Alverbank Country House Hotel Restaurant in Gosport

We had our wedding ceremony here and had an amazing day! Everything was just how they promised. All of the staff especially Heather did a great job of making our day special. Thanks very much I would definitely recommend it as a wedding venue!!

This is a old fashion pub come hotel , but the down side is it needs lot of work on it , want it needs is new carpets and curtains and some painting. The toilets was clean and the tables were clean every half hour. The staff was very polite and helpful, their did run out of some soft drinks.

We found the food was excellent, and, as my wife is Coeliac, the staff went out of their way to accommodate her. The menu had a very good choice for her. The rest of us found the menu very good. The restaurant itself was homely.The place it self was exactly what I expected from a building which is the better part of 150years old.

Beer garden full of litter. Inside dated and tatty. The garden furniture had recently been painted (probably in the rain, looking at the state of it) and had not fully dried - no wet paint signs or warnings - this lead to serval items of clothing being ruined. Staff were dismissive and unhelpful, despite clearly being at fault. Overall very disappointing as the great location means this place has the potential to be one of the top pubs / restaurants in the area.

Attended a family wedding reception at this venue. Sadly the venue is in need of some TLC. The whole venue looked a little shabby and tired. The bathroom facilities were cramped and a little dilapidated with broken urinals and non functioning hand warmers. The bar area was quite small and couldn’t really adequately cater for the number of people and options for spirits were also quite limited. The function suite was stuffy and did not contain sufficient seating for the number of guests. Regretfully, while it might be a cheap option, would not recommend this venue as a location for a special celebration occasion.

Used to live nearby and recently stayed whilst visiting. Poor quality venue that needs a lot of work on it. Room very poor, had to have a electric heater on all night to keep warm, décor very poor and its in need of a lot of tender loving care. Quite expensive for what you got. Owners and staff far more interested in the wedding trade than other customers. Used to be a great venue so sad.

The whole place needs refreshing or updating, it's well overpriced shabby rooms are not comfortable or warm. A female member of staff is so loud, well after midnight that sleep is almost impossible. Never again will I stay here or will I advise anybody else to

Nice staff, easy parking, lovely location. Food ok nice selection of beers! Good place for a wedding reception!

Nice view from garden across to the Isle of Wight. No other reason to go there. Shame, it is in a great spot.

Choose this venue instead of Osbourne View. Probably a mistake as it turned out. If they have a restaurant I didn't see one. We were put on a round table in what seemed to be a passageway in view of the reception (starred at a lot) and another room what ever that was. There is a lot more I could say about the place but although the food was OK, service was a bit odd, we were generally pleased to leave. It was my Brother aniversary and I felt I had really let them down.

Заходили в это место неоднократно во время прогулок в парке и по побережью. Не пробовали еду, но заходили пару раз что-либо выпить. Достаточно приятное место просто посидеть и отдохнуть. Ничего особенного, не столь комфортно, но достаточно уютно и спокойно просто отдохнуть во время прогулки.

The hotel has history and looks cool from the front. A typical country house style hotel bar restaurant. We came for lunch, headed to the bar area which is how I expected it, old, faded and in need of a refurb. The view of the garden on to the solent is superb. The barman was polite but seemed to be working very slowly and a queue soon formed waiting to be served. It was quite unlike anything I have been to for a long time. Popular with cyclists and walkers but I should imagine a lot of customers are people recce-ing the place either before or after a wedding has been booked. A gin and tonic was not the most inspiring and it all seemed a bit 70s! No chance of a bombay sapphire with fevertree tonic here with lime and good looking ice in a nice gin glass. Anyway ordered a ploughmans for lunch. I've taken a picture of my ploughmans .....there was no pork pie so they replaced it with a slice of pate. I wasn't asked if I still wanted the ploughmans with the change. It looked anemic, no side salad and no cheese very uninspiring. All in all disappointing so much potential, needs a refurb with an improvement in staff efficiency.

The wedding breakfast, evening barbeque and breakfast the following morning were all of a high standard, with many guests returning for more.

