Royal Esplanade Hotel

Hotels
8 (1199 reviews)
16 The Esplanade, PO33 2ED, Isle of Wight , Ryde , gb

listing image 1
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Children allowed

Facilities

Non-smoking rooms
Restaurant
Terrace
Family rooms
Lift / Elevator
Fax/photocopying
Packed lunches
Non-smoking throughout
Shared lounge/TV area
Board games/puzzles
See all facilities

Review Highlights

Pros:
Friendly staff
Great location
Clean rooms
Cons:
Limited facilities
Breakfast quality varies
Room size issues

Categories

Cleanliness
7.5
Room was clean but some reviews mentioned issues like cold rooms.
Service
9
Staff were extremely helpful and accommodating across multiple reviews.
Location
9
Great location mentioned multiple times in reviews.
Room Quality
7
Some rooms described as basic or small; mixed sentiments.
Amenities
8
Facilities were limited but generally well-kept.
Value for Money
8
Good value noted in reviews relative to location and service.
Food and Beverage
7.5
Breakfast received mixed reviews, with some favorable and others critical.
Overall Experience
8
Overall stay was enjoyable with highlighted positives in several areas.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2026-01-06 21:51

Property Description

Victorian Charm and Sea Views
Located on Ryde Esplanade, the Royal Esplanade Hotel offers stunning views of the Solent from a Grade II Victorian building. Enjoy a relaxing stay with a terrace, 24-hour front desk, and a restaurant serving delicious meals made from locally sourced ingredients.

Comfortable Accommodation
Each room is equipped with a kettle, and some rooms feature picturesque sea views. Relax in a room with a private bathroom and make use of the desk provided. Free WiFi is available in public areas, ensuring you stay connected during your visit.

Delicious Dining Options
Start your day with a full English breakfast and savor evening meals at the on-site restaurant or bar. With a convenient location near Ryde Hoverport, the Royal Esplanade Hotel is the perfect choice for your Isle of Wight getaway.

Important information:

Please note that due to the nature of the Victorian Hotel, rooms may vary in size, decor and bathroom facilities and therefore may differ to room photos. For specific room requests please add a note to your booking.Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
Guests under the age of 18 can only check in with a parent or official guardian.
A deposit may be required at the property.

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 10:00 AM

Property Policies

  • Parking

    No parking available.

  • Internet

    WiFi is available in public areas and is free of charge.

  • Pets

    Pets are not allowed.

  • Children and extra bed policy

    Children of any age are allowed.
    Children up to and including 3 years old stay for £10 per person per night when using an available cot.
    Children up to and including 15 years old stay for £15 per person per night when using an available extra bed.
    Any type of extra bed or child's cot/crib is upon request and needs to be confirmed by management.
    Supplements are not calculated automatically in the total costs and will have to be paid for separately during your stay.

Location

Guest Reviews

8
Based on 1199 reviews
Cleanliness: 7.5
Service: 9
Location: 9
Room Quality: 7
Amenities: 8
Value for Money: 8
Food and Beverage: 7.5
Overall Experience: 8
T
Tony • couple • gb
6
Nice central location for a short stay
Pros:

Nice location.

Cons:

Alot of noise in the evening, from outside bar which was below the room. Also loud crashes of bottles being dropped into recycling bins.

The first hotel in many years where the key had to be returned to the hotel when going outside.

2026-05-29 • via Nuitee
G
gary • couple • gb
8
2026-05-29 • via Nuitee
D
davy • couple • gb
9
2026-05-29 • via Nuitee
M
Mercedesz • solo_traveller • gb
8
Pros:

Beds comfortable, good shower, good breakfast

Cons:

Door closers are not adjusted correctly, too hard to open, too fast closing
A bit noisy floorboards
WiFi flaky

2026-05-27 • via Nuitee
F
Felicity • extended_group • gb
8
Great location, quite old but comfortable hotel. Would re visit
Pros:

Nice room with great view of the sea. Comfortable beds and good choice of teas, biscuits etc. Great bathroom with good shower and toiletries.

Cons:

Breakfast was good but not so much choice and often ran out of condiments 2 mornings. Coffee not so good.

2026-05-27 • via Nuitee
L
Lucia • solo_traveller • gb
7
I would go again, yes!
Pros:

Location just right at the pier. Bus interchange for local buses and for the Brezzer (open touristic bus) just outside the entrance.
Staff was brilliant, always helping, ready to listen. They definitelly made our stay a very positive one. All of them! The room was outdated but very clean, they clean the room every day, re filling with water bottles, coffee, toiletries.
The hotel has a restaurant and a bar with outdoor sitting area.
The member of staff at the hotel have been super helpful, and they have found a reasonable solution for a miscommunication provided by Booking.com messaging service. So i was glad for the wonderful staff!

