Royal Esplanade Hotel

The hotel was conveniently located in Ryde. Checking in was satisfactory. Reception staff helpful and polite. Car parking nearby in their car park was limited, but had to be paid for-not free! Our "Classic Double Room" was smaller than expected, and was located at the rear of the hotel, above the kitchen. It was rather too warm, and noisy in early mornings. Only top section of window opened for ventilation. Rest of window fixed and couldn't be opened at all for more ventilation, especially at night. There was a separate electric fan, but the fan front grill appeared to be rather rusty. Room facilities were basic, shower attachment on bath taps but NO shower curtain at all, so a stand-up shower was impossible. Room not cleaned regularly by housekeeping. Tea/coffee/milk, etc, not replenished regularly. Breakfast service was haphazard at times, with orders taking too long or not appearing at all. It did improve towards the end of last week, so we think that other guests may have complained about the service, even though the staff were very friendly, apologetic, and tried their best. The hotel wi-fi was rubbish. Even when I was able to get a signal, it was weak and the connection frequently dropped out, which was most irritating and frustrating. This needs urgent attention, as almost everyone expects wi-fi and internet access in every room, not just in the hotel lounge. We would have to think twice about staying at the Royal Esplanade again.

Very good stay, We have stayed before under Bay Hotels. Food in the restaurant was very good, our room (36) was in need some attention in the bathroom, the toilet had a problem flushing away, there was a leak under the bath, the string to pull the light in and off was dirty and thin and needed replacing. However, our room had double bay windows which looked out over the Hovercraft and Solent, the bed was comfortable. The staff were excellent and we would stay at the hotel again any time.

Lovely property in a great location for exploring the island all travel links a 2 minute walk away social distancing adhered to by all staff and guests lovely 4 day trip .

The room was fine, only problem was had to go the reception area to get signal for wifi.

Given the numbers of available staff, they coped very well. Excellent helpfulness from a couple of the younger members. Will consider returning.

Shabby hotel in need of an update. Rooms were not being serviced due to ‘staff shortages’. Only one towel in the room. Staff were really friendly and helpful even though they were run off their feet at breakfast time.

The hotel was extremely clean with many measures in place to prevent Covid. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The shower bracket in my broke on arrival, I mentioned it at reception before exploring the town, by the time I returned a new bracket had been installed! The breakfast service was well organised and prompt- a perfect full English. They could possibly do with more staff on the bar/restaurant in the evening but this could be down to adapting to the new, ever changing precautions and unpredictable customer flow. Overall we had a lovely break and would return to the Royal Esplanade

An ok stay - not brilliant - not awful just ok. Quite dated, room was superior with sea view - but not what I would normally expect from superior. Quite plain, separate toilet to shower room, no sink in toilet only in shower room, shower was good though. Details hadn’t said before that it was right opposite the Hovercraft terminal, no air con so had to have windows open (the little they would open) and hovercrafts are not quiet although are fascinating. They run regularly from 05:20 so not good for sleep! Then the train alongside starts from 0600... Breakfast was also disastrous- yes they are coping with new COVID regulations and had spread booking for breakfast so was never over busy but they couldn’t cope at all. A highlight was a waitress running through the restaurant screaming that she had had enough and had lost it! Yes really. Another highlight was waiting for bowls and milk for cereal and the main breakfasts arriving before anything else, feeling very rushed to just get us out, and then going out the back way to find a sausage on the floor and the bins very haphazardly stacked with food items coming out - not good at all. Cafe bar/lounge was ok - decent coffee and cake. Didn’t use the restaurant for dinner. Very convenient for the town and the beach - nice sandy beach just a few hundred metres along. Would come back to Ryde and Isle of Wight but probably wouldn’t come back to the Royal Esplanade.

Lovely stay at the Esplanade. We took a seaview room. Had a view of the bus station, hovercraft & then the sea. The buses and Hover craft start at 6'ish. Hotel was comfortable, busy and hygiene was well maintained. The hotel is 5 mins from the beach.

This was a lovely position for a hotel. Handy for shops & restaurants good parking. Staff pleasant & helpful. Particularly Asst Manager. The worst part of our stay here was the heat. The temperature was in the 30s & the bedroom window could only be opened about 4”. Very uncomfortable, the assistant manager secured us a fan which helped. Whilst I realise that heatwaves are not part of the UK norm, hotels should be able to adapt somewhat. Interestingly, the Sun Terrace which was advertised on an A board outside consisted of a concreted area with one shady gazebo, a few dead plants, & a broken gazebo. The number of people who turned away on seeing the only shady area in use was quite funny. At least a dozen people retraced their steps in search of shade! Breakfast was good & coronavirus safeguards were well observed.