We took our mother for her 90th birthday lunch on Wednesday. We were a party of 5. We were shown to our table and drinks were ordered. 20 minutes ONE menu was offered for us to share. (And still no drinks!)When the food arrived 40 minutes after ordering EVERY order was wrong in some way. Very disappointing! Won't be going again and can't recommend anyone else does! The only redeeming feature is that we weren't charged for the meal. It is a beautiful location but the venue is sadly in need of renovations and an upgrade. Make sure you don't need the loo while you're there!

April 7th The Lasagna i had was the best i have tasted ever i didn't expect much for £13 but it was value for money.The band were fantastic with the singer,saxophone,trumpet and percussion all brilliant,not stopping for 3 hours.It was a real shame there were only about 40 people there

this hotel is fantastic for tribute nights, I had organised a class of 1966 reunion night out at this hotel to see a Take That tribute act, which included a lovely meal and we were all had a brilliant evening, all the staff were friendly and very helpful, and the take take tribute was amazing, they are so true to the original,and cant wait to go back and see them again in october,

Had a really good, most enjoyable xmas dinner here. It turned out to be better than Hardy's Restaurant's xmas dinner I had only a few days before. Excellent Service, Staff were Friendly and most helpful. The place has character, had a great atmosphere and felt warm and relaxing! Thank you so much to all, for such a most enjoyable evening. Hope to see you again.

Possibly the worst function in terms of food, service, & entertainment, no condiments to go with Christmas dinner, miserly starter, not enough veg, the list goes on. Trading standards should pay a visit and close it down, very poor.

I came to this restaurant for a Christmas meal with entertainment with a group of friends. Charging £34.95 per head, we were expecting good food, entertainment and service. This was by far the worst dining experience I have ever endured. The food was appalling, quality & quantity. Not serving complete tables together, some diners had finished before others were served. 1 waitress serving sloppy sauces for the whole venue. Most had eaten before they had even seen the sauces. The duck could have been any old dried up meat, inedible !!! Poor young waitress with no management. Choas. Even ran out of desserts, considering these were all pre-ordered was a joke. Menu included coffee, well only if you asked for one, as we were told and as for the mince pies dumped in a heap in the hall way. The place was filthy the toilet in the entrance was out of order, toilets in the function room were an absolute disgrace, filthy dirty, broken toilet seat. The main bar shut at 11 as was told by a rude older lady, hardly good service when the place was full. The entertainment was very poor, man with a guitar not what we were expecting. The management should be ashamed of themselves for this poor excuse of venue, service, food and entertainment. I am sure this place needs re-rating. Don't bother wasting your money.

Poor value for money, meal per head wasn't a cheap (but the was late arriving to each table , catering manager was ask to speak to our table and was very rude and didn't seem interested with our requests , standard of food and quantity very bad , the young girls had very little training in serving such a large number of the public for a christmas party event.

Went there last night (10th December) for a Christmas party. The food was awful bullet sprouts pale undercooked roast potatoes leathery beef. Service was just as bad waited nearly an hour for main course. Apparently the Chef had walked out 2 hours earlier. Felt sorry for waiting staff because as usual they get all the flak. Some table got mince pies we didn't but don't think we missed anything. Despite all this we had a brilliant time in brilliant company but felt so sorry for people who organised their various parties. Problem was it was obviously overbooked and they couldn't cope so management being greedy spoilt it for everyone.

I went here on a night out with a large group, I was disgusted at the state of the place it was filthy dirty, especially the toilets. There was not enough staff on to cater for the amount of people eating, they ran out of 2 pre-ordered desserts. On a positive the main course was hot and tasted good. I will not be going back and would not recommend it either.

