this hotel is typical of all hotels in shetland - overpriced and outdated. what makes herrislea worse is that it used to be good - i stayed here a couple of years ago and it was good. however, its clear now that things have declined badly. service is awful. staff are clueless. food is appaling.

food - i got served half a pickled betroot (sliced) and a single boiled potato (again, sliced) with my fish, and was charged £11 for it. the starter was described as fresh, but clearly came out of the supermarket freezer. very few of the drinks listed on the wine list are in stock. i was finished my starter before my drink arrived. the staff have even managed to turn ordering breakfast into a embarrassment. all the time at dinner i could hear other guests discussing how bad their meals were. THERE WAS A BLOODY DOG IN THE DINING ROOM.

room - old and dated, with cracked tiles on the floor. the taps werent fixed to the sink.

What a wonderfull visit!Owners were warm and welcoming and could not be more helpfull.Decor was very attractive,rooms were warm and cosy.A highlight of the visit was to sit and relax with coffee and biscuits in the evening while enjoying the special atmosphere much enhanced with antiques and inspiring hunting trophys from around the world,bringing to mind the smoke and smell of Africa!And how cheering it was to be greeted by the hotel dog! what a charming rascal!

Be warned, the owners of this hotel are huge fans of hunting. There are exotic animal skins on the walls and draped over the furniture, skins on the floors, animal heads on the walls, photos of the owner on safari posing over dead animals with a rifle on display in the lounge, photos of their friends on safari posing over dead animals with rifles displayed on the reception desk, photos of the owner and dead fish, ivory carvings, a stuffed turtle... and the one living animal - their dog - bit me!! The male owner wore his American shooting and hunting club shirt when he was serving dinner in the evenings, and regaled us with the story of when he rode into Lerwick Town Hall to protest in favour of fox hunting - Shetland doesn't even have foxes.

The hotel is vastly overpriced, totally pretentious and horrendously decorated downstairs. The bedroom was nice but near the front and porch doors so very loud when they slammed shut. The restaurant has serious delusions of grandeur without the substance to back it up. My dinner of dried pasta shells with button mushrooms and cream was £11.95, more expensive than most of the meat and fish dishes!!! It must have cost at least £1.00 to make, and it tasted much cheaper. My colleague's meal had very obviously come from the freezer before being microwaved. Their cheek really was quite disgraceful - I know it's Shetland, but how patronising and offensive to assume that people will be happy to pay £12 for such a cheap dish. More likely I suspect that they despise vegetarians and were taking the ****

The whole experience at the hotel was uncomfortable for me as an animal lover, and not worth the money in any way, shape or form, unless you're a fan of killing/dead animals and brazenly overpriced food served in an 80s inspired dining room, in which case you'll love it! None of the photos on the website give any indication of the hunting-themed decor which is incredibly misleading and must be deliberate. If I had known I certainly would not have given them my money. Local B&Bs were far superior with better and fresher food, better service (constantly replenished tea and coffee in the room, biscuits etc - a home-made cake in one instance!) and the bedrooms better, larger, quieter and cheaper on every occasion.

On first entering the Herrislea I was a little taken aback by all the dead animals on the wall and the bright colours, but it was a fantastic place to stay. Rooms were very clean and the food was excellent and staff were very helpful.