36：Very comfortable bed after a long journey it was greatly needed, great shower!

Review 37：The food served in the bar on the sunday evening I stayed was exelent and a good price, no need to go looking around the town to see where was open, bonus.

Review 38：The room was very dated with the wash sink actually within the room rather than in the bathroom which was tiny. Extremely limited menun no a la carte menu available seemed like the hotel was catering solely for bus parties.

Review 39：The staff were friendly and helpful and the location was excellent. Leaving was the best part though.

Review 40：Photo of room did not represent room assigned to us. Very small room on ground floor, noisy all night long. Nothing charming about the room.

Review 41：Hotel is old, attractive, and charming on the exterior.

Review 42：Peeling wallpaper and flaking paint in a dull, dark room with cracked window panes. Hotel desperately needs to be pulled out of the 1970s (when it was last decorated I guess). Uncomfortable bed. Wi-Fi slower than dial-up. Average bar food.

Review 43：Booking out!

Review 44：The room was cramped, no bath and a shower you had to run round in to get wet. The carpet had not been hovered for some time. The window did not appear to open.

Review 45：The breakfast was the best aspect.

Review 46：Really loud music from nearby pub. This only was an issue on one night though. Really loud bass which was on until 1AM disrupting my sleep that night. Parking is not always available too.

Review 47：Free wifi and good bar food there

Review 48：Receprion staff should mention straight away that wifi code are to be taken at reception, instead of not saying anything and let the customers having to cross the all hotel again just to get the codes. I couldn't used the lift on arrival (4pm) as it was taken by staff who put laundry in. I had to carry my suitcase up the stair to the second floor. The room was very small and dark, very depressing. Massive bird poo on the small window. Dirty (soap and dust) in the cup holder above the sink). Etc At breakfast I asked for brown bread & eggs, got 2 slices of white, 2 of brown, which arrived cold and harden by the time I got my eggs ages after the bred.

Review 49：Room was cramped, dingy and dated. Furniture was scratched/chipped, hotel overall needs updated.

Review 50：The staff were lovely, I got my breakfast served very quickly at my request.

Review 51：very small rooms and on our second stay there we could not find our room and needed to be given one which was less difficult to locate.All in all it served our purpose but we are unlikely to return.

Review 52：location

Review 53：Location,too noisy,rooms a little tired looking,slow to non existent wifi,evening meal very average.Difficult to work shower,problems switching off.Layout of where rooms were,lots of corridors and sets of stairs.

Review 54：Breakfast was very good.

Review 55：The noise of loud exhaust cars untill early hours for the morning. We had to request a move to the back of the hotel and they did accommodate us.

Review 56：Staff and location

Review 57：The car parking very poor, The smell at the back stairs very bad and as my wife is slightly disabled the handrail is poor no room for your hand why does the lift not go to ground floor

Review 58：The staff very polite and friendly food good

Review 59：As soon as you enter the hotel all you could smell was cooked food,You could feel he cold when you walked into the room,there was extra blankets in wardrobe but had to get into bed to heat up.could not get a signal for the wifi.barman a little big grumpy. Parking at hotel a big issue

Review 60：The size of the room was great, beds very comfy and very clean.it was really nice when the staff had finished there shift and said good night to you as they left.very central hotel.

Review 61：Outdated building that needs renovation, no wifi in my room as it was in the end of the corridor on the top floor, problem with both taps on my sink, bathroom door broken and doesn't close properly, poor water pressure in the shower

Review 62：Warm room, friendly staff, excellent location, good breakfast

Review 63：Reception area is very sparse, not that welcoming! This hotel is dated and in need of refurbishment. Very small room.

Review 64：Location was perfect, as was the breakfast.

Review 65：NOTHING EVERY THING WAS AS IT SHOULD BE IN A TOWN CENTRE HOTEL

Review 66：LARGE HOTEL IN CENTRE OF TOWN WITH GOOD FOOD AND FACILITIES. I WOULD STAY AGAIN IF IN THE AREA.

Review 67：The room was small and the shower room had no heating and was tiny

Review 68：The fact that this hotel was central for transport to places like John O Groats and Wick.

Review 69：Loud music and people outside the front of the hotel until 1.30am both nights of our stay. Impossible to sleep. Needs double glazing or soundproof glass or to move people on away from the hotel otherwise front rooms are useless.

Review 70：Friendly staff and lovely breakfast.

Review 71：The rooms overlooked the main street and was directly above a bar resulting in an extremely noisy evening and night. The breakfast, although plentiful, was obviously prepared for the masses!

Review 72：No bad experiences and have stayed in the past and would stay again.

Review 73：The hotel was easy to find, staff helped me to find my room, speed of service at breakfast, and everyone was chatty and helpful.