Booked this venue for a tribute night for my 40th birthday celebration.I booked a large number of tickets which were easy to do, with the owner willing to refund a couple of tickets for people unable to make it. The dinner choice for the evening was limited but for £12.95 for entertainment and food it is a bit of a bargain. When the food arrived for the evening it was pretty plain and simple but the food was about getting it out quickly to the customers to ensure its cleared away for the tribute act to start. The tribute act itself was very good and a great time was had by all. There was space for dancing and singing! My group were kept together on large tables and could stay together which was really helpful so I could see them all.My only complaint really is some of the staff. The bar staff were helpful and were great on the night. The waiting staff, however, lacked patience and were quite rude at times. At one point when I told them I had late notice of someone not able to attend and I was sworn at which I don't believe is appropriate. I did find some of the pre-organising difficult. When I informed them of a vegan and dairy intolerant couple were coming I was assured that the food would be checked and I would be phoned to let me know if it was appropriate. Now I appreciate that this is a limited menu for a low cost, but when it is linked to a persons health, I think I should of been given assurance. I was never called by the owner I had to go in and ask. I wasn't overly confident by how it was dealt with by the staff and had to make a further phone call when I got home. On the whole though I had an amazing evening. The act was really good. I just think the hotel itself could do with a little updating in itself and the staff a little more patience.

Great tribute acts here.Food at best is average for the cost whether it be a tribute night or on general.Visited often.Frequently have staffing shortages which is reflected in the service.Lounge bar poorly stocked and can't desk with more than two customers ever.Beer usually off or haven't cleaned the pipes properly.Function room spacious although decor dated and tired.

This is set in a very pretty area Stokes Bay. The staff were lovely, the food was lovely. The bed was comfortable although the room was very dated. Bathroom needed to be updated but difficult without spending a lot of money on the hotel. It was a good stay. The room had really beautiful sea views but lacking a little in TLC. We would stay again and the cooked breakfast was very good.

Forever Queen very good. Packed too many people in, therefore not much room for dancing. Both loo's were without toilet paper & loo brushes, cistern in men's needs a overhaul in fact the whole toilets need a spruce up. A friend found a staff member to report lack of loo rolls, his reply was, we are not doing too well are we!!!! No sorry I will deal with it. I arranged this night out for 11 & that is not the first time, so please sort these things out before I arrange another visit.

We went to this hotel as we had already tried restaurants in the area for a late dinner and they were shut,the owner could not be more helpful and although they had closed reopened the kitchen and we had a lovely dinner

This was sent to hotel manager but didn't recieve a replyTo the hotel manager,  My partner and myself stayed in your hotel last night 29th april.  We stayed with you approx 2 months ago and enjoyed our stay. Last night I was rather disappointed.    When we booked the room 2 months ago we asked to stay in the same room as previous. Room 2. The gentleman who took the booking assured that this room was available, but upon arrival yesterday we was told we are in room 7 although it was clean and comfortable it was not the same standard as room 2 but was charged the same rate and was woken up early by children running around upstairs. We left without breakfast as I was too tired to eat.2 stars for the queen tribute band.

A sold out event and ' Forever Queen ' excellent . Great atmosphere . That's the good news . The food was very very average . Because you are sold out does not mean you can serve a poor meal . People will remember and not come back unless good tribute band playing . You are missing out on an opportunity to bring back paying customers .

This was undoubtedly a fine hotel restaurant in its day - but that day is passed. We were attracted by it locality to us and the promise of a Sunday carvery for £6.95. This turned out to be £7.95 (no big deal, but why not update the sign outside?) and pretty average fare. Nothing wrong with it, just a bit uninspiring. Same can be said for the decor and general atmosphere. Beer also average.However, the service was excellent with friendly staff and a warm welcome to us, including our toddler.

This is a lovely place but the menu was a little boring. What I had was served promptly. The desserts are really really tiny.

We also had Lunch here on christmas day. Fully agree with previous writer Lynn T.The starter passable, main course uneatable went in doggie bag. Tables from first sitting full of dirty gasses never cleared unless for someone on second sitting. There was a chap wandering around with a clip board serving no purpose. The price of £50.00 each was robbery not worth £5.00 each. We live local but would not use this place again

We paid £50 each for a Christmas dinner. The staff were totally disorganised. There were dirty tables from the first sitting which remained uncleared the whole time we were sat there during 2nd sitting. One member of staff was wandering around aimlessly with a clip board. The food was not good. Will not be going again.

