Apparently new owners took over about 18 months ago. They are really nice people (as are the staff) and they have some great ideas for developing the place. The problem they will face is the amount of capital investment required need to bring the hotel up to date. Whilst the owners are making a start with this, there are still large parts of the hotel that have a predominance of dark wood panelling and dated furnishings remeniscent of the 1950s/60s. Because of the building location (on the side of a steep hill and with no lift), disabled access is not easy because the bar and dining room are down a steep flight of stairs from the reception level. The bedroom was also "dated" in decor and had one of the smallest bathrooms I have ever seen. The restaurant has considerable potential, but comprises about 30% seating and 70% dance floor, with a small stage at one end (I understand the hotel hosts a lot of weddings). There are some small things that could be done to improve things - for example, better toiletries in the rooms, serving white wine cold (and offering a wine cooler or ice bucket with it) and the breakfast yoghourts were either Tesco or "Happy Shopper" brands - so they were from the local supermarket. The latter does not fit well with the image portrayed of "local produce". I really hope the new owner's enthusiasm and warmth towards guests will enable them to do something special with the hotel. They deserve to succeed, but they will have to spend a lot of money to do it.

I just spent a short break at the hotel and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The hotel had a very friendly atmosphere, is warm, clean and served good fresh food. Staff were friendly and provided service that you would expect in a 4*. The approach to the hotel is deceptive; it's set on the side of a hill, and you approach from the very rear of the hotel grounds. The grounds and the views from the (true) front of the hotel are outstanding, looking out from the top of some cliffs over the English Channel, it's both quiet and relaxing. The grounds are well kept and have an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court and a small but effective pitch and put golf course. The pool was closed (it would have been too cold for me in December), but in the summer months, it would have been worth a swim or two. There are steps down to the sea which I did use, and from there I went for walks along the sea shore. On the downside, the hotel is perhaps not suited for the less mobile because of the hillside location, but on the upside the location, with its views and grounds, is stunning. All round good value and thoroughly recommendable.

Yes its a bit 'tired' but somehow this didn't matter as the friendly owners and staff made up for it. Also it's a property that has character and with a lovely garden and location right on the cliffs in eastern Ventnor. Food was good with a reasonable choice (we had half-board for our stay of 5 days).

We trusted that this hotel would be up to a standard owing to it being part of the Best Western chain. How WRONG were we! We paid £140 per night half board which included breakfast and what was described in their confirmation letter as a "table d'Hote" dinner. We arrive to find that there is barely a car park available for guests. It was more of an asphalted area for about 4 cleverly parked cars down by reception and 3 further up the hill. Anyone else would need to park on the extremely narrow Madeira Street. Reception: The reception was dark and slightly dingy and consisted of a table in a doorway which was cramped for space. The receptionist was polite and friendly which I thought was a good sign of things to come. Room: Our room was located in the extension to the hotel. The extension was a creaky wooden floored thing, covered with carpet. The room itself overlooked the beautiful gardens, tennis courts; outdoor seating areas and most importantly overlooked the sea. The views were fantastic. The room itself was clean, but very dated – i.e. circa 1970’s. The double bed was two single beds pushed together. The clock was a little 2x2inch plastic wind up thing . The television was a portable sat on a very low table in a very unsuitable part of the room where only one person would be able to see it. The balcony joined straight on to that of the balcony of the room next to us, so those wanting a little privacy beware – this also had security implications since someone could have easily climbed onto our balcony. Additionally the balcony was in need of a lot of work including providing furniture for guests to sit on, like that used in their marketing literature! The bathroom was clean, but again very dated. The loo roll wasn’t so much a roll but very thin tissues in a box! The soap & shampoo provision was meagre. Restaurant: to access the restaurant and bar area one has to go downstairs to what initially seems like a basement, but actually isn’t because the hotel is built on a hill. The bar and restaurant is located ‘downstairs’. The bar is mo more than a boxed alcove and staffed by a rather friendly chap. Unfortunately the area is reminiscent of a very decrepit working mans club, truly awful with the cobwebs and spider webs hanging down. The menu was sparse and very unappetising we settled for steaks and chips which we had to pay a supplement for as they weren’t part of the “table d'Hote” menu. When our food was ready we were shown to our table, which had a lovely view albeit it obscured by filthy windows and more webs of various kinds. The restaurant was a large room with an electronic keyboard located in the corner on a slightly raised platform. Cheese, biscuits and fruit didn’t have to be ordered as they were already laid out uncovered on a table subject to the copious amounts of flies there were in the room. The food we ordered was plain; the meal was swimming in a mixture of garlic & peppercorn sauce although there was no peppercorn sauce, just garlic and fluid from the mushrooms. The steak was tasteless and the chips were lukewarm and undercooked. We decided we didn’t want dessert as the cheese and biscuits nor the ‘floating island” (egg-white cooked in milk and ‘floated’ on crème anglaise) just didn’t appeal! We were totally disappointed as not too earlier we were sat in another restaurant/bar where the food looked delicious and the menu was huge. After dinner we went for a drink down in Ventnor and came back to the hotel at around 11pm to find that our key wasn’t working. Another hotel guest had to let us in as the Night bell was useless because there was no one manning reception. As a result and much to our utter humiliation we were unable to gain access to our rooms until 6AM when someone was finally able to give us another key – he didn’t security check us nor did he offer us any apology for the inconvenience of having to sit in the living room for nigh on 7 hours waiting for assistance, subject to the out of tune chimes of the clocks which incidentally are set ten minutes apart so there was little respite from chiming!. Suffice it to say due to our experience of the restaurant the night before we didn’t bother with breakfast we wanted to leave as soon as possible. On checking out we weren’t asked how our stay was – which in hindsight was lucky for them. In conclusion the weekend was sullied by staying at this overrated hotel. If they spent as much time on the structure, cleanliness and running of the hotel as they did on the grounds, it would make for a rather stunning place. Unfortunately the hotel is awful whilst the grounds are nice, I didn’t choose this hotel for its gardens as there is plenty to see around the island itself. I expect a lot more for a hotel which charges huge prices and promises so much. I’ve stayed in Travelodges with exponentially better standards than Ventnor Towers. Ventnor Towers? Never again!!!!