If you want to get a good night's sleep while traveling, don't stay here!!!

I'm staying in room 326, and every night, there is a large crowd of people standing in the lane talking loudly under my window. Apparantly this is the smoking section, since Britian has just recently outlawed smoking indoors in pubs and restaurants. The crowd under my window is loud every night--you can even hear them over the steady loud music from the pub, which is quite loud itself. I feel as though my bed is actually in the pub. When I called the front desk, the staff pretty much said, "Oh, well. Sorry," and did nothing to help.

The noise ends some nights at 11, but on Fridays and Saturdays, the pub is open until 2, so don't expect to get to sleep before about 2:30 when the noise finally dies down. Of course, if you want to hang out at the pub every night, this is the place for you!

Isnt it interesting how different people have different viewpoints. We stayed in the 4 poster room. Ridiculously overpriced for what it was. The only saving grace was that it was completely spotlessly clean. Dark fussy furniture and decor, dark lighting. Dated net curtains hiding what view there was of the harbour. The whole hotel needed decorating - dated dark and depressing. Very noisy at 2am as its on one of the main streets. Breakfast was lovely. Very bizarre entrance with no reception desk - it's on the first floor. We stayed 3 days and didnt once see anyone on duty. Staff we did see were lovely, freindly and courteous. It didnt spoil the trip though as the people were lovely, the scenery breathtaking (when the fog lifted). There was a blues music festival on and it was fab. Lots of other things to do, most of them seemed locally organised. The harbour and the peerie coffee shop were my favourites. Oh and the fish and chips of course.

The hotel must have been upgraded over the winter because everything was pretty new and no faded grandeur. Stayed 4 nights and found it very comfortable. No lift though, so be careful if you find stairs a problem.

The Grand Hotel may have lived up to its name at some point, but it now looks and feels a bit tired. The hotel is run by the same group that owns the Queen's Hotel on Lerwick. It feels like it's part of a chain - uninspired, functional, cramped. The reason we ended up there was due to the fact that the Kveldso House (which was recommended) was fully booked. Shetland hotels are surprisingly busy, so book ahead to avoid disappointment.