On arrival I thought the setting was lovely, just set back of the coast at Stokes Bay was quite idilic.The entrance and small bar where quite quaint and demur. I was a little taken aback with the prices in the bar, I guess because of its location there's no competition so they can pretty much go for it. We're talking £4 a pint, £4.50 for a spirit and mixer and around £15 a bottle of wine.We where booked in on a works Christmas dinner at £35 a head for a 3 course dinner with coffee and mince pies. I chose the pate starter which I must say was a let down. Maybe it's me but I expected something with a bit of love and attention, not a bit of shop bought meat paste with soggy toast and s few salad leaves over powered with a mustard dressing all served on a side plate that was smaller than a tea saucer. Then the main course, the duck breast was shamefully over cooked with mushy vegetables and roast potatoes that had obviously cooked earlier in the database and reheated. On the plus though the cherry sauce was sticky and thick so hid a few sins.One if our party was Gluten Free so opted for the roast turkey dinner but there was no gluten free gravy on offer so all was very dry and took some washing down with the previous mentioned pricy wine.The sweet was a bit of redemption, the fruit crumble was really quite nice, a sweet fruity sauce with a crisp crumbly topping and thick custard.The after dinner entertainment went down really well with all participants and did make the occasion. But would I go back, unfortunately I'd have to say no.And would I recommend it to others again a solid no.

I have visited the Alverbank Hotel (&Pub) nearly every month. I used to use it was a business meeting area, there is lots of seating available and the ground are beautiful. the service is cheerful and energetic. Nice and quiet night, a nice getaway on the positive scale of the drinking scale.

The meal was fantastic- the rib eye steak was one of the best and most tender I've ever had, the pork was perfect, and the food overall was great. The drawing room is a great place to go, however the bar can be a bit cold to sit in, which is really my only criticism.

Came with friends for a pre lunchtime drink. There was a function on and the staff were very busy. Even so, the staff still had time to serve food and drinks whilst running between the two rooms. All in all a great lunch served by very professional staff and good value for money. Thank you

Great night at the Alverbank on Thursday night. Staff & food was great & the lovely Gary Barlow was fantastic. All for £12. Can't wait to go back to the Alverbank for more tribute nights. I hope the Gary Barlow returns back too.

Totally charming, delightful staff. Great lunch. From the garden you can watch the ships passing through the Solent. The building is steeped in history. Churchill, Thatcher, Duke of Wellington, Edward the Seventh with Lillie Langtry, to drop a few names.

Friendly staff. But! Milk jug with an ingrained dirt line all around the inside. Sugar bowl with a big chip in the side. Cups, With the ingrained grubby interior. As I live in Alverstoke I feel let down by the very poor standard cleanliness. What a shame. Lovely location. I would not take guests here again

From the moment we stepped into our rooms (1 & 5) there was the smell of sewage and mould. When running the basin taps the macerator tank would clunk loudly and give off more pungent sewage smells (I felt physically sick.) Beds were uncomfortable with springs digging into your back. Bathroom was unclean with mould shower curtain and there was hot water from the basin tap, but no hot water from the shower after running it for 20mins.I left early the next morning, I couldn't face breakfast after the awful sewage smells and I will definitely not be returning. Don't waste your money.

We attended a quiz night with friends where a supper was served. We have visited here before for functions and for drinks and always feel that this hotel/restaurant should be far superior to what it is.It is a historic building but seems to be run like any average hotel you may find in any town or city. We recently stayed at a large converted house in the centre of York which had more sophisticationAt this function, which was held in the marquee, one steward was serving in the bar.There were over 60 people.attending, so service was slow. I went to the main bar to save time, and there were four staff members in the vicinity. I mentioned the long queue to one of them, who seemed to be the manageress(?) but no assistance was provided.The supper meal, lasagne and salad, was acceptable.The Alverbank should be the top hotel in Gosport, but sadly, it isn't.

