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The Ayre Hotel

3.0 star property

Photo gallery for The Ayre Hotel

Exterior
One Bedroom Apartment | Living room
Soundproofing, free WiFi, bed sheets, wheelchair access
Bar (on property)
Lobby

Reviews

8.6 out of 10
Excellent

Popular amenities

  • Parking available
  • Bar
  • Room service
  • Pet-friendly

Explore the area

View map
Ayre Road, Kirkwall, Scotland, KW15 1QX
  • St. Magnus Cathedral
    ‪6 min walk‬
  • Earl's Palace
    ‪7 min walk‬
  • Highland Park Distillery
    ‪3 min drive‬
  • Kirkwall (KOI)
    ‪7 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Apartment, 2 Bedrooms

Apartment, 2 Bedrooms | Living area

Apartment, 2 Bedrooms

  • 2 bedrooms
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 Double Bed and 2 Twin Beds

View all photos for Standard Double Room, 1 Double Bed

Soundproofing, free WiFi, bed sheets, wheelchair access

Standard Double Room, 1 Double Bed

9.0 out of 10
Wonderful
(10 reviews)
  • 19 bedrooms
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Panoramic Double Room, 1 Double Bed, Sea View

Soundproofing, free WiFi, bed sheets, wheelchair access

Panoramic Double Room, 1 Double Bed, Sea View

9.4 out of 10
Exceptional
(3 reviews)
  • 10 bedrooms
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Panoramic Double or Twin Room, Sea View

Panoramic Double or Twin Room, Sea View | View from room

Panoramic Double or Twin Room, Sea View

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 10 bedrooms
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Budget Double Room

Budget Double Room

Budget Double Room

8.4 out of 10
Very good
(7 reviews)
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for One Bedroom Apartment

One Bedroom Apartment

One Bedroom Apartment

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(4 reviews)
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Standard Double or Twin Room

Soundproofing, free WiFi, bed sheets, wheelchair access

Standard Double or Twin Room

8.0 out of 10
Very good
(1 review)
  • 13 bedrooms
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Family Room

Family Room

Family Room

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 Double Bed and 1 Twin Bed

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About the area

Kirkwall

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 - 2.6 km

Getting around

  • Kirkwall (KOI) - 6 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Ayre Restaurant - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪The Storehouse - ‬5 min walk
  • ‪Skipper's - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Archive Coffee - ‬4 min walk
  • ‪Auld Motor Hoose - ‬3 min walk

About this property

The Ayre Hotel

Hotel in Kirkwall with a restaurant and a bar
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

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

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

Reviews

The Ayre Hotel Reviews

8.6

Excellent

9.2/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.6/10

Eco-friendliness
Rating 10 - Excellent. 104 out of 204 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 68 out of 204 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 20 out of 204 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 8 out of 204 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 4 out of 204 reviews

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Tom

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Ayre is conveniently located and we we very pleased with the accommodations. The staff was friendly and helpful. It is a great place to stay when arriving on the late night ferry.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sarankumar

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Really pleasant atmosphere and people at hotel. Really the best stay experience that I ever had. Really good team of professionals catering up to your needs. Would definitely recommend them to friends and family for a stay when in Orkney.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Dane

Stayed 1 night in May 2025

8/10 Good

Michael

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Convenient for the late night ferry arrival. Budget double room clean and comfortable but over-priced. Dinner in the restaurant was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Caj

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Excellent apartment accommodation
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

8/10 Good

Steve

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Only stayed one night, but it was dreamy!
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

8/10 Good

Mark

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location, walkable to the town centre and restaurants. Mattress was like sleeping on a box spring. Pillows were terrible. Good breakfast. Nice bar/lounge area.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Colin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in May 2025

8/10 Good

Alison

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service

Expensive but good location

Room was nice with clean bedding and overall hotel was very nice . Doors were noisy as no soft closers . Dining at dinner was very slow and inconsistent and took an hour for us to get our dinner served and it was lukewarm on service . Maybe kitchen is understaffed as dining staff seemed to be plentiful but not particularly organised. We had to ask twice for one of the party’s ice cream dessert and the rest of our group were finished theirs before it arrived. When we arrived receptionist seemed initially to not find our booking! No view for the extortionate price . Maybe we would have got a better view if we had been staying longer
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

David

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property was very accommodating to our visit to Orkney.
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Location on the harbor was great, although a little noisy at night with traffic.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Donald

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Well placed to enjoy Kirkwall!

The Ayr Hotel is well placed in Kirkwall, close to the main ferry terminal, the bus station, and the main shopping street. We stayed in a detached block across the street with 12 apartments. Ours had a comfortable bedroom, good bathroom and a large sitting room with comfortable sofas. The kitchenette had a fridge, a hob and a microwave. . The restaurant was in the main building. Food was always quickly served and delicious.
Stayed 5 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Very accommodating!
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Joan, Victoria

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We chose this hotel because it was convenient for us when arriving from Shetland on the Northlink ferry that arrives at 11:30 pm. The shuttle service from the ferry terminal stops right in front of the hotel. The room was spacious with a well-appointed bathroom and a full breakfast was available in the morning.
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

8/10 Good

Adam

Stayed 1 night in May 2025

6/10 Okay

Janice

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Bathroom was cheap and dated. Elevator did not work during our entire stay and my other half has difficulty with stairs. Lovely lounge bar bit no one serving so we had to go to the sports bar which was noisy with TVs etc. staff were really nice and the restaurant seemed popular although we didn’t eat there.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Haidee

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Only problem is that the toilet in our room was poor at flushing. That was a bit unfortunate. The lounge area, the staff, the food was absolutely great. Such lovely people.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Isabella

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A perfect gateway to explore Orkneys

It was an amazing experience! Room super clean, staff delightful and super kind, excellent food, innovatove cocktails... Simply splendid I would highly recommend it!
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Laura, Renfrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good: Location Quiet location Bed Bar man on Saturday night was friend Aporeciated the bath Bad: Not enough milks Was not offered to add on breakfast and i really wanted a breakfast as i was playing in a tournament. On the wall outside hotel it only mentioned lunch and dinner. Because the receptionist didnt mention it i assumed they just didnt do breakfasts. When checking out i could smell breakfast items so this was disappointing as id have preferred that to porridge in my room
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great experience

One-night stay before heading to northern isles. Great experience. Staff were friendly. Ample parking. Room was comfortable and clean. Breakfast was nice. Returned for dinner on way south.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent, friendly staff. Comfortable, relaxing hotel with good restaurant and bar all at reasonable prices. Front of building facing the harbour could do with a coat of paint but that doesn’t take anything away from the comfortable interior. Would happily stay again.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Brian

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Perfect stay

Great welcome, lovely clean room overlooking the harbour, beautiful food at dinner and breakfast and helpful and friendly staff
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent Hotel well positioned in Kirkwall.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2025