Royal Thurso Hotel in Highland

An amazingly old, and charismatic place. Look at this picture and tell me if there's a single straight line in the room? And where it is. The hallways are equally offset, the hallways are a maze that will entertain your small children for hours while you search for them. There are zero accommodations if you're old and frail; you will fall in the bathtub. But there's also a chance the shower won't work, so that won't be a concern to begin with. Some of the lights work, I think. Our particular room had a lovely view of the co-op that offers better food than the included breakfast (the coffee was strong and satisfying) The hotel had good, clean (but not even) rooms with very friendly staff at a reasonable price. That was what we were looking for when we stayed, and everything else was a true curiosity of wonder from a time long gone in sterile hotels lacking personality today. Would recommend genuinely. Worth the experience

Royal is unfortunately a bit faded from the outside, but when you enter the hotel a whole new world opens up. The reception area has very comfortable furniture which makes it easy to linger or to wait for your loved one, for example, bearable. The food is freshly prepared and served hot, whether it is dinner or breakfast. The staff are very attentive and fulfill almost every wish; drinks must be paid for with a card at the bar. In the morning for breakfast there is fruit juice, muesli, egg dishes, coffee, tea, milk, fruit and fruit salad, toast and much more. Only one notorious complainer is not accommodated. The beds are very good and room 5 was comfortably furnished with a bath and toilet. For us it is important to sleep and eat well; we are not in our room all day. The town itself is very easy to explore from the hotel and there is a supermarket that is open until 10 p.m.

Well, it was a booked tour of Scotland and you end up in places that you won't forget.

Coach tour group. Most of our group were elderly. No lift so getting luggage up and down stairs was problematic. Our room was OK. Clean, though we had a problem with the water pressure and temperature of the shower. Shower switched from scalding to freezing. Food was of poor quality at breakfast and dinner. We ate out on our second night. The young staff serving were polite but there was certainly doing their best in a difficult situation. The bar ran out of lager, cider and soft drinks on our first night!!! Still not sorted on our second night. I wouldn't recommend this hotel. Avoid if you can't manage the stairs

Stayed here for one night as a last minute choice after missing the last ferry up to Orkney. The support I got from the staff was definitely the highlight of the stay here. The hotel is clearly dated and hasn’t been properly updated other than some paint here and there. The room was clean, bed was fine, place was quiet, so all I needed for a night. Staff was superb - friendly and welcoming upon arrival and gave me lots of dinner recommendations despite my late arrival. Had trouble finding a taxi in the morning to get me to the ferry and staff helped me call every taxi in the area to make sure I made the ferry. He saved the morning! Not a luxury stay by any means, but safe, quiet, & clean night’s stay with helpful staff!

Absolutely rotten don’t eat here menu doesn’t exist can’t even get tea bag have ask tea and coffee all pre made … breakfast all pre done don’t ask what you want just slap it in front off you. Only 2 staff speak English that’s on reception which are lovely .. it’s like a hostel for homeless but charged hotel prices thank the lord only stayed with no 500 2 nights keep putting pictures on management keep taking off by 711 am ran out of food it’s awful food can’t eat powdered egg especially when it’s cold .. freezing rooms no heating it’s a shambles no labels on food don’t know if it’s water or tea your pouring MANAGER was called in 7 15 this am not interested got his money . HOME time thankfully worse than fawlty towers don’t use cash at bar don’t have change !!!!!! ????? Use a card bathroom was from 1950 taps are all rusty floors are sticky … they ask you why you not eat that for …. I told them it’s cold and asked for something different sorry can’t it’s pre done don’t know where they got fruit from straight out of freezer it’s frozen solid informed staff took away … came back 10 mins later HOT guess warmed up in microwave !!!!! I don’t even know where to start with evening meal condensed soup with veg in and plate rice it was called vegetable stroganoff OMG PLEASE AVOID pitch a tent

Receptionist never said hello, rooms awful (dated, stained, cobwebs above wardrobe, hole in bathroom floor)...you can tell when Muthu bought it, the £5.00 budget was for grey paint for the bar and restaurant only. No warmth about the place. I will NEVER book this hotel again.

This was second hotel of nc500,had two nights here and I certainly wouldn't return, I didn't sleep well bed not comfortable. Food was awful and what little breakfast I did get was freezing cold,second night was slightly better but still not great,hospitality wasn't good at all and I didn't find it friendly.

Worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in , first room dirty and only one bed ( twin booked ) second room no heating , third room no hot water in shower although only found this out next morning, got food poisoning from the evening meal after waiting 40 minutes for the food and spent most of the next day in bed , spoke to manager who was very rude and I did ask for the room to be cleaned and sanitised , it wasn’t , we were totally ignored, went down for breakfast next morning ( not that I could eat but sister in law was hungry) only to find there was nothing left for breakfast, no food no cups for tea or no glasses for juice , the waitress did make some toast but that was it , couldn’t get out of there fast enough and definitely will never return

I definitely would not go back again. The only thing in it's favour was free car parking.

Bit dated.. but so reasonable .. comfortable beds. staff were great

Hi. Stayed at the Royal as have done many times before Staff are all really friendly and helpfull hotel looks very smart with fresh paint food was OK room was very clean and had toiletry only complaint was bed needs a bigger duvet you can see the mattress at the sides just makes for a cold nights sleep as there are no blankets in the room either (130) 😀

Stayed just before Christmas, moving up to Orkney, room was cold, dirty, photos taken, booked through Booking.com but they did not offer any refund at all.. no selection of food, was a Christmas meal or nothing, I was the only one there. Won't be back . AVOID

This is a well known old coachingbinn on the town centre which has seen much better days. The lift foes not work and although the public areas have had an uplift the place needs a lot of tlc. I wouldn't stay or eat there again.

The one Star is for the Restaurant only! Rooms, Bar, Hotelservice and overall condition is the worst i've ever seen.

We had a lovely 2 course lunch. The food was excellent and the service too, very friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back.

Rooms were warm and clean. All the staff were really nice and helpful. Breakfast was great too.

Stay here often, and breakfast buffet is better, but was cold. Needs better hotplates.

Unfortunately, there is nothing royal here anymore. But all in all a functional overall package. Food was good

After agreeing a down stairs roo they didn't have a room to meet my needs I have had to travel back home

Comfortable hotel and good value restaurant

OK hotel clean and food good good place to stop over but packing could be a problem.

Sustained by coach tours is my guess. Rooms were dated and breakfast was disappointing.

Old, outdated city hotel. The facade looks terrible.

We were on a tour of Scotland with the tour company/organizer, Berge & Meer. This hotel is a dump. If I had been alone with my wife, I wouldn't have set foot in it while looking at it. The entrance was totally dirty. The plaster is falling off on the walls. Dust everywhere. The rooms dirty. I had to take the dust rag first and dust everything off. Spider webs, dirty floor, messy toilet brush, At dinner, lettuce wilted and old, I wouldn't put this food in front of anyone, not even my enemy. I complained to the organizer.

Stay away from this place. Busy Road. Poor Service and the building itself and the rooms are in dire need of Renovation. Business hast changed hands two times since 2017 and promised renovation. I can't imagine how this place must have been looked before than, If they indeed "renovated" it.

Rooms 4, TV was a little small. 4 for service, lost dessert, a bit harsh given the amount of people at the event. The location is pretty much perfect. Photos show views just a short walk (~3mins) from the hotel. The hotel is full of character and charm, and the staff are friendly and helpful. The Royal is also on the NC500, has a good sized car park and would be ideal for a few days stop over. Food is simple but also suited to the time of year and extremely good and tasty. In a nutshell, visit Thurso and The Royal Hotel.

Room smelled funny, bed had stains, didn't feel very clean. Suppose it was alright for a 1 night stay when there's no other options.

This place is awesome - very friendly staff, cosy rooms, exquisite brekkie - how gooooood!

Room very small for a three day stop over noisy road outside with only single glazing, woke up at 5.30am by someone on a motorcycle. Windows full of condensation in the mornings, there where only curtains on the windows, they should put net curtains on so you can at least leave the curtains open and make the room feel a bit bigger. Breakfast was fine.

Es cierto que el hotel es antiguo, pero eso no le quita el excelente servicio y la funcionalidad de un hotel. Las habitaciones son antiguas pero limpias y acogedoras, y cuentan con calefacción. Todos los días hacen servicio de limpieza a la habitación. El personal es demasiado amable y atento. El desayuno está incluido y es muy bueno. Los ambientes del hotel me hacen sentir como si fuese estar en una película de un antiguo hotel británico, lo cual me encanta. La ubicación es perfecta, muy céntrica y los precios son muy cómodos. Viajé sola, y me sentí segura. Así que recomiendo para todo tipo de viajeros simples. 😄

Excelente servicio, habitaciones con calefacción y limpias. Desayuno inglés incluído.

Old and traditional hotel, great service and good value for money

USE FOR CHEAP STAY , BUT UNLESS YOU STAYING IN SUMMER MONTHS STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOTEL , WHY? THEY SWITCHING OFF HEATING FOR THE NIGHT. Never again!!

A very pleasant one night stay , excellent staff ,very friendly and helpful, good breakfast 👏👏