Review 74：This hotel probably was very good years ago. It is however rather old and has not aged so well, and for instance the windows are not double-glazed. As a result, on the second night we were disturbed by the loud talking of people in the street at 1am. Overall not a very good experience.

Review 75：Hotel Room was very uncomfortable as I was unable to regulate the room temperature as the radiators were on the whole time and couldn't be adjusted. Asked reception to turn the heating off which they did only to be woken up at 3am with the room absolutely sweltering again. In summary it spoilt my stay as I ended up having 2 sleepless nights :(

Review 76：Unfortunately the breakfast times on Sunday didn't work with my schedule, so I had to leave without eating.

Review 77：The room was clean and the bed was comfortable. The hotel seemed to cater to an older crowd, but the staff was accommodating and friendly.

Review 78：Spotty WiFi. Overall, the hotel should be much better for the price. The cooked breakfast was good, but those who prefer the continental breakfast would probably appreciate more variety.

Review 79：Good location.

Review 80：Very rundown hotel for the amount charged. Really shabby decor and the hall outside our room stank of marihuana. Most concerning was the fire escape door, which was propped open with a brick 24 hours a day so we felt very unsafe in our room.

Review 81：Convenient location

Review 82：Our room at the front of the hotel was very noisy. Friends had a room at the back which was quieter

Review 83：The staff were lovely and couldn't have been more helpful. It was a half hour journey time to the ferry at Gills bay which was great.

Review 84：The Hotel looked and felt run down. Entrance and Reception did feel welcoming and the maze of corridors to access our room seemed tired and in need of refurbishment. Room was small and smelt of cigarette smoke. Our impressions of the hotel were improved when we were moved to a better room

Review 85：The view out of the single room was very disappointing I looked over a burnt out roof!! , I think the whole hotel needs a make over

Review 86：Friendly staff and good service in ther morning for breakfast but not a lot of choice in jucies and fruit

Review 87：Had dinner in the bar both nights, whilst menu choice was good food quality and portions were not, far too much food on the plate, if less was provided and of a better quality this would be a vast improvement. Level of cleanliness was awful in parts of the hotel. Dead flies, empty shortbread wrappers, and debris in windows and stairwells that was clearly there for some time. My own bathroom had "things" stuck to the floor near the toilet bin which I didn't dare get close enough to inspect! Fire doors were also propped open with bricks!

Review 88：Staff on reception were good. Bed was very comfortable and the shower was also good.

Review 89：bought a drink in the bar,no local ales, not even in bottles available, had to sit in the foyer as could not stand the huge television with a soap on, this to me destroys all the character of the place.

Review 90：good location, nice large bedroom, character building and friendly helpful staff.

Review 91：Some staff in restaurant were very poor and reacted badly when my Dad just asked for a cup of tea. However, other staff were very friendly. They were very busy for our visit as they had a tour and by their own admission they were struggling to cope..

Review 92：Good parking, excellent location, and comfortable beds.

Review 93：Lovely hotel to stay in rooms were cleaned everyday breakfast was fab and the staff couldn't be anymore helpful I know from reading reviews a lot of people complained about the decor but really wasn't that bad in my opinion it's in a great location aswel

Review 94：I couldn't get wi-fi to connect with the password I was given however I didn't report this as it was too late at night.

Review 95：A good breakfast, with excellent service. The decor is tired in places, but the hotel is obviously being updated and has new carpets throughout. Very comfortable bed.

Review 96：room was very old fashioned, the heating was way too high. the shower was very small.

Review 97：It was adequate, not the best hotel we stayed at but for the money it was acceptable.

Review 98：room doors only lock from inside. rubbish left in bin from previous occupant, towels left on floor no tea bags in room. So room had not been made up from last occupant.

Review 99：on departure they re funded some money due to the state of the room.

Review 100：the hotel needs some money spent on it,its very drab in the reception area even some flowers or a few plants might help.

Review 101：hotel so handy for the town,staff are very nice, enjoyed the breakfast.

Review 102：The meal of a Caeser's Salad in the bar on the first night was mediocre. The croutons were soft, the chicken looked out of a packet and was cold. The hotel is in a lovely location but could do with a little TLC.

Review 103：The staff were always friendly and helped me out when asked for example they went out of their way to get some decaf coffee from the local shops.

Review 104：Stairways are not well-signed. Reception signs (plenty of them) were always via the lift. In the event of an emergency I would be looking for the stairs not the lift. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable because the hotel is something of a maize!

Review 105：£45 b and b was very good value. Room was comfortable and well-appointed. WiFi was good but limited to how much I could download. I only had time to snatch a bit of breakfast but what I had tasted good (was looking at leaving the hotel at 8am)!