Firstly I want to say how much I wanted to like the alverbank, I visited multiple times as a child. The garden is brilliant, the surrounding area is also very good as is the building. But the service and food on my most recent visit was unacceptable. Firstly the staff were pleasant but absolutely clueless. No cutlery or serviette in sight, and when asked only a knife and fork arrived. The Sunday roast was average at best. The staff despite being asked not to, left the door to the outside open every time they went in and out, forcing the patrons who were mostly elderly to take turns to go and close it. I ordered the apple crumble for dessert, which consisted of an apple not peeled, cut in three with some crumble and custard, no cutlery again, so asked and was given a spoon which was not sufficient to get through the skin of the apple so I didn't eat much, and when mentioned to the waitress, no apology was offered only that she will tell the chef. Service was extremely slow also despite not being very busy, and the staff seemed all too young or inexperienced to understand what is required in the food service industry. Also the bill arrived without a total, just listed what we had eaten.I hope I just experienced a bad day because like I said I have very find memories of the hotel and restaurant, but it just wasn't good enough.

Poor disability access, lack of understanding what a disabled person requires also asked about accommodation but they do not have disabled accommodation either !!!! cant believe it in this day and age. So disapointed

My disabled group and I and my Mum have gone to the Alverbank twice now. It is a nice place to go to but the food wasn't brilliant the first time we went in the Summer 2014, the food was dry and the salad that came with the meal was quite strange indeed. The food in December was a step up, not so dry and tasted better. The salad was still very weird though. Not your usual salad.

Ordered the Chilli Con Carni, which was well under par - no soured cream (run out), had to ask for the other condiments - only 2 kidney beans in it !! Tasted OK though - bit of a miserly portion.... They'll need to pull their socks up before I go there again. Nice surroundings and view - quite an historic building if you're into aviation history (I am!)....

Tucked away in the woods at Stanley Park, a stones throw from Stokes Bay, this wonderful old English country hotel offers great meals, a welcoming bar and a great seated garden for dog walkers to have a drink and rest a while.

Lovely food promptly served by friendly staff. However we were a large party and had been squeezed into a space that was far too small. So much so that several people couldn't get into their seats and tables had to be moved out!!

Have you ever had a curry that's was so watered down it tasted of nothing? Rice that was so over cooked it was slop on a plate? I must say the Poppadom was ok but then can you really go wrong with a Poppadom? Have you ever been told the reason you are dissatisfied with the food is because you are a chef? I have had all of the above at this run down hotel! I attended one of their Tribute Nights...it happened to be Take That on this occasion and I have to say they were excellent...great fun and fantastic entertainment! I have been three times to one of these nights now and each time the food has got worse and worse, this time it was inedible and I had to get a bag of crisps at the bar as I was so hungry. Meanwhile at the bar another lady was discussing the vile slop that she and her friends had been served. Food aside, what was worse was the reaction I had from the owner, a short grey haired man who clearly has had no training in hospitality whatosever and is obviously so sure that people will continue to suffer without complaint that he offers no recompense or apology or anything except pigheaded rudeness...I will never return to this place and I advise you, if you like good food to consider going elsewhere!! I work with the public everyday and I pride myself on excellent customer relations....

Good food service & prices but definitely needs a refurbishment to the bar which is where meals served. In fact it could do with a proper restaurant.

Thank you to ALL the team for making our celebration lunch a huge success. From making the initial enquiry, to meeting with Karen and arranging the "finer details" of menu choice, wine selection and seating arrangements nothing was too much trouble. As a party of 22 , we enjoyed a memorable lunch, in the Gold Room. Service was excellent and particularly well organised, despite us delaying start time by fifteen minutes with very little notice. The food was delicious, with generous portions, represented good value for money.Perhaps the hotel could benefit from a little TLC however the age, architecture and setting of the hotel added to the special event. The bar area provided a meeting place prior to the meal and a lovely area to socialise after the meal, unhurried. The Gold Room clean and beautifully prepared. All our party enjoyed the lunch and I would certainly recommend this venue.

