The Royal Hotel

Afternoon tea was lovely. Lovely hotel and staff were polite and service was really good. The afternoon tea was nice although the sandwiches could do with a little more filling in as it is expensive. Cakes and warm scones with jam and cream were delicious. We ordered lattes and they were lovely. Hotel itself is nice, grounds are beautiful. The only downside was the parking was difficult for disabled family member and there were no spaces left so had to park a little walk away.

Having got your attention, if you are one of those travellers that like to look for defects and failings in a hotel, then you will be disappointed at the Royal! What makes this place so good is the staff. Everyone I encountered was welcoming, knowledgeable and friendly. More specifically, the landscapes were a credit to the gardener. It is an old building but little sign of maintenance problems. Everything worked, and at least our room and the public areas were smartly painted. Well done to the chambermaids, (if you call them that now), as our room was spotless. Reception staff welcomed everyone with a ready smile and offered advice and assistance. Special mention for the restaurant. Every dish from breakfast to dinner was really excellent. No wonder the chef has so many accolades, and, no doubt, a great kitchen support team. The serving staff were not only efficient but knowledgeable, especially Molly who was able to reel off the details of every course, just like those waitresses in high class American restaurants. She and Janice were watchful that one of our party, who was dairy allergic, was properly protected and catered for and ensured their colleagues knew this. Good to see the manageress (Sadir?) mucking in where required as well as chatting with guests to ensure their enjoyment and comfort. They all asked, without any sign of boredom, how we had enjoyed our day. I don't normally write such glittering reviews, few hotels deserve them and I must admit, by the end of our short stay, I was looking for shortcomings as I thought The Royal couldn't be that good, but it was! Just hope the new owner will allow and support his staff so that the tradition can continue. And no, I have no connection to the hotel, just enjoyed the stay and this review is a public thank you to them.

We had booked this hotel for the three of us: my wife and I, and our 9-year-old stepson. When we booked, we spoke on the phone and decided on a Classic family room, and traded off a view of the hotel car park for a separate bedroom area with a proper single bed for our son. We arrived at the hotel early for check-in, so we decided to leave our bags and go out to explore the town and some of the island. We returned to the hotel around 5 pm to check in and go to our room. Our room was tiny, and the separate bedroom area for our son was like a large cupboard with a fold-away bed and a view of the waste bins, not the car park, which I might add was very difficult to park in. We asked to speak to the manager and explained our disappointment. She was very helpful and offered us the alternative family room, which turned out to be the one we had turned down when making the original booking. So we asked for a refund and left without staying at the hotel. To sum up this experience The Royal staff were very helpful in trying to resolve the issue, but we felt mislead when originally making our booking, and in our opinion this hotel along with a lot of the island has seen better days and is living off a an old and out of date reputation probably with guests returning every year without realising how this hotel has drifted into decline. The Royal was starting to show signs of decline; the decor was shabby and sad, and in our opinion, it was not a 4-star hotel. However, anyone looking for a hotel with the kind of luxury and high standards that a 4-star hotel should provide will struggle on the Isle of Wight, as we did when trying to find an alternative after leaving The Royal Hotel.

Excellent hotel, lovely staff and exceptional restaurant. If we come back to the island, the Royal will be our base again.

Having stayed at the Royal approximately 10 times and having eaten there 20 to 30 times sadly this will be my last visit, we booked for two nights for my partner’s birthday at a total cost of around £500. After spending the first night in what I can only describe as a furnace, we informed reception that we wouldn’t be staying for the second night. Due to the lack of sleep, I actually slept on the floor with a pillow by the window. My partner called down to reception at 2 am to ask for a fan, but there was no answer. To be fair to reception they did offer to change our room. This probably wouldn’t be till around 3 pm and by this time I’d already made arrangements to move somewhere else where I could guarantee a good night sleep. A second member of staff at reception was quick to point out that the payment had already been made and there would be no refund for the second night and also that they couldn’t help the weather. Even if the payment was made or pending or whatever the policy is wrong, surely as a five star hotel you’re more than capable of doing refunds? as stated I’d already made other arrangements as I wasn’t willing to risk another sleepless night. Very, very sad times as I used to love the Royal Hotel the food is great. Service is great even if the place is a little tired. Sadly I shall never stay there again over the sake of £250 which seems absolutely crazy to me 🤷🏻‍♂️

We found this hotel to be very nice, very clean, friendly and helpful staff and the breakfast was first class. We arrived in the heatwave so the rooms were hot as no air conditioning, but on request we were given a fan which was better than nothing. There is a nice swimming pool and a few sunloungers in my opinion they could have done with a few more. A word of warning to those with poor mobility, it is very hilly in Ventnor and there are no taxi's. it was a lovely break for us.