Royal Thurso Hotel

Greeted by very unhappy man on reception with no customer care skills. Told we could only have an evening meal between 5.30 and 6 as a coach party due in . Hotel very badly needs a deep clean and redecorated. Breakfast was OK but dining room very depressing. Prices in bar OK but service very mixed and no atmosphere at all- again quite depressing. Free off street parking only plus.

Worst hotel I have stayed in. Horrible smell as you enter the hotel. Bed was so hard and uncomfortable. Tap dripped all nite, bathroom window didn't close, water wouldn't drain when having a shower. The breakfast was shambolic, only good part was the toast. Complained to reception and they wasn't interested. AVOID!

We booked the Royal Thurso Hotel at the last minute when we were struggling to find any other accommodation in Thurso for a reasonable price. It is a very old fashioned hotel in desperate need of some TLC. When we arrived the man on reception was about as welcoming as the black death and he looked like he hadn't smiled in half a century. Our room was quite small and the furniture/carpet/curtains all looked quite old and tired and way past their best. The view from the room was about as grim as you could get. I was not expecting to see herds of wildebeest or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon although the hotel's resemblance to Fawlty Towers was not lost on me. We could not open the window (perhaps they were closed shut in fear of guests throwing themselves out), the small TV did not work and the 2 cups for tea/coffee were sticky on the outside as if they had not been washed and the one cup had tea stains on the inside. We struggled to get any hot running water & there was no soap in the bathroom, only shampoo. If I can find anything positive to say about our stay at this hotel, we were only there for one night, the hotel is located in the center of town & the price includes breakfast.

I booked this at short notice. I really should have read some reviews. At check in we were told that breakfast was served from 7:00am but as there was a coach party staying there would be no chance of anything before 7:30 when we would be looking to check out. So that was breakfast out the window. The rooms were very dated with small ensuite and single glazing in the windows. Not great, but surely after after some food and a few pints it would surely be fine. Food was supposed to be served until 9:00pm, but when we asked at 8:20 for a table, we were told they were not serving anymore food as they were too busy with afore mentioned coach party. After looking elsewhere without any luck, we had to settle for sandwiches from the co-op. Anyway, went to the bar for a few drinks before bed. 2 pints of Tennants and 2 single Whyte and MacKay's came to £16. Yes, blended whisky at near £4 a go. When asked if there were any peanuts for sale at the bar were told, " no, we did have some, but they literally flew off the shelf and now they're done". So congratulations to them on that venture. It would be interesting to see if they tried anymore ground breaking business plans to match selling peanuts at the bar in the future. Anyway, after not the greatest nights sleep due in part to the single glazing being poor at keeping the noise out, it was time for an invigorating morning shower. Even with the shower head fully raised I had to stoop down to get under the warm dribble coming from it. At 5'8" I'm of pretty average height, but obviously much taller than the Royals expected visitors. Anyway, we checked out at 7:00am deciding that next time I will do my due diligence when booking accommodation in the future.

I have previously as a last resort had to stay here when all other hotels in town were full so this time when work booked me in I went prepared (sleeping bag in car), hoping to have benefited from reported refurbishments since I last stayed. Check in was fine and efficient, I was surprised not to be asked my name or a booking reference and left to select a room key off the pegboard myself. For the price, I'd have to say my room was, small, dingy, damp and the view was poor (over the parking area and kitchen fans at the back). I went back to ask for a room in better condition but couldn't find any staff. So I went for food with work colleagues. I came back. I couldn't find any staff at 11pm. So I went and slept in my car in my sleeping bag. I woke early to go get my breakfast at Tesco, which brightened up my day (even though it was still dark here at 8am) when upon leaving the store eating the last of my baguette a Seagull stole it from me. I retuned to my room for a shower and freshen up. Outside, perched on the roof was a seagull eating part of a french baguette, I swear it looked at me and smirked. When I left no staff. Not seen a bill in a month since the stay. So for a free stay much better than sleeping in Thurso station. If you have paid to stay here, beware freeloading walking in off the street and taking rooms for the night, security doesn't seem great so 0/10 for that.

My friend & I popped in for coffee the other day & when I tell you the service was dreadful, I can’t quite express how awful it was. I was shocked, my friend was shocked! We asked for two lattes to the bumbling staff member who didn’t seem to know if he was coming or going from the get go & waited what quite frankly seemed like ages before he realised we hadn’t got our lattes yet to go “bloody hell”ing his way into the kitchen & to within about 20 seconds get served two instant coffees (that were lukewarm) - once he’d come back through some time later, I told him we’d asked for lattes not instant coffee to hear him once more bumble about a bit & going “oh for god sake, what is it you have then?”.. I politely said it was instant coffee & we’d asked for lattes for him to “bloody hell” again & make off for the kitchen again, only for him to turn around & say “do you just want to keep them now you’ve got them?” Which in my honest opinion left me quite shocked.. we never got our lattes as another staff member came out to let us know that the coffee machine was not working properly so that’s why “they don’t look like lattes”.. they definitely were just instant coffees! The hospitality and professionalism was dire & we are two local lassies & know the overall good standard of this town but if this is how this establishment is going to be with paying customers then god help the tourists is all I can say!

This is quite possibly the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. Bearing on disgusting. No management presence, staff pretty much left to stumble through their shift. Random bar closing times, random breakfast and dinner. On the three mornings we endured breakfast, not once, did they get the orders correct. On the 2nd morning, 25mins after placing our breakfast order, the waitress approached and said there would be a delay, as the chef needed to start cooking the breakfasts again. How hard is it to cook eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown, haggis and black pudding (not that any of us actually ordered everything). It doesn’t sound like the lift has worked for years. It is apparently under new ownership/ management. The ground floor appears to have had a very basic redecoration, and if that is the quality that is going to be used for the rest of the hotel, I can’t see it having any future. With enough CapEx this could be a lovely and quirky hotel, but it would need proper management and staff training.

First night of a coach tour here. You only get one chance to make a first impression - oh dear. The only redeeming feature of this hotel is a young enthusiastic staff. The famous lift seems destined to remain Oot of Order forever. A member of staff asked "is there a lift ?" simply and silently walked away. Room dark, TV tiny. Joy of joy a bathtub for aching limbs - short lived joy as it proved impossible to coax hot water into it. Shower insisted on dripping all night - bundling shower curtain round it helped. Dinner was shall we say uninspired - fruit salad in particular 95% diced apple. Wine was £23 for a bottle of plonk. The coach company must be getting a good deal to use this place but their customers are not. If we ever return to Thurso and the option is Royal Hotel or sleep on the beach it will be a toss-up. They did porter baggage to the room.

The room is tired, the bathroom is terrible had put something in the bath to stop the shower dripping all night. The staff are nice and well meaning but the service is terrible. We tried to eat at the restaurant but the food came raw. So didn't try again. Breakfast is appalling, no fruit at all, no choice of milks, when ordering the cooked breakfast you would be lucky if it matched your order and was a mess. Place is a total disaster, if you don't have to stay here DON'T