Cons:

We overall loved our stay , but if you are booking via booking.com and if you had submitted a special request like we did, i wpuld advise you to also contact the hotel directly(call them or email them via the contact details you can find on google and confirm with them durectly in case you have submitted a special request ) as communication via booking.com might be an issue when making a special request or asking for information.

I personally feel that breakfast could be different, better /fresher. And perhaps more choices to hot drinks (there was only very light filtered coffe). You order your hot breakfast a la carte, once only, as the buffet only has small selection of the usual bread boxed cereals, sirup fruits, and jams
Once again the breakfast wasnt amongst the best i had in other hotels, but i eaten to my heart content regardless.
Would i use this hotel again? Yes ;)

2026-05-26 • via Nuitee
M
Madeleine • solo_traveller • nz
8
Pros:

Very easy to get to from the ferry over. Bus stops right outside made it really easy too

Cons:

Quite loud overnight. Bit of a gap under the door so could hear everyone up and down the hall way

2026-05-26 • via Nuitee
V
Victoria • couple • gb
10
Comfortable stay in great location
Pros:

Location and friendly staff

2026-05-26 • via Nuitee
L
Lynn • couple • gb
6
Rooms are dated & overpriced. Breakfast is awful
Pros:

Good location. Room was comfortable and the brand new bathroom was lovely. The room could do with upgrading to bathroom level.

Cons:

Breakfast was awful. The beans came in little pits and the sauce had dried up on top, obviously not freshly done. Bacon was anaemia looking & smoked. Tea was already made up in urns and looked grey as dishwater. Staff member who was supposed to show you to a table was ignorant.

2026-05-25 • via Nuitee
C
Claire • couple • gb
6
It was ok for one night definitely not worth £149 fir the night
Pros:

The location

Cons:

Very dated needs modernisation . Was very basic for 3star more like 1-2 star definitely not worth £149 for the night

2026-05-24 • via Nuitee
K
Karen • solo_traveller • au
9
Pros:

The hotel was very quirky. Loved the unique floor plan. The staff were lovely and couldn't be more helpful and pleasant. Dr

Cons:

The room was very hot and it would have been nice to be able to open the windows wider

2026-05-24 • via Nuitee
R
Rupert • couple • gb
10
Pros:

Very nice - some things were dated but it’s an old hotel with a lot of character so it’s all part of the charm.

Loved the service - staff were really friendly.

Cons:

Nothing

2026-05-23 • via Nuitee
A
Allan • solo_traveller • gb
8
2026-05-22 • via Nuitee
L
Leigh • solo_traveller • gb
10
Great catch up with friends in Ryde on the IOW
Pros:

Everything.Great location and great staff.Room was clean and comfortable and the breakfast was lovely.

Cons:

Nothing Ng to dislike

2026-05-18 • via Nuitee
P
Paul • solo_traveller • gb
7
A good base for an overnight stay.
Pros:

Prompt and welcoming attention on arrival. View of the Solent from the window of my room. Location exactly where I wanted to be. Decent breakfast, served quite quickly in spite of there being a large coach party in the breakfast room at the same time.

Cons:

Worrying clanking and clattering noises in the lift; rather foreboding notice by the lift saying it will break down if too many people get in. Room window could have done with a clean, but maybe a seafront location makes this a challenge.

2026-05-18 • via Nuitee
M
Magdalena • extended_group • se
9
2026-05-17 • via Nuitee
M
Mark Henry Osborne • solo_traveller • gb
7
Pros:

Location and staff helpful

Cons:

Needs updating
Too many steps even after lifts

2026-05-17 • via Nuitee
D
David • couple • gb
6
Apart from the bedroom we enjoyed our stay.
Pros:

Breakfast , location and Harry's bar.

Cons:

Bedroom. Bed fine. Rest of furniture tatty.
Both chairs had loose arms. Dressing table passed its sell by date.

2026-05-15 • via Nuitee
N
Norman • couple • us
7
2026-05-13 • via Nuitee
D
Derek • couple • gb
8
Comfortable pleasant hotel with helpful staff
Cons:

We were first shown to a small cramped dated room. We moved to a larger room with lovely sea view but had to pay for an upgrade . Our son arrived the next day and was given a spacious room with sea view for no extra charge. Why were we given a substandard room initially.

2026-05-11 • via Nuitee