This place was quite an experience. Although it is a little out of the way, it is well worth the trip. The castle itself has many rooms to explore (including a secret door!) and our room was decorated in a true Victorian style. The bed was very comfortable. Our bathroom was a turret with an excellent view of the water... more

When we booked this holiday, we did not know what to expect. The Castle was visible from the ferry as it dominates the southwest end of the Island. The peace and tranquillity offered would not suit everybody. No noisy bars or disco, no sound of passing traffic. In fact it was very hard to hear any noise from our room... more

We were greeted at the door of the castle when we drove up. There's no reception desk or other earmarks of a hotel, just a fabulous 52-room castle. There's just a few guest rooms on the third floor, but you can spend a week looking at all the fabulous common rooms and grounds. Huge comfortable library with self service honor... more

Just returned from a wonderful stay at Balfour Castle. This is a magical place and the service and meals were outstanding. Our room and bath were very large with a fantastic view of the grounds. Both the breakfast and dinner meals that are included were delicious and expertly served in the nicely appointed dining room. It was such a treat... more

We decided for our wedding to do something different and get away from the stress of a big formal wedding day. When we found Balfour Castles website we fell in love with it, it was exactly what we wanted. The staff was amazingly helpful in the run up to the wedding, as we live in Stourbridge it was hard to... more

A castle hidden away on a remote Scottish island seemed like a very fairy-tale way to cap off our honeymoon, and our stay at Balfour was almost as romantic as we hoped. The castle had lots of atmosphere, and chills ran down my spine as I explored our wing under the watch of the ancestral portraits. The service was excellent,... more

We spent two very nice days on Shapinsay at the Balfour Castle. We were wandering in the castle garden when we spotted Mrs. Zawadski, one of the hosts at the castle. I Said to her "The Balfours' have returned." While there we looked a little at the ancestry being compiled by one of the daughters but didn't get a match... more