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| Worldwide > Europe > UK > Orkney Islands > Orkney > Merkister Hotel | Facilities & Pricing | ||
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| Accommodation | Restaurant and menus | Orkney Fishing | Map |
| Situated on the shore of Harray Loch, the Merkister hotel stands in its own grounds in a wonderful location, commanding impressive views of this famous loch and its surroundings. The merkister has fourteen bedrooms, all but one are en suite. All rooms have colour television, direct dial telephone, tea/coffee making facilities and a host of extras. The Merkister has a special ambience, and your hosts, The MacDonald family and staff, aim to ensure that your time with us, no matter how long or short, will remain a pleasant reminder of your visit to these islands for many years to come. The hotel restaurant 'Skerries', enjoys breathtaking views of the loch and hills of Hoy. Some of the sunsets have to be seen to be believed! The restaurant offers varied cuisine with a table De Hote menu, which changes daily, depending on the local produce available. We also offer a full A La Carte menu specialising in Aberdeen Angus Orkney Beef and fresh seafood. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list. Our hotel and restaurant are currently featured in six major guides. |
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| The Fishermans Neuk is our residents private lounge. We have comfortable leather furniture, a small library; including books of interest about Orkney, complimentary filtered coffee is available all day and a private courtesy bar. Our guests love this room, whether it's to have a quite read on an afternoon, or to meet other guests for a chat before and after dinner. The lounge bar is for those who enjoy a more informal place to eat. Our bar menu features specialities of the day as well as traditional bar food. The bar is a great place to enjoy a drink at any time of the day, especially the evenings, when the bar is busy with locals and guests alike exchanging stories of the day. Voted 'Britains Best' by the readers of Trout & Salmon, The Merkister is probably best known for its fishing. We have our own pier and jetty with boats, outboards, rods, lines, rod room etc. the resident guillie, John Munson, can organize anything, from the hire of a boat, tuition for the novice angler, right up to your own personal fishing agenda. One entry in our visitors book which includes TV personalities and Royalty! Describes the hotel as:'Simply the Best'. |
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| TARIFF (Prices per person) | |
| Daily Bed & Breakfast from | £50.00 |
| Daily Dinner, Bed & Breakfast from | £70.00 |
| Superior Room Supplement | £10.00 |
| Superior Terraced Room Supplement | £20.00 |
| Single Room Supplement (only on a twin/double) | £10.00 |
| Weekly Inclusive Rate Standard Room D.B.B. | £460.00 |
| Weekly Inclusive Rate Superior Room D.B.B. | £530.00 |
| Weekly Inclusive Rate Terraced Superior Room D.B.B. | £600.00 |
| *Superior Terraced Rooms were completed in 2006, they are Extra Large Rooms, Emperor Doubles or Twins ,Full Wet Room with Italian Ceramics En-Suite, Ivory Leather Lounge Furniture, Widescreen Digital TV, DVD/CD Player, Private Furnished Terrace overlooking the Loch. All suites are on ground level. | |
| FISHING | |
| Hotel Boat Daily Hire Half Shift when Available | £20.00 £10.00 |
| Fibreglass Boat Hire Half Shift When Available | £27.50 £15.00 |
| Hotel Boat & Outboard Motor Half Shift When Available | £30.00 £15.00 |
| Fibreglass Boat & Outboard Motor Half Shift When Available | £37.50 £20.00 |
| Ghillie, Boat & Motor and 1 Angler | £80.00 |
| Ghillie, Boat & Motor and 2 Anglers | £95.00 |
| Ghillie, Boat & Motor for ½ shift from | £60 - £75 |
| SHOOTING PARTIES Guides Available from November - January OCTOBER - APRIL Out of season specials Bed & Breakfast from £25.00 |
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| Trout fishing The merkister hotel is most famous for its fishing, and an extract from its visitor book, which incidentally includes royalty, reads 'near to a perfect fishing pub as I have found yet', also the gamefisher states, 'perhaps the most famous, and with a reputation as the best fishing hotel in Britain. Situated overlooking the Merkister Bay on Loch Harray, The Merkister is the perfect base for your fishing trip to Orkney The lochs of Orkney The Lochs of Orkney can provide some of the most spectacular wild brown trout fishing in the country and with each loch providing a unique venue in both character and scenic splendour, the angler can at times be spoiled for choice. This guide is designed to assist the visitingangler who has, or is intending to join the Orkney Trout Fishing Association, and gives a basic outline of most of the mainland, north and south isles lochs, boat hire, successful fly patterns etc. The trout fishing in Orkney can be challenging but for those who are prepared to put the effort and read the signs, the rewards can be memorable. The mainland lochs Swanney The peat stained waters of swannay, the most northerly of the mainland lochs, hold some of the highest quality trout in the county, but it is probably the most enigmatic of lochs with long periods of inactivity making it very dour. On its day, Swannay can provide spectacular sport. Boardhouse Boardhouse tends to be the visiting anglers preferred loch due mainly to the fact that it is virtually Skerry free and fish can be taken all over, with long drifts across the middle of the loch often being the most productive. Hundland Hundland provides the main catchment area for water supplied to Boardhouse and is as such regarded as its sister loch with wide similarities. The water is peat stained to a degree and the loch abounds with hidden skerries, which can be difficult to spot, so caution is advised. Stenness Stenness is the least fished of the main Orkney lochs, probably because it is most difficult to come to terms with. Its unique semi-marine environment dictates that it is very much affected by the state and height of the tides, causing wide fluctuations in water height and salinity in the loch, both of which have marked affect on the resident trout population. Most regular Stenness anglers tend to fish it from the shore and when the loch is at its lowest. Harray Harray is widely regarded as the jewel in the Orkney trout fishing crown and the most famous fishery. The loch extends to over 2500 acres and features large areas of productive skerries, shallows, bays and points, and with over 14 miles of shoreline it is probably Orkney's most popular wading loch, especially in the earlier part of the season. As the season progresses and the water temperature increases the fish move out into deeper, cooler water, when boat fishing comes into its own. Skaill This is a trophy water and the fishing is reserved for OTFA members only. The fish average over 2lb, in fact the rules of the water say that you should return anything under this weight and only keep 2 fish per session in an attempt to conserve stocks. Clumly This very small water, which lies between Skaill and Harray, can also be be regarded as capable of producing specimens. Fish under 2lb should be returned to achieve their full potential weight. Kirbister Kirbister id full of free rising trout, which tend to be of a smaller average size than most other Orkney lochs. This could be likened more to a highland hill loch and the successful flies would certainly compound this fact with big, bushy, surface disturbing patterns being the order of the day. |
| How to reach us... By air; by sea; by train; including Motorail to Inverness. Head for Kirwall along the A965 approx 5 miles, turn left to the A986 approx 5 miles, turn left at Russland Road, Hotel Signposted. The hotel offers a coach pick-up at a nominal charge at frerry or airport if required. Whichever way you plan to reach us ... a real warm welcome is assured. Your hosts: The Macdonald Family |
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