Portree Independent Hostel

Portree Independent Hostel is first and foremost extraordinarily convenient. An olive building with coloured trim and great sign out front, it is a distinctive building in distinctive surroundings, and you catch sight of it on the way in and it turns out to be only fifty meters from bus stop in the town center. You do pay a little for this convenience (and the fact that it's the only hostel in town), but it nevertheless provides good value.

Although the common room out front is not as inviting as it might be, the wood-trimmed kitchen is warm, nearly always active and has a decent view out onto the bay. The kitchen, it might be added, is well-equipped and clean--indeed, you'll see the owner himself in it most nights. The owner is a good chap and quite helpful and knowledgable of the local area, although he works elsewhere as well and so locks the doors between 1030am and 3pm each day (a slight inconvenience if you don't plan on wandering far). A key is available for a small deposit which will also get you in after curfew. The rooms and facilities are also very clean and most are plenty spacious enough for three bunks or pair of beds and all the luggage. Even the rooms looking over the street are quite pleasant, since Portree is a small town so most of the traffic is gone by midnight and most of the rest of the noise are visitors who likely staying in the hostel themselves.

That said, Portree itself doesn't offer much to the backpacker, but it provides an excellent base for day trips out to other parts of the island, while remaining very convenient one of the two main bus stops. Portree Independent Hostel is definitely recommended as a stop for those visiting the beautiful Isle of Skye.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review