Isle of Wight Hotels - a beginner's guide

If you aren't travelling with a rabble of children, animals and other hangers-on then might consider an Isle of Wight hotel for your holiday. Of course, there are families who stay in hotels but I can only assume they are less raucous and embarrassing than mine - and that's just the wife...bazzzing! 

Ahem. Anyway, here's our beginner's guide to the Isle of Wight's hotels for those grown-up visitors who are able to enjoy lie-ins, leisurely breakfasts and evening meals later than 4.45pm...
Lakeside Park Spa Hotel in Wootton
Lakeside Park in Wootton is one of the posher hotels on the Isle of Wight

"Is there a good choice of Isle of Wight hotels?"

By my guesstimate, there are about 100 hotels on the Isle of Wight, or many more if you start including B&Bs and the like. 

However, there are far fewer chain hotels than you will find on the mainland, with big names like Marriott, Hilton, Mercure, Jurys Inn and Holiday Inn not having any presence at all on the Isle of Wight.

You might see that as a positive or a negative, but there are certainly loads of highly rated independent hotels and guest houses as well as a handful of chain Isle of Wight hotels to consider.
Hambrough Hotel bedroom
There are loads of independent hotels, like The Hambrough in Ventnor

"I'd prefer a chain hotel - what are my options on the Isle of Wight?"

Chain hotel options on the Isle of Wight are admittedly a bit limited, but there are currently seven by my counting.

​Maybe there's a 500 bed skyscraper Hilton Hotel in Chale that I've never noticed, but I don't think there is. Contact me if I've missed any...
New Holmwood Hotel in Cowes
The New Holmwood is a Best Western Hotel
  • ​Travelodge is in Newport and Ryde town centres. Newport is not an especially scenic location (it's inland, so no sea views), but it's good for getting around and has plenty of eating out options if you don't fancy anything more adventurous than Pizza Express, Prezzo and McDonalds on your Isle of Wight holiday. Ryde's Travelodge opened in 2015 and is convenient for Wightlink's passenger ferry or for the Hovercraft. Ryde has plenty to do, but in my view isn't as pretty as some Isle of Wight towns and villages. As you are no-doubt aware, Travelodge offers a simple place to stay without many frills and is cheaper if you book further in advance. You could walk to either Travelodge from their respective bus stations.
  • Premier Inn has two Isle of Wight hotels. The 'Merrie Gardens' hotel is pretty new and is between Aldi and Morrisons in Lake. It's well placed for getting to the busy resorts of Shanklin and Sandown, but you won't get a sea view so I'd see it more as a base rather than somewhere you will spend your days reading the paper and falling asleep in a comfy chair. The Premier Inn in Newport is alongside a river in the middle of the Island on the Isle of Wight Festival site so is a bit more picturesque but is further from the coast. 
  • Warner Leisure has two hotels called Bembridge Coast Hotel and Norton Grange Coastal Village (which is in Yarmouth). They are both only open to adults, so that will either be bliss or inconvenient depending on your point of view. Both are very well equipped and are more like resorts than just hotels with swimming pools, various sports and evening entertainment. My feeling from the marketing is that they are particularly popular with baby-boomers. We've done a fabulous comparison of Warner Leisure's two Isle of Wight resorts which includes more detail than a government enquiry.
  • Best Western has a hotel in Cowes called New Holmwood Hotel. As you're probably aware, Best Western is a looser chain than Travelodge or Premier Inn so there's more variation in their different hotels.

So, for those travellers who want to know exactly what they are likely to get, there are a few options. It certainly isn't true that there is only 'one main hotel' which is what a member of staff in a McDonalds off the M40 told my wife recently (yes, I was also puzzled how ordering a Filet O' Fish turned into a discussion about Isle of Wight hotels).

"I can't stand chain hotels, I want an Isle of Wight hotel with character..."

You might feel that if you are travelling on holiday to stay in a chain hotel and then eating all your meals in chain restaurants that you might as well stay at home.

If you want something a little more authentic to the Isle of Wight, then I'd consider one of the sizeable number of Isle of Wight hotels which are small, independently run guest houses. Don't assume these are all doilies and ancient crockery - lots of them have very modern decor and get top ratings on TripAdvisor.
Deckchairs on Shanklin beach towards Luccombe
(Usually) sunny Shanklin is home to loads of independent guest houses
The hoteliers I've met are also very passionate about what they do, so if you pick carefully you'll have a local expert on hand rather than a 16-year-old who would rather be at the beach with his friends.

There seems to be a mass concentration of these independent guest houses and hotels around Shanklin, with some streets almost entirely guest houses with bay windows, but there are also plenty around Sandown, Ryde and Ventnor (see our guide to which town to stay in for a bit more guidance).

