Short stay: The Royal Hotel, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, UK /

In the 1830s, visitors flocked to Ventnor from England for its almost Madeira-like microclimate. A small sleepy fishing village on the south coast of the Isle of Wight suddenly became a bustling health tourism pioneer. Land prices skyrocketed from £100 to £1,000 per acre. Ventnor filled with crinolines, penny farthings and mutton whiskers.

Fishers, a grand four-story hotel complete with lacy wrought-iron verandahs, was built in 1832. Its architecture reflected the Georgians’ love affair with the classical symmetry of ancient Rome.

During her visits to the Isle of Wight, a young Victoria, enjoying the freedom of the years before she became Queen, loved to enjoy afternoon tea in that hotel. In honor of her patronage, the hotel became The Royal.

Two thin cypresses frame the entrance to The Royal, embracing the Mediterranean tradition of a symbolic welcome. Immaculately trimmed laurel and olive trees, along with prickly succulents, add to the Med atmosphere.

The welcome

Parking can be a challenge in dizzying Ventnor, but The Royal has two car parks. Ample, level parking is available.

Since we checked in online, we immediately get our very traditional and hefty key with brass fob. Again strangely ignoring the arrival of digital technology, we are offered a wake-up call and a paper newspaper. A porter takes our luggage.

The room

Our classic sea view room, a dainty mini chandelier with flowers and dripping hanging crystals, is a reminder of the hotel’s regal history.
The wide bed has generous dimensions and is aimed at both a flat screen television and the view.

Decor features a simple seascape palette of summer blues with understated Regency stripe curtains. A tall built-in wardrobe provides ample hanging space for evening clothes. The tea and coffee making facilities are located in another part of the cupboard.

The bathroom

With white on white, gleaming chrome, silver chains and a wide mirror, this is a bathroom Victorians would recognize. Early morning sunlight floods the combined deep soaking tub and rain shower.

Though Era toiletries of white tea and jasmine wouldn’t have been in the Victorian bathroom repertoire.

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The facilities

For more than a quarter of a century, the high ceiling of The Royal’s Geranium Restaurant has held two AA rosettes. A dozen chandeliers, a Greco-Roman-style frieze, classical busts and Regency-striped wallpaper recall the hotel’s Georgian heritage. While a royal blue tapestry of heraldic crests celebrates regal traditions. Tall and sturdy floral brocade curtains, with bands thick enough to serve as maritime ropes, add to the grandeur.

A Gallybagger soufflé, the lightest of soufflés, made from an island cheese, has earned a reputation as The Geranium Restaurant’s signature entree.

Main dishes come with creative flair. Bitter nettle pesto contrasts with a rich leg of lamb. Roasted purple potato goes well with the fish of the day. While both lime pickle and Kashmiri chilli paneer accompany fritter. There are more looks to the East with a Malaysian laska full of fish.

Surrounded by palm trees and lush plantings with subtropical hints, the heated outdoor pool attracts swimmers earlier and later in the year than many mainland pools.

Rent

Wightlink ferries take cars and pedestrians from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on a relaxing cruise of around half an hour.

A six minute downhill walk from The Royal takes guests to a spectacular stretch of the Isle of Wight coastal walk through bee and pyramid orchids, past adonis blue butterflies and along the coastal cuddle path.

Two landmarks of English heritage are the main attractions of the island. Carisbrooke Castle has been much more than a strategically important fortress over the centuries. It has also served as a country house, museum, royal home, seat of government and, most famously, as a prison for deposed King Charles II. Then there are the descendants of the donkeys who hauled buckets of water from the deep well for up to 12 hours a day.

Prince Albert designed many of the architectural and landscape features of Osborne House, which is today managed and cared for by English Heritage. As a grand summer home for Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children, the family had its own private beach. Later, the house became a peaceful retreat for the grieving queen.

Remarkably, for a diamond-shaped island of just 220 square miles, the Isle of Wight once had 33 railway stations. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway, based at Havenstreet Station, tells the story of the railways and takes nostalgic steam engine rides.

While the food at The Royal is superb, it’s worth heading to picturesque Godshill for the beamed and flagstone-floored Taverners at Godshill. Formerly a bakehouse and post office, this welcoming inn has now found its true niche as a gastropub with a blackboard full of daily specials.

Other nice keys

Decor at the reception, with a programmed grand piano providing a sophisticated jazzy soundtrack, and an exhibition of black and white photographs of well-dressed couples dining and being romantic, creates an elegant atmosphere.

Similarly, a collection of black and white photos of car races displayed in the bar celebrates a heroic era when racing was more about the drivers’ skills than the latest technology.

Across the street from the hotel and up some stone steps, the Riviera Terrace offers spectacular views of the coast. Ask the kitchen and they will prepare a picnic basket.

cost

Bed and breakfast for a single room starts from £150. Premier double rooms, with breakfast, start at £325.

The best bit

Matt Egan is The Royal’s chef who likes to push boundaries, using the island’s resources, to create a foodie paradise.

On selected dates, Se7en offers a seven-course tasting menu with wine pairings for up to 18 guests in a separate intimate setting.

The final verdict

This 51-room hotel has a discreet old-world grandeur with its Lloyd Loom chairs waiting on the terrace. Employees in black waistcoats and immaculately pressed white blouses or shirts ensure impeccable service.

Dining at The Geranium Restaurant is a privileged pleasure. A room that is so grandly opulent that there is the Pride and prejudice wedding breakfast of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by The Royal Hotel and our cruise to the Isle of Wight was sponsored by Wightlink.