Ever wanted a great and guaranteed business idea ?
Open up a good hotel in Shetland. There are many places to stay all over the isles, but no one seems to be able work this one out !
It's not rocket science.
Can the Shetland Tourist Board not have a gander at places like the 'Queens' and the 'Grand'. Or do they think that these are OK places to stay ?
Take the 'Shetland Hotel' for example. This makes the Cumbernauld Shopping Centre down in Scotland, seem chic.
Last time I stayed in one of their damp miserable rooms, I could have been in Bulgaria.
And so, we come to the hotel which is lauded as the finest in Lerwick. The Kveldsro.
If this is the best, then it's a worry.
Yes, the restaurant and food have dramatically improved from a few years back.
But the rooms are desperate.
Little budget has been spent on them and the walls of our room must have been made of nothing more than hardboard.
So, when the couple in the next room come in from an evening on the town, you hear them coming up the stairs, and along the coridoor. By the time they are fumbling about to open their room door, your so awake, you might as well invite them into yours for a [--].
But when they use their bathroom though it's enough to make a glass eye water.
I'm convinced that the management of this hotel have borrowed the motors that operate their bathroom air vents, from Shetland Islands Council drilling machines. The relevant wall of our bedroom rattled and shaked with the thunderous gnarling drone of the neighbouring rooms bathroom extractor fan.
And don't think that it will last for the duration of their pee. No. That dentists drill will go on for hours.
A very sleepless few nights did we spend there.
The receptionist was young and seemed to be offended when we asked for a less noisy room. Not only did we not get one, but we were definately placed on the 'awkward customer look daggers at list'.
And how much did it cost ?
A fortune.