Orkney Stays
Kirkwall harbour with St Magnus Cathedral at golden hour

Kirkwall, Orkney

Kirkwall Bed and Breakfasts

Small, hosted B&Bs on Kirkwall's residential streets — a room or two in someone's home, and breakfast made for you in the morning.

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All bed and breakfasts we list in Kirkwall

6 properties, with the street or area each one sits on. Prices and availability are shown on Booking.com when you open a property.

Bed and Breakfasts in Kirkwall

A Kirkwall B&B is usually exactly what the name says: a couple of guest rooms in a family house on a quiet street like Craigiefield Road or Sunnybank Road, ten or fifteen minutes' walk from the middle of town. They are the smallest places to stay in Kirkwall and consistently among the best rated, because a host looking after two rooms can pay attention to both. The trade-off is availability — a two-room B&B fills months ahead for June and July, and there is rarely a late-evening desk, so tell your host roughly when to expect you if you are coming off a ferry. If they are full, several of the Kirkwall guest houses are hosted breakfast stays under a different label.

Breakfast is the point

Cooked to order, usually with Orkney bacon and eggs, and served at a time you agree the night before. On a morning when you are driving for the Houton ferry or an early flight, that is worth more than a buffet you have to be downstairs for.

You get a local, not a receptionist

Hosts here live in the house. They will tell you which broch is worth the detour, whether tomorrow's boat is likely to sail, and where to eat on a Sunday — the sort of thing no booking site can give you.

Book early, and expect to walk

Most Kirkwall B&Bs sit on residential streets rather than in the town centre, so allow ten to fifteen minutes on foot to St Magnus Cathedral, or plan to park. Rooms are few and they go early for midsummer.

Features & Amenities

Breakfast cooked to order
Usually one or two guest rooms
Hosts living on site
Quiet residential streets
Off-street parking at most
Ten to fifteen minutes walk to the cathedral