The Stromness Hotel by Paymán Club

With very little on offer in Stromness and much higher prices than across the ferry in mainland Scotland this was an ideal location right next to the ferry terminal in a historic building. I stayed in room 10 which was a smaller room at the back of the hotel and seems to have been forgotten. You can see wall partitions that this is not the original design of the room. There was an old carpet, old chair/wardrobe (not vintage). Door key is upside down, wardrobe hangers backwards, light bulb would hum. Bathroom was very Victorian with separate hot/cold taps. All of the windows are sealed shut. Only one plug outlet with an extension cord to run the tv and charge your phone. The tv kept freezing and pixilating until I got the guy at the front desk to fix the cables. Despite all that the hotel did grow on my. The dining room is prime location overlooking the harbour and is a good hot cooked buffet breakfast. When people checked out at 11am I looked in the other rooms at the front of the hotel which were much nicer than my room. Try to stay in those rooms instead of room 10.

Absolute disgrace! Charged my card and then I found out, by chance I might add, that they have closed the hotel. No communication or arrangements. I had to request a refund, which I’ve yet to see. I never got to stay there so based on customer service alone.

Good and bad points at this hotel. Good: room was clean, beds clean and comfortable. Food quality was OK, full breakfast was nice. Parking was available at the rear. Location was perfect for catching the ferry. Bad: carpark wasn't obvious or signposted. We had to squeeze through a narrow gap past the skips left in the carpark to entet via a dirty metal fire escape. One waitress seems overwhelmed and is trying to learn on the job with no one to train her, this isn't helped by her also struggling with English. She was friendly and doing her best but service quality was badly lacking. An out of order sign on the fire escape in the dining room was an interesting feature. Overall we didn't find this place nearly as bad as other reviewers but would try somewhere else if we returned to orkney.