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Which is best? Warner's Bembridge Coast Hotel or Norton Grange?
**Special Offer: Return car ferry for £90 or less when staying at Bembridge Coast Hotel or Norton Grange**
Warner Leisure has two Isle of Wight hotels/coastal villages, both of which are in posher parts of the Island. They are popular with couples as they are only for adults, whereas the Isle of Wight's busier holiday parks usually appeal more to families looking for somewhere to keep noisy children entertained.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is on the Isle of Wight's east coast whilst Norton Grange Coastal Village is near Yarmouth in the West Wight. Here's our comparison of the two Warner hotels on the Isle of Wight, looking at location, facilities and accommodation, reviews and price.
The quick summary is that Bembridge Coast Hotel gets marginally better reviews and has sea views from some rooms. Norton Grange Coastal Village is cheaper - sometimes by hundreds of pounds - for a pretty similar holiday. Bembridge Coast just about edges it on facilities but there's not much in it on excursions, pleasantness of location, dining and entertainment.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is on the Isle of Wight's east coast whilst Norton Grange Coastal Village is near Yarmouth in the West Wight. Here's our comparison of the two Warner hotels on the Isle of Wight, looking at location, facilities and accommodation, reviews and price.
The quick summary is that Bembridge Coast Hotel gets marginally better reviews and has sea views from some rooms. Norton Grange Coastal Village is cheaper - sometimes by hundreds of pounds - for a pretty similar holiday. Bembridge Coast just about edges it on facilities but there's not much in it on excursions, pleasantness of location, dining and entertainment.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is on the Isle of Wight's east coast...
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...whilst Norton Grange Coastal Village is on the west coast
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1. Location of Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange
Bembridge is a pleasant little town with the UK's oldest working phone box, a massive great lifeboat station that resembles a pier and an above average proportion of people wearing tweed. The water at Bembridge beach is shallower than a Love Island conversation making it ideal for rockpooling, but not any good for proper sea swimming (hence the lifeboat station being stuck out in the middle of the sea).
The beach is generally sandy and is occasionally used by a local horse-riding school, which is perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to canter on the sands whilst flicking their hair and imagining they are moving in slow motion. It's also frequently used by dog walkers.
Nearby, there are a heap of lovely beaches (Ed: is heap the correct term for a group of beaches?) including Priory Bay, St. Helens and Whitecliff Bay.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is fairly convenient for the Isle of Wight ferries. It's a 15-20 minute drive from the foot passenger ferry or hovercraft at Ryde, or a 20 minute drive from the Wightlink ferry that travels between Fishbourne and Portsmouth. If you catch the Red Funnel car ferry from Southampton then it's a 30 minute drive.
Warner's Norton Grange Hotel is in Yarmouth, which is a tiny town and is lovely for a quick mooch around but not exactly brimming with things to do. Don't get me wrong, I love Yarmouth and would happily live there, but it is (according to some sources) one of the smallest towns in the UK, so don't plan a whole day shopping. There's a short pier you can walk along, a castle, several nice places to eat, a few independent shops and a pleasant walk along the sea wall.
Yarmouth does have a car ferry port that links up with Lymington in the New Forest, and Norton Grange Coastal Village is only a 5 minute drive away.
It's worth realising that you usually pay less for the ferry if you book it with your accommodation.
The beach is generally sandy and is occasionally used by a local horse-riding school, which is perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to canter on the sands whilst flicking their hair and imagining they are moving in slow motion. It's also frequently used by dog walkers.
Nearby, there are a heap of lovely beaches (Ed: is heap the correct term for a group of beaches?) including Priory Bay, St. Helens and Whitecliff Bay.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is fairly convenient for the Isle of Wight ferries. It's a 15-20 minute drive from the foot passenger ferry or hovercraft at Ryde, or a 20 minute drive from the Wightlink ferry that travels between Fishbourne and Portsmouth. If you catch the Red Funnel car ferry from Southampton then it's a 30 minute drive.
Warner's Norton Grange Hotel is in Yarmouth, which is a tiny town and is lovely for a quick mooch around but not exactly brimming with things to do. Don't get me wrong, I love Yarmouth and would happily live there, but it is (according to some sources) one of the smallest towns in the UK, so don't plan a whole day shopping. There's a short pier you can walk along, a castle, several nice places to eat, a few independent shops and a pleasant walk along the sea wall.
Yarmouth does have a car ferry port that links up with Lymington in the New Forest, and Norton Grange Coastal Village is only a 5 minute drive away.
It's worth realising that you usually pay less for the ferry if you book it with your accommodation.
This walkway to Bembridge Lifeboat Station isn't considered a pier for some reason
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The lesser-known Sandhard Beach can be found in Yarmouth
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2. Facilities and accommodation at Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange
Both Isle of Wight Warner's Hotels are well equipped with things to do and are really designed so that you could manage a short break without actually leaving the site, if you really wanted to.
Norton Grange in Yarmouth is described as a Coastal Village whilst Bembridge Coast is described as a Hotel.
The difference (as you might gather from the names) is that the accommodation at Norton Grange is chalets in blocks with 8 or 12 other rooms whilst Bembridge Coast has hotel rooms. Norton Grange has just under 200 rooms, whilst Bembridge Coast Hotel has just under 300 rooms.
Norton Grange in Yarmouth is described as a Coastal Village whilst Bembridge Coast is described as a Hotel.
The difference (as you might gather from the names) is that the accommodation at Norton Grange is chalets in blocks with 8 or 12 other rooms whilst Bembridge Coast has hotel rooms. Norton Grange has just under 200 rooms, whilst Bembridge Coast Hotel has just under 300 rooms.
The Western Yar, near to Norton Grange Coastal Village
At Bembridge Coast Hotel the facilities are part of the main block of accommodation whereas as Norton Grange there is a very short walk to the main building.
So which has better facilities?
So which has better facilities?
- Norton Grange and Bembridge Coast Hotel both have sea views for peering at yachts and falling asleep in a comfortable chair.
- Both have indoor swimming pools if you don't fancy the 'refreshing' sensation of a dip in the sea.
- Both have gyms or leisure clubs if you want to try and look at ease on a treadmill (I just look like I'm on the brink of collapse). Norton Grange has a dance studio, which may appeal if you're a Lycra kind of person.
- Both have an entertainment lounge if you don't want to venture out at night, as well as coffee shops and bars.
- In terms of sports and games, Bembridge Coast Hotel offers indoor and outdoor bowls, snooker, darts, archery, crossbow, pistol and rifle shooting, French boules and pitch and putt. Norton Grange has an outdoor bowling green, croquet, pitch and putt, archery, air-rifle shooting, snooker, table tennis and darts.
- Both offer excursions that look pretty similar to me (Osborne House, Cowes, shopping trips etc).
An excursion to Osborne House is a regular feature of a Warner Leisure holiday
3. Reviews of Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange
Bembridge Coast Hotel scores consistently well on TripAdvisor with an average score of 4/5 and 4.4/5 on Google Reviews from a total of 5000 reviews. That gives us an average of 84%. Staff take the time to respond to praise and criticism, which is always a good sign.
Norton Grange Coastal Village scores an average of 4/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Google Reviews from about 3500 reviews. That is an average of 83%, which is marginally lower than Bembridge Coast Hotel. Again, staff respond to praise and criticism which is good to see.
So, there is a 1% difference in review scores between Bembridge Coast and Norton Grange. Is that enough to make your decision?
Norton Grange Coastal Village scores an average of 4/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Google Reviews from about 3500 reviews. That is an average of 83%, which is marginally lower than Bembridge Coast Hotel. Again, staff respond to praise and criticism which is good to see.
So, there is a 1% difference in review scores between Bembridge Coast and Norton Grange. Is that enough to make your decision?
Yarmouth's Norton Grange is near to Freshwater Bay
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St Helen's beach is not far from Bembridge Coast Hotel
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4. Price comparison of Bembridge Coast Hotel and norton Grange
For our price comparison, we looked at the cheapest accommodation available for a couple staying for a week in low season (we looked at mid-March 2024) and high season (August 2024).
Low season: 7 nights at Norton Grange Coastal Village (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) for two people costs from £692 in late-March whilst at Bembridge Coast Hotel (Standard room, B&B and evening meals) it was £796.
High season: 7 nights at Norton Grange Coastal Village (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) for two people costs from £1096 in early August whilst at Bembridge Coast Hotel (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) it was £1456
We searched in November 2024 and looked for the cheapest price available.
Low season: 7 nights at Norton Grange Coastal Village (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) for two people costs from £692 in late-March whilst at Bembridge Coast Hotel (Standard room, B&B and evening meals) it was £796.
High season: 7 nights at Norton Grange Coastal Village (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) for two people costs from £1096 in early August whilst at Bembridge Coast Hotel (Standard chalet, B&B and evening meals) it was £1456
We searched in November 2024 and looked for the cheapest price available.
We've generally found Bembridge Coast to be the more expensive of Warner's Isle of Wight resorts
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Norton Grange sits alongside a coastal path near to Fort Victoria
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5. Rooms with Sea Views
A sea view is a big plus for me when I'm on holiday. I enjoy feeling like I'm by the sea all the time, rather than just when we get out and about.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is the winner on this front, as it has rooms with sea views available in most grades of accommodation (as well as in communal areas). When I searched, I found sea view rooms available as an upgrade with Standard (£), Signature (££) and Royale Rooms (£££). The upgrade wasn't a massive increase in price either. In August, it added about £10 a day to the cost of a Standard Room.
As far as I'm aware, there aren't chalets with sea views at Norton Grange Coastal Village due to the way it is laid out. However, you do get a great sea view from the communal areas.
Bembridge Coast Hotel is the winner on this front, as it has rooms with sea views available in most grades of accommodation (as well as in communal areas). When I searched, I found sea view rooms available as an upgrade with Standard (£), Signature (££) and Royale Rooms (£££). The upgrade wasn't a massive increase in price either. In August, it added about £10 a day to the cost of a Standard Room.
As far as I'm aware, there aren't chalets with sea views at Norton Grange Coastal Village due to the way it is laid out. However, you do get a great sea view from the communal areas.
Bembridge Coast Hotel has bedrooms with balconies and sea views...
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...whilst Norton Grange just has sea views from communal areas
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Conclusion
- Bembridge Coast Hotel and Yarmouth's Norton Grange are both in quiet coastal locations with ferry ports within easy reach. Norton Grange is nearer if you are travelling without a car, but Bembridge Coast Hotel is nearer to busy resorts like Shanklin and Ryde, which is useful for day trips.
- Upgraded rooms with sea views and balconies are available at Bembridge Coast. At Norton Grange, you will need to sit in the communal areas to get a sea view.
- Bembridge Coast offers hotel facilities, whereas Norton Grange offers chalets. There isn't much difference in facilities, but I would say Bembridge Coast Hotel is slightly better equipped with a few more sports and activities on offer.
- Overall, Bembridge Coast Hotel gets better reviews than Norton Grange although there's not a lot in it.
- In our price comparison, Norton Grange was cheaper than Bembridge Coast Hotel in March and August. The price difference was about £100 in March or about £350 in August.
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