We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Springfield Hotel, the service was faultless and the food was lovely. I have to eat gluten and dairy free, although the choice was limited (I wonder if i'd phoned ahead if there would have been more choice?) what I did have to eat was fantastic. The rest of the family thoroughly enjoyed their meals too.

We stayed at the Baltasound Hotel, Unst, for one night (24th/25th July 2011). My party consisted of two adults and two children.

It was not my original intention to journey so far north but we had problems obtaining accommodation in the Lerwick area on account of the Tall Ships visiting Shetland. I took a notion to view Muckle Flugga lighthouse at the very tip of the British Isles and Baltasound Hotel is the most northerly hotel so fitted the bill perfectly.

We travelled overnight on the Northlink ferry from Kirkwall,Orkney to Lerwick, Shetland in storm force conditions. We then had to take two public ferries from Toft (Mainland Shetland) to Ulsta (Yell) and Gutcher (Yell) to Belmont (Unst). The Shetland Islands Council ferries are relatively new, have excellent facilities on board, are clean, efficient and very cheap. The ferries are Shetlands best kept secret.

When we arrived at Baltasound the weather was still dreadful. We were rather early (1230hrs) but a cheerful & friendly male member of the management staff checked us in and showed us where our cabin/chalet was. We were very glad to get inside out of the weather. The cabins are fine for a family of four; clean, well presented and en-suite. We actually had the heating on so that we could dry our clothes and generally thaw out. The kids watched TV in the afternoon.

In the evening we dined at the hotel. In many respects this took me back to the Scottish country hotels of my youth; good honest food in plain surroundings. The local beer was also very good.

By the way I did eventually get to the Hermaness Reserve and saw Muckle Flugga and Out Stack. This nature reserve is popular with bird watchers. We also visited the Haroldswick Methodist Church (the most northerly in Britain), the Unst Bus Shelter, and Muness Castle. I am not sure if I will ever venture so far north again (in Britain) but if I do I would stay at the Baltasound Hotel).

What a fantastic stay at this place. Friendly staff, good rooms and good food. Beautiful views from the restaurant, wish we'd booked for longer than 8 days. There's a pub attached to the hotel where we spent several enjoyable evenings talking to both locals and visitors to the island. It was ideally situated for us in the Northern part of Unst where the best walking and birdwatching is found. Overall a really good stay. We'll be back.

Neither Orkney nor Shetland was really on our schedule but the weather was kind so we flew over and landed at Unst. It had always been my wish to spend the shortest night on the most northerly island and I was only one day late! We had a great welcome from Steve and everyone at the hotel. OK, so we didn't stay there as they were fully booked when we phoned at 8pm! But Steve did come to the airfield to pick us up for a great evening meal and then dropped us back as well - a bonus. And then the Full Scottish Breakfast is well worth waking up for. Try it! We were made very welcome and enjoyed our very brief stay. Tom, Rob and Mark.