So far, we've compiled guides to some of the best reviewed hotels in Shanklin, Newport and Cowes and will one day get around to doing similar guides for other towns (don't hold me to that, I've got a toddler pulling at my arm as I speak).

Anyway, for what it's worth here are the top 5 hotels and guest houses in the main Isle of Wight seaside towns, according to TripAdvisor in September 2016*

Shanklin:
  1. The Clifton
  2. Rowborough Hotel
  3. The Channel View Hotel (indoor swimming pool)
  4. Hambledon Hotel
  5. Daish's Hotel

Sandown:
  1. Melville Hall Hotel (indoor and outdoor swimming pools)
  2. Bay Broadway Park Hotel (outdoor swimming pool)
  3. Trouville Hotel
  4. Wight Bay Hotel

Ventnor:
  1. The Royal Hotel** (outdoor swimming pool)
  2. Hillside Hotel**
  3. The Hambrough**
  4. St Augustine Villa
  5. Eversley Hotel​ (outdoor swimming pool)

Cowes:
  1. Best Western New Holmwood Hotel
  2. Albert Cottage Hotel**
  3. Villa Rothsay Hotel
  4. North House (outdoor swimming pool)
  5. The Fountain Inn

Ryde:
  1. Lakeside Park Hotel and Spa** (actually in Wootton rather than Ryde) (indoor swimming pool)
  2. Royal Esplanade Hotel
  3. Ryde Castle Hotel
  4. Appley Manor Hotel
  5. Yelf's Hotel

*A few caveats to this... I went on TripAdvisor's default ranking system which takes into account ratings, recent reviews and other factors. It's also worth noting that a town like Shanklin has many hotels with 5 out of 5 which don't make the top 5, so don't overlook them. Also, I didn't look at rural locations outside of the main towns and went on TripAdvisor's classification of a 'hotel'.
**These hotels are included in our guide to the really posh luxury hotels so are likely to be more expensive.

"Guest houses aren't really my thing, I'm looking for a bit of pampering from my Isle of Wight hotel..."

I'd say there's a choice of about 10 or 15 Isle of Wight hotels which I'd consider 'luxury'. My advice would be to plump for one of these if you are organising your Isle of Wight accommodation as a surprise, rather than enduring the look of disdain when you arrive at a campsite with your wife in November.
Ventnor esplanade on the Isle of Wight
Ventnor is home to the Royal Hotel - one of the poshest Isle of Wight hotels
If you want a larger luxury hotel with onsite facilities then I'd try:


If you'd prefer a luxury hotel which is a bit more of a small boutique hotel or spa then your options include:
You can find out more about the Isle of Wight's luxury hotels in our guide. 

"I'm on a tight budget, which is the cheapest Isle of Wight hotel?"

We did a comparison to find the cheapest place to stay on the Isle of Wight...and we concluded that hotels are not the cheapest option per person. We concluded that camping at a campsite such as Thorness Bay was the cheapest accommodation option on the Isle of Wight, if you exclude things like a house swap or house sitting which isn't practical for most people. Holiday parks also worked out as good value for a larger family.
Tatty shed in Gurnard
Perhaps not wise for a surprise romantic break
The big chain hotels like Travelodge and Premier Inn came out as the cheapest Isle of Wight hotels in our very limited study. They certainly have the potential to offer the cheapest hotel accommodation on the Isle of Wight with offers frequently popping up for rooms as cheap as £20 or £30 per night, but only if you book long in advance and generally off-peak. Nearer the time they can actually be amongst the most expensive hotels on the Isle of Wight. 

Independent hotels and B&Bs worked out as more expensive in our very limited study, but that wasn't really a fair comparison as their prices fluctuate less wildly than the chain hotels. Chad Hill Hotel in Sandown was the cheapest non-chain hotel we could find at the time, but it will obviously vary depending on when you search.

My advice would be to start with a search for Isle of Wight hotels via Expedia or a similar website and then filter by price.

"I'm looking for an Isle of Wight hotel with disabled access"

This isn't an area I've looked into in great depth by any means, but a few suggestions to get you started:
  • Travelodge in Newport and Ryde (they have 'double twin accessible' rooms though they recommend contacting the hotel first to find out what's available)
  • Warner Leisure's Bembridge Coast Hotel (from what I can tell, one room has a wet room)

Please note: I'm wary of recommending any one hotel for accessibility as one person's needs will be different to another's. Anyway, that's enough apologising, just don't send me angry emails... 
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ The information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please do check directly if you are planning a long journey - and please contact us if you find anything inaccurate. 

Related guides from Isle of Wight Guru: