Royal Hotel, Longhope, Hoy

The Royal Hotel, in Longhope, Hoy, was constructed between 1903 and 1910, with a later minor addition, designed by W R Lethaby and built by T Smith Peace, who also acted as architect. It is a two-storey, L-shaped hotel built in a vernacular revival style, characterised by crowstepped gables, deep overhanging eaves, and tall chimney stacks with deep, tapered coping above a narrow band course. The exterior is of coursed rubble, harled, with window cills extended slightly to either side of the windows, and 1st floor windows largely square where they meet the eaves.

The north elevation has five bays. The central entrance is beneath a rectangular-plan, piended-roofed porch, featuring a panelled timber door. Large windows flank the entrance, with identical windows on the returns. There is a window above the entrance, and one window to each floor in the flanking bays. A narrow window is positioned between the second and third bays from the left on the first floor.

The west elevation, which follows ground that slopes upwards to the right, has five bays. A gabled bay is situated on the outer left, featuring a central window with a projecting pediment. A narrow window sits to the right (a former window on the left is now blocked), and a window is centred above. A lean-to porch shelters the entrance to the outer right, accompanied by a window to the front. Entrances with timber doors, the one on the right being panelled, are located in the flanking returns. A narrow window is set back to the right. Windows are positioned on each floor of the central three bays, with the two on the ground floor being narrower.

The south elevation shows a gable end of one of the main wings projecting slightly to the left; with a window to the right on the ground floor and two windows to the first floor. Further windows appear on each floor, set back to the right, with a narrow window to the left of the first floor. The east elevation displays a gable end of one of the main wings projecting to the right, featuring a central window on each floor. Evidence suggests a former extension to the right return. A ground floor window is positioned to the left, and a boarded timber door forms the entrance, accompanied by two first-floor windows, the one to the right being narrow.

A small, flat-roofed, single-storey addition fills the space between the short left wing and the main wing to the right, featuring four narrow windows. Two windows are set back on the first floor, the one on the right being narrow, and a window is situated above the return of the right wing. The majority of the windows are 12 and 8-pane timber sash and case, with 8-pane casements on the first floor of the north and west elevations. The roof is covered in Caithness slate. Gablehead stacks are present on the south (one of the main wings) and east (short projecting section to the left) sides, along with three ridge stacks, all featuring deep coping, tapered towards the apex, and narrow band courses with round cans.

The interior of the ground floor has been substantially altered. A coursed rubble boundary wall with rubble coping encloses the remaining area of the rectangular-plan site to the north and east. A pair of partially rendered, square-plan gate piers, likely later additions, are situated to the north, each topped with ball-finialled pyramid coping.