A substantial Neo-Jacobean house on King Harald Street in Lerwick, Islesburgh House Hostel provides 64 bed spaces for the budget traveller. Comprising two storeys and an attic, with a large wing projecting to the rear, the property has a facade of sandstone ashlar with crow-stepped dormer heads above the windows and a projecting entrance porch. Owned by the Shetland Islands Council and run alongside the Islesburgh Community Centre, the local authority are proud of the reputation of the facility which benefits from a five-star tourist rating. Affiliated to SYHA Hostelling Scotland, the hostel provides accommodation in two or four person bedrooms, or group dormitories. Some bedrooms have en-suite facilities.
Islesburgh House was built in 1907 by local architect Alexander Campbell for Andrew Smith, who had made his money from the herring boom of the late 19th C. It was requisitioned during the Second World War and then bought by Zetland Education Committee in 1945. It has been operated as a community centre and youth hostel ever since. The building was modernised and extended c.1990 and has been B-listed since 1996.