Review 106：There is a lack of disabled parking and parking in general is difficult .

Review 107：There is always a warm welcome the rooms are are always clean and comfortable . Good selection of meals in the bar restaurant. Problems were resolved Quickly .

Review 108：Advertised car parking but don't need to book but that is rubbish there are only a couple of car parks behind the hotel. we had to park in a shopping centre carpark and drag our luggage to hotel. As it was a hire car were concerned for it safety

Review 109：No off-street parking available, despite promise. Lift had dirty laundry in it when we arrived, had to use stairs.Waste bin in room had not been emptied. Dinner options not appealing. Mediocre breakfast. Super slow WiFi. World's smallest TV.

Review 110：It;s in Thurso :) Short walk to the Y-Not bar where you can get FAB food (highly recommended).

Review 111：limited parking, but we parked in a car park of the local supermarket so there was a bit of a walk to the hotel. Car park was free!

Review 112：Clean and tidy hotel. Good Breakfast. We only stayed the one night and this type of hotel suited our needs.

Review 113：Very poor , my room was located directly above a night club , sodidn't sleep till 2am and had to put up with swearing , shouting ,smoke rising into room as coulnt shut window due to being to warm , whenI phoned down to reception requested another room , they just told methat they were full , personally not good enough , certainly wasn'twarned when booking this hotel about its location and relevance to anightclub !!will not be staying here again < totally unrecommendable

Review 114：The receptionist was very welcoming

Review 115：Hotel is very 'tired', it needs a few hundred thousand spent on it then it would be lovely. Breakfast was quite poor.

Review 116：Staff were fine a friendly

Review 117：Our first room had a poorly flushing toilet, but the second was excellent.

Review 118：We originally booked one night, then decided we needed a second. The young lady at the desk was very helpful and arranged for our luggage to be moved while we were on a trip to the Orkneys.

Review 119：Room had not been cleaned properly. Not enough toiletries. No internet connection in room. No details on how to contact reception from room phone. When made call to reception from my mobile phone my complaint was just laughed off by night reception staff. No assistance with luggage offered on arrival. Shall I go on.......................

Review 120：Breakfast.

Review 121：Very tired decor and service. Catching the breakfast staff pouring leftover milk from a previous guest's jug back into the communal milk dispenser (yuck).

Review 122：Ummm, proximity to ferry, friendly front of house staff.

Review 123：After a long days cycling the staff were very accommodating, the rooms were nice and clean. We only stayed one night but would recommend a longer stay if visiting the area. The quality of the breakfast was excellent.

Review 124：The location is very noisy with cars going by at all hours. The view from room was a derelict building with holes in roof and lots of wild pigeons. Not pleasant.

Review 125：The staff were very helpful.

Review 126：Insufficient car parking spaces to accommodate hotel size - had to park off site. Back entrance from car park like a trade entrance..not very welcoming. Hotel like a maze. Different stairs / lifts for different floors. Very confusing. hotel food looked good but dining area full of coach parties. We dined around the corner at Ynot.

Review 127：Central location - Good for exploring. Modern bar with good ales.

Review 128：Well overpriced, but there aren't really many options in the area so in the end, where else you gonna go. Shower was kinda cold-ish. Wifi didn't work from our room even though it was advertised to do so. Restaurant was "awkward"; no menus up and when you walk in the staff just kind of look at you while you scuttle away to eat somewhere else. Overall pretty dated. The hallway "maze" was pretty ridiculous.

Review 129：We actually liked the crazy maze of corridors (Ten doors and three flights of stairs to get to our room). Plenty of parking in the area (though not in their carpark). The breakfast was pretty good. Close to town.

Review 130：Parking. Lack of spaces.

Review 131：Good in all areas, from check in to departure. Room was very fair and comfortable. Perfect for an overnight for a long distance driver. Breakfast was excellent.

Review 132：Hotel looked rather tired inside and in need of a lick of paint. Also it was like a maze trying to find your room. Had a bar meal (Burger) which was not very appetising.

Review 133：Hotel was central and easy to find. Staff were friendly

Review 134：Rooms can be difficult to access along narrow corridors. The fixtures and décor are way past their best and are to say the least ''Tired'' looking.

Review 135：Friendly helpful staff. Nice breakfast. Very affordable price.

Review 136：No bar during day, and no draught beer when was open. No comfortable lounge area. Dated bathroom. View of petrol station and vehicle yard. Tired outdated and cold.

Review 137：Friendly receptionist.

Review 138：Poor car parking facilities. Very rundown and unclean access from car park with difficult stair access. No lift or porter facility to assist with luggage.

Review 139：Location

The Fine Print

Smoking/non-smoking rooms are request only basis, they cannot be guaranteed.