Having visited this establishment before and having been happy with the lovely meal we had, my wife and I were interested when we found out they were organising an afternoon tea and ballroom extravaganza with a D-Day remembrance theme.Upon arrival, we were surprised to find that not only was the event held outside (in the same garden where guests who hadn't booked for the event were sitting, having their beverages and meals) instead of in the marquee, which, despite suggestions made over the microphone basically excluded the option of dancing, the whole thing was a sit-down affair with a slightly awkward sing-along (awkward since the singer tried hard to get people to sing along, but that didn't work too well), followed by an afternoon tea with tea only for the other tables (continued efforts on the part of people at our table to get tea instead of just the coffee we were repeatedly being offered were in vain for a long time). Lucky for us that we don't drink tea... Some of the staff made the impression of not having been trained professionally, that's probably the kindest way I can put it.The tea table offered excellent food, but unfortunately not enough of everything, and since we were the last table to be allowed to go, there were few choices left. This idea of going per table, by the way, had been badly organised. When we went up there, we were sent back, since it was not our table's turn. No one had announced that that was how it supposed to go, however, so that was bad communication and organisation. And then, when we had finally been allowed to choose food from the choices that were left, and had eaten it, and wondered if we could have a little more, we were told we could go for seconds later. This was not true: immediately after we were told this, staff cleared away the leftovers.Next the band was announced, and to our disappointment it was a different one than advertised. The music wasn't quite what we expected (not 40s material, so not suited to the theme), not all of it was suitable to dance on, and neither was the outside space - not for ballroom dancing. As a result, no one danced.All in all, our conclusion was that if we had known how the event would turn out, we wouldn't have booked. To be fair, the food was excellent, and we would have loved to have had more of it. But the event was badly organised, and it turned out to be quite different from what had been advertised.

THANK YOU Booked a lunch time meal to celebrate my mothers 80 birthday We were given a room to ourselves which was fantastic Staff excellent Food excellent Price excellent My mother was very very happy Thank you all so much

We went here for our Christmas dinner as it's within walking distance and thought we'd treat ourselves. This is the second time we have had Christmas dinner here. The service was excellent and well organised. The actual dining room was a bit of a squash though. As there's two sittings, they obviously used one end for the first sitting and the end we were sat in for the second sitting so there wasn't a rush to lay up again. The food was average and really not worth £50 each but you're paying Christmas prices so this is to be expected I suppose and compared to other places in the area who were doing Christmas Day dinners, it wasn't much more. As we were on the second sitting we didn't feel rushed and relaxed with a drink or two in the bar afterwards. The place could do with a bit of refurbishment as it's looking a bit tired.

We booked Christmas Dinner here for our family of four adults plus 2 aged parents . The promised canapés on arrival were reluctantly given out , in fact difficult to access as they were on a tray perched randomly on a desk . The meal was set in a tired marquee at the rear of the hotel and meant the view ( a selling point of this hotel ) was non existent . Fairy lights dangled from the fabric of the marquee , some broken and dusty . We had issues with our order as a vegetarian was served duck and a bit of unpleasantness ensued when the staff refused to change the dish to something suitable . The main course came with vegetables on the plate with no option to help yourself to those you actually enjoyed ! No wine was included in the £50 / head cost and when we asked for wine we were dispatched to the bar as there was no table service . The meal was edible and adequate but not a celebration in anyone's book . We felt deflated and , to coin a phrase , ripped off ! The staff were salaried or very young and so minimum wage earners making the £50 charge even more extortionate. We will never go there again , at Christmas or otherwise . I hope the management enjoyed the remainder of their Christmas , we were certainly glad to leave .

I have known and visited this hotel/pub many times over the last 50 years. They used to serve a wonderful "hammy eggy cheese", with the choice of one or two slices. My recent nostalgic visit revealed the building and interior in bad need of some TLC. The view across the Solent still remains a great visual experience. My wife and I both selected ham,egg,chips for lunch, the ham was great off the bone, the meal was very tasty, and the service good. I am not sure I will go again until it has been refurbished, but if you have not been before you will enjoy reading the history of the place.

I decided to try the Alverbank's roast dinner service, and I wasn't disappointed. There was a good choice, friendly and attentive service, and the food simply tasted good, so it was a positive experience.

Went to their mexican night, had a brilliant time, food brilliant, individual tables which looked lovely, staff friendly and helpful as always. It was £14.95 which was excellent value for money and the mariachi band were brilliant. Would like to recommend and we will definitely visit their other themed/tribute nights.

