Ryde Castle Hotel

I Booked this hotel for 2 nights and if I had time I would have checked out after the first night. I Checked in on Tuesday evening at 6.30pm first impressions nice building, good location and friendly check in staff. No lift and no offer of help with luggage. The room had seaview was reasonable size but not clean, numerous cobwebs and broken towel rail just left. The beds have really had it, and with 3 pillows equivallent to one anywhere else I think you are getting the picture. That evening it took 45 mins to get our food order taken after me following the waiter and giving him the details as no attempt was made to take it. We then waited another 45mins the fish and chips was very good. Unfortunately the breakfasts were not good the fruit salad was tasteless and the cooked breakfast was running with water and the scrambled eggs were like rubber. I complained to the manager about this being one of the worst stay's I have expericenced he was apologetic and said the hotel is going to have a re-vamp in April and would offer a discount to stay then, not really an appealing option after this stay.

Was a little apprehensive after reading other reviews of this hotel, but was pleasantly surprised after we chose this place for it's location. It is very well situated for all the local attractions and exploring the area. Very close to the pedestrian hovercraft and a couple of miles down the road from the car ferry at Fishbourne. Nice historic building, the staff were very friendly and accommodating, letting us check in early. The cleaning staff asked us if we needed anything else and the room was nice and clean with seaview. There were nice little touches such as fresh flowers in the room. Bathroom was good size. Only little thing is maybe it could do with a lick of paint, but this didn't affect our enjoyment of the place. Breakfast was plentiful. Waitresses and bar staff very helpful and efficient. We had dinner there, the menu was adequate, more 'pub fare' than anything fancy, but good portions which suited us after a long day! The bar area is relaxed and a nice place to relax having morning coffee. There was also a jazz band on in the evening we stayed if you were into that, didn't go on too late either and this wouldn't affect your stay if it wasn't to your taste! For the rate we got, we thought it was excellent value for money and will definitely return there on our next visit to the island.

We stayed here on a short break where location was important and we were well satisfied with our choice. The Ryde Castle couldn't have a better location - right on the sea front in Ryde itself and close to the shopping area and plenty of eating places. It's a lovely historic building which is nicely decorated inside, although the decor is looking a little tired and could perhaps do with refurbishment (a very minor point). Our room was very comfortable and nicely appointed, with a large four poster bed, seating area and decor appropriate to the style of the room and the building. There's plenty of parking on site and the hotel staff were friendly and polite. An enjoyable stay and good value for money.

Very disapointed with room dull dingy and noise from cellar cooler going on and off all night, beds worn out should have stayed 2 nights but only stayed 1. Restaurant good.

Stayed for 3 nights for £135 pp offer including breakfast in febuary and found it to be a great base for exploring the island. The room we stayed in (a sea view) was a decent size, comftable and the food was exellent, both breakfast and dinner as was the service. I thought the offer we booked under made it exceptional value for money and would recommend this as a place to stay.

I am not a member, but looking at a member's review of a meal the his party had at the Ryde Castle in August 2004, and my own experience there at Chistmas 2006 we must have been at different places. We went for the christmas period, 23rd December -27th December. On arrival we were met by Linda the wife in the Linda and Carlos managerment team, she appeared to be pleasant and efficient, confirmed as the weekend went on, Carlos was ever helpful with a good sense of humour. Our room over looked the bowling greens, marina and Solent. and was of a good size with adequate en suite facilities. The first evening we ate in the bar, I had the Pie of the Day (steak and ale), I would say that it was the best pie that I've had in many years. In the four days that we stayed there every meal was of the highest order (apart from the roast potatoes on Christmas Day, and with everthing else so good, I felt that it would be churlish to complain). The staff in the dining rooms and the bar were smartly turned out, excellent manners and very professional, always looking to see what needed to be done ,table clearing without appearing to be rushing the diners, taking orders for the next course, refilling glasses, all done with a smile. Most of the waitresses were Polish students, all spoke very good English, nothing was too much trouble for them. My partner is a vegetarian, who does not eat any meat, fish or eggs, some of the waitresses were concerned that she did not have much in the way choices, compared with us carnivores, and Linda on more than one occasion offered to get the chef to cook some thing else for her, but she was well satisfied with the fare provided. Judging by the number of locals that came in for meals, and evening entertainment, the hotel enjoys a good reputation. I hope that I haven't gone over the top on this as I enjoyed the break so much that I intend to return in the summer to see the Island and again next Christmas, and I don't want the prices to escalate or to unable to get a bookimg.

The people and service here are great. But the grounds, hotel rooms and public rooms need a bit of a spruce up. The place is charming but a bit dilapidated. Evenso, it was clean and our stay was good.

having read the write up on the ryde castle, we were a bit apprehensive, but after asking our booking agent, (red funnel), we were assured that there had been no complaints made to them, we went ahead and booked, all we can say is the comments we read about must have been about a different ryde castle, this was one of the best hotels we have stayed in , food superb, service first class, decor excellent, we had to return to the isle of wight the following week, due to a bereavement, and had no hesitation in asking to be booked in again at the ryde castle, linda and carlos and staff are doing a great job, and we would gladly stay there any time, so do not believe all you read sometimes, as it would seem some people must be very difficult to please.

It was awhile after the shock set in before I even remembered the historical significance of the castle -- built by Henry the VIII. The outside of the building is pretty and passes as a castle. It is indeed conveniently located near the ferry and bus station. However, the room I stayed in (#1) had more in common with a generic tourist class hotel than a castle. The room was cramped, paint on the bathroom ceiling was seriously peeling, the linens and carpet were dirty, the furniture was nearly void of character. The bathtub was so narrow that anyone larger than a size 10 may have to shower instead. The toilet required "pumping" in order to flush. To make matters worse, the room was exceedingly noisy. It was above the dining area where every time someone moved a chair across the wood, I heard a tremendous racket. This room was located in the "addition." Make sure you are not booking a room there. I have no idea what the "better" rooms are like. I paid 95 pounds (only a 5 pound discount from rack rate for their highest priced room). There is an abundance of lodging on the Isle of Wight -- you could probably do much better.

Having decided to take some family members out for lunch we placed our food order around 12,30pm . After waiting for over half an hour and the place being quiet we asked where our food was. It arrived about 15 mins later. One plate which should have had a little side salad on it just contained lettuce. Our two childrens meals followed about 10 mins later and were dreadful, one had a burger which was so hard it must have been cooking for about 1/2 hour. The other one had mash potato that had a solid skin on it. Another of our party had a jacket potato with prawns, the potato hadn't seen sign of any butter was almost cold and swimming in some yucky pink mayo with a handful of prawns chucked in. I had a chicken bacon and garlic mayo sandwich. The bread was cut about 1/2 inch thick the filling cold and not a sniff of garlic. After complaining to staff who just shrugged their shoulders when asked who the manager was we left with two tired hungry children and a very upset 84 year old pensioner who had taken us out as her treat. We adviceanyone to eat elsewhere as that was by far the worst food and service we have ever had on the Island, and expensive to boot.