With a stay at The Ayre Hotel in Kirkwall, you'll be a 1-minute walk from Orkney Wireless Museum and 6 minutes by foot from St. Magnus Cathedral. .This hotel is 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from Orkney Museum and 0.5 mi (0.7 km) from Bishop's Palace.
What's nearby
Orkney Museum - 6 min walk - 0.5 km
St. Magnus Cathedral - 6 min walk - 0.5 km
Earl's Palace - 7 min walk - 0.7 km
Bishop's Palace - 9 min walk - 0.8 km
Highland Park Distillery - 3 min drive - 2.9 km
Getting around
Kirkwall (KOI) - 6 min drive
Restaurants
Harbour Fry - 4 min walk
Auld Motor Hoose - 3 min walk
Helgi's - 2 min walk
The Storehouse - 5 min walk
The Bothy Bar - 3 min walk
About this property
The Ayre Hotel
The Ayre Hotel offers 51 accommodations with coffee/tea makers. This Kirkwall hotel provides complimentary wireless Internet access. Bathrooms include bathtubs or showers. Housekeeping is provided daily.
Make yourself at home in one of the 51 guestrooms. Complimentary wireless internet access is available to keep you connected. Bathrooms with bathtubs or showers are provided. Conveniences include phones and coffee/tea makers, and housekeeping is provided daily.
Make use of convenient amenities, which include complimentary wireless internet access and a television in a common area.
Enjoy a meal at the restaurant, or stay in and take advantage of the hotel's room service. Wrap up your day with a drink at the bar/lounge. Buffet breakfasts are available daily from 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM for a fee.
Featured amenities include luggage storage, laundry facilities, and an elevator. Free self parking is available onsite.
Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM.
The Ayre Hotel has a restaurant on site.
Room service is available.
Property amenities
Internet
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Parking and transport
Free self parking on site
Limited on-site self parking
Food and drink
Daily buffet breakfast available 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM for a fee: GBP 15 for adults and GBP 15 for children
A bar/lounge
A restaurant
Coffee and tea in common areas
Things to do
TV in common areas
Family friendly
Laundry facilities
Soundproofed rooms
Conveniences
Laundry facilities
Limited-hour front desk
Luggage storage
Guest services
Housekeeping (daily)
Accessibility
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
Lift
Wheelchair accessibility
Wheelchair accessible (may have limitations)
More
Smoke-free property
Room amenities
Bedroom
Bedsheets provided
Bathroom
Bathtub or shower
Private bathroom
Towels provided
Entertainment
TV
Food and drink
Coffee/tea maker
Electric kettle
Room service
More
Heating
Phone
Soundproofed rooms
Policies
Check-in
Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; Check-in end time: midnight
Contactless check-in available
Minimum check-in age: 18
Check-out
Check-out before 10:00 AM
Contactless check-out available
Special check-in instructions
The front desk is open daily from 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours
This property doesn't offer after-hours check-in
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools
Access methods
Front desk (limited hours)
Pets
Pets allowed for an extra charge of GBP 25.00 per pet, per stay
Service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees
Welcoming dogs only
Children and extra beds
Children are welcome
Payment types
Important information
Optional extras
Fee for buffet breakfast: approximately GBP 15 for adults and GBP 15 for children
Pet fee: GBP 25.00 per pet, per stay
Service animals are exempt from fees
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards; cash is not accepted
Cashless transactions are available
We should mention
Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms
National rating
This establishment has received its official star rating from VisitScotland, the National Tourist Board for Scotland.
Property is also known as
Ayre Hotel Kirkwall
Ayre Kirkwall
Ayre Hotel
The Ayre Hotel Hotel
The Ayre Hotel Kirkwall
The Ayre Hotel Hotel Kirkwall
The Ayre Hotel Reviews
Reviews
8.6
Excellent
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travellers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.
Rating 10 - Excellent. 118 out of 231 reviews
10 - Excellent
118
Rating 8 - Good. 75 out of 231 reviews
8 - Good
75
Rating 6 - Okay. 23 out of 231 reviews
6 - Okay
23
Rating 4 - Poor. 9 out of 231 reviews
4 - Poor
9
Rating 2 - Terrible. 6 out of 231 reviews
2 - Terrible
6
9.2/10
Cleanliness
8.8/10
Staff & service
8.0/10
Amenities
8.6/10
Property conditions & facilities
Reviews
6/10 Okay
Pauline
Travelled with family
22 Dec 2025
Couldn’t get light in bathroom to work ended up having to use the light over the mirror. One of the milk sachets was all lumpy when we put it into a cup of tea in the room. Other than that everything was fine and staff very pleasant .
Pauline
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2025
10/10 Excellent
Colin
28 Nov 2025
Colin
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025
10/10 Excellent
Duncan
27 Nov 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Lovely saff, grear food, comfy room.
Duncan
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2025
10/10 Excellent
Steven
15 Nov 2025
Staff were very good, happy to help!
Steven
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2025
6/10 Okay
Anu
3 Nov 2025
Anu
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2025
10/10 Excellent
Mike
31 Oct 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
We stayed for 3 nights as a family of four in one of the apartments. The room was very well presented and had a small kitchen. The food served by the restaurant was delicious. There was an excellent selection of spirits and local beers. The staff very helpful and friendly. Will stay again.
Room clean and comfortable. Some minor maintenance issues (hole in bathroom door) and difficult to squeeze into shower past extremely hot towel rack but otherwise good. Location very convenient and plenty of parking.
Ideal for us with a dog and for one overnight.
Staff went out of their way to enable us to get early checking as we were attending a wedding.
We did not have breakfast as we were leaving very early to catch the ferry.
Great location, a brief walk to town. We had a one bedroom suite with a kitchen. It was very clean and quiet. Would definitely stay here again. Orkney was great, every one was friendly and helpful.
really friendly staff at the hotel, had excellent service and would be very happy to stay here again. Breakfast buffet was good and dinner in the restaurant was very enjoyable
Lovely staff. We commented on the lack of scallops on the menu as we had enjoyed them on our previous visit so they put them on for us.
Lovely sea/ harbour views from our room.
The was a very comfortable and cozy hotel. I had a great time here. I found it impeccably clean, and the cleaning staff was very friendly and helpful. It's walking distance from the downtown shopping area, but still pretty quiet. There is a lovely lounge and bar area that is very comfortable and welcoming. The shower worked very well too. I would love to stay here again!
Our stay only spoiled by our dinner on the final night. While our chips were lovely and hot, the pie was stone cold. And the 250 ml glass of wine came as a 175 ml glass. Only little things but enough to take the shine off our stayh