We booked The Alverbank for Christmas Day Lunch in Dec 2012 and it was such a let down. We were squeezed into one side of the Marque to eat a hurried and regimented lunch, which to be fair was lovely. However we were ushered out almost immeaditely after swollowing our last bit of food. I was looking forward to sitting in the bar for a few relaxing drinks after our meal so we made our way there, only to find the next poor unsuspecting customers were being contained in there only to be eventually squeezed into the exact seating area we had just used? So why were we all squashed together? The mind boggles! They've missed the key point as to why people eat out at Christmas - to relax and let someone else do it all. Never again, I'm looking for somewhere else this year.

As it was such a beautiful day we decided to visit the Alverbank and sat in the garden which has a view of the sea and Isle of Wight albeit a limited one.We both decided to go for a Ploughmans, they do the standard one, a fish one and a 3 cheese one. I had the fish - smoked salmon roulade, smoked mackerel, 6 large prawns, crusty bread and butter and side salad. My husband had the 3 cheese, large chunks of cheddar, brie and stilton also served with crusty bread, pickle and onions.Accompanied by a glass of crisp white wine and pint Guinness it was a lovely lunch!

Gosport has a reputation of being a grey, boring place (nicknamed Turk Town) and is certainly overcrowded, with monstrous traffic problems but this little gem of a hotel gives the lie to all of that. Situated very close to the beach it has a magnificent view over the Solent and is surrounded by a park (not a play park). The garden is surrounded by trees which give shelter from the westerlys we have grown accustomed to these last few years and also from the blazing sun so is good for sitting out almost all year round. The welcome is very friendly and the bar meals are all prepared in the kitchen. On this occasion we were having drinks and sandwiches for lunch outside. There was a group of ladies taking a flower arranging class in the dappled shade, almost made me want to take up flower arranging, so peaceful and quiet it was and really warm this July. There's usually a lot going on at weekends with weddings most summer Saturdays, can also be on Sundays we discovered and Fridays too. Sometimes the entire hotel is closed for a wedding so it is always worth checking. On Friday evenings there is often a tribute night when the place is very busy (we tried this once but were driven away by the ridiculous high volume of the music though most people seemed to be having a great time). The building itself is quaint, with lots of bits that seem to have been added on which creates its own problems, some small rooms and always work that needs to be done. If you can't abide such thing then stay way, otherwise come and enjoy the Alverbank. Have to recommend though perhaps I should be keeping it to myself.

I have just come back from an excellent afternoon at the Alverbank, food was excellent value for money and the staff were very attentive and quick. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone.As an outcome of having such a wonderful afternoon we have booked a special birthday dinner for my mum, they have provided an excellent room which gives the personal touch, we just have to go in and choose the courses we desire for the evening. Thankyou to Karen Morgan for being so accommodating. See you soon. Just to add, the hotel has beautiful views from the garden looking out on Stokes Bay.

We were invited to try the new restaurant on Saturday 22nd September 2012 and what a fantastic relaxed evening and superb menu choice. Best scallops I've ever tasted and a lovely touch with black pudding. Carole had the ham and chicked terrineand the lamb which she said was excellent and I had the steak which was cooked to perfection.Finished off with a nice sweet and an awsome cheese board.The staff were brilliant and the food came to the table without any hassle or waiting.Superb service and menu, highly recommended and will eat there again soon.John and Carole

Had a wonderful evening at the newly opened Dukes restaurant at the Alverbank Hotel. The food was absolutely fantastic, perfectly cooked and presented to a very high standard. The staff were very proficient and it made a nice change to see that they all seemed genuinely happy in their work. The only slight downside was the fact we were seated so close to the lovely pianist that it was quite difficult to hear what my wife was saying. My wife and I also visited the hotel on the 20th September for the hotels comedy night, "jokes bay" and had a great night. The comedians were excellent and for only an extra 6 quid the food was also excellent value.

Just had fine dining experience in newly opened Duke's restaurant. Good selection on menu, well cooked and presented. Pianist added to good atmosphere, good service (Harriet and Kate) and very good food. Would recommend a visit.

I booked a table for 3 for a weekday lunch and we were shown to a window one looking out over the Solent to the Isle of Wight.We had the pensioners 2 courses for £ 7.50. Service was prompt and friendly.All meