6 money saving tips for Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange Coastal Village

Warner Leisure run two of the Isle of Wight’s bigger hotels. They’re unusual because most of the Isle of Wight’s hotels are independently run. The other chain hotels are Premier Inn (Sandown, Lake and Newport), Travelodge (Newport and Ryde) and Best Western (Cowes).

This blog focuses on how to save money at Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange Coastal Village. If you're deciding which one to visit then you we've got a comparison of the two hotels here.

Anyway, here are six ways to save money on a holiday at Bembridge Coast and Norton Grange in Yarmouth.

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1. Book early rather than holding out for a last minute bargain

Booking early is the key to getting a good price on most holidays. You might think that a ‘last minute bargain’ is the way to go, but it’s much more common for prices to climb up as availability drops.

This is usually because the cheapest grade of rooms are booked up earlier. If you leave it late then you’re forced into an upgrade that you probably wouldn’t have paid for otherwise.

For example, we searched in June 2021 for a week’s holiday in early September at Bembridge Coast Hotel. For a week in early September 2022 it was £493 per person for B&B. We could choose from standard rooms or posher rooms and could pay extra for a seaview and a balcony (which I would recommend, if you can afford it). The same week in September 2021 was about twice the price at £959 per person for B&B because the only room left was the Royale Room which is much plusher and more spacious. 

Cheaper rooms at Bembridge Coast get booked up quickly

Search latest prices
at Bembridge Coast

Search latest prices
at Norton Grange

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2. Check the Warner Leisure Offers Page

Having said that booking early is the best thing to do, I'll now contradict myself by saying that you should check for last minute breaks on the Warner Leisure website. 

To be honest though, if you are fixed on visiting one hotel then you will find there isn't much choice. When we checked, there weren't any last minute deals at Bembridge Coast Hotel and only one at Norton Grange (with Darren Day, no less).

However, the special offers page does also include some other deals. When I checked you could get an extra £20 off if you stay for seven days and there were several fixed priced deals on B&B as well as dinner, bed and breakfast.

Check special offers
at Bembridge Coast
​and Norton Grange

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3. Ask Warner Leisure to book the ferry for you

We’ve been jabbering on for years that the best way to get a good price on the Isle of Wight ferry is not to book it direct with Red Funnel and Wightlink (usually). A big company like Warner Leisure get a favourable trade rate and they bundle it in with holidays at a very good price.

At the time of typing, they charge £55 return for most crossings or £75 for some others (see more details of the Warner ferry offer here) That’s the price for a car and as many passengers as you want. They also say that if you find it cheaper then they’ll match it ‘on production of a valid quote or receipt showing the details’.

The only times that it might be cheaper to book direct with the ferry companies for a Warner Hotels holiday are:

• if they’re running a fixed promotion, although these tend to be off peak day trips at the moment
• if you’re coming as a foot passenger. In that case, you’ll pay about £25 return. If you’re visiting Norton Grange then I would get the train to Lymington Pier and then it’s a 12 minute walk to Norton Grange from Yarmouth. If you’re visiting Bembridge Coast Hotel then you’ll need to get a taxi, as it’s about eight miles from Ryde Pier Head which links up with the train at Portsmouth Harbour.

If you want to do some more research, take a look at our ferries discount page. Honestly though, I wouldn’t bother – you’re unlikely to beat the Warner Leisure price.

The ferry is much cheaper if you don't book it yourself

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4. Visit Norton Grange instead of Bembridge Coast

Warner's Norton Grange Coastal Village is usually cheaper than Bembridge Coast Hotel

We carried out two price comparisons in our guide which looked at Norton Grange and Bembridge side by side. For both sets of dates, Norton Grange was notably cheaper – on occasion by £160 for a couple for a week and by £320 on the other date.
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​Of course, we also found that Bembridge Coast Hotel gets slightly better reviews but there’s more money saving potential at Norton Grange.

Check latest deals
at Norton Grange
Coastal Village

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5. Choose the best time of year for you

You won’t be shocked to hear that a week at Bembridge Coast Hotel or Norton Grange Hotel in the depths of winter is cheaper than a summer break.

However, there are some golden patches where you can get a combination of good prices and good weather (hopefully).

To test this out we looked for the price for the cheapest available week in the middle of each month during 2022 at Bembridge Coast Hotel, including dinner, bed and breakfast and entertainment. We searched in June 2021:

• January - £318 per person, based on two sharing
• February - £348
• March - £418
• April - £498
• May - £568
• June - £678
• July - £648
• August - £618
• September - £668
• October - £498
• November - £448
• December - £348

So, the time for a bargain holiday is December, January and February whilst prices are at their highest from June to September.

Keep in mind that some Isle of Wight attractions stay open all year round whilst a significant number just open from April to October, or drop down to limited hours during winter.

Also worth mentioning is that the Isle of Wight is much busier during school holidays, particularly late July/August, May half term and Easter. 

There’s no single answer here but I would suggest that:

• December or January is a good bet if you want low prices and will mostly be staying onsite. Bring a woolly hat and a pair of long johns for a trip to the beaches.
• April is good value if you want some good weather and want to ensure the Isle of Wight doesn’t feel half-closed.
• June or early July is best if you want good weather but don’t want everywhere to be very busy with families.

It's also worth saying that Bembridge Coast and Norton Grange are aimed at couples rather than families. As a result, August isn't always the most expensive month - whereas it would be at every self catering cottage or holiday park. That means Bembridge Coast and Norton Grange are good options if you have grandchildren on the Isle of Wight and want to visit them without staying with them.

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6. ​Skip the entertainment (and dinner)

I would say there’s only a marginal saving with this one, so it won’t be for everyone.

When we checked, the cost of upgrading from B&B only to B&B with entertainment and dinner at Bembridge Coast Hotel or Norton Grange Coastal Village was about £170-£180 per person, per week. That’s about £50 a night for a couple.

If you decide that you aren’t at all interested in watching the live shows and that you would prefer to head out each evening for dinner then it’s probably not worth the upgrade.

From Bembridge Coast Hotel you can get to Sandown, Shanklin, Bembridge and Ryde within about 15 minutes by car. Between them, you’ve got a good choice of places to eat, many of which overlook the sea.

From Norton Grange, there are a handful of places to eat in Yarmouth and there are pubs scattered throughout the West Wight's villages. I would say that the choice is greater from Bembridge Coast but either is fine if you have a car as the Isle of Wight is blessed with an abundance of good places to eat out.

We’ve picked out some of our favourites in our guide to restaurants with a sea view.

You’ll find that there’s less choice in winter than summer as some restaurants close for several weeks to get over the rush of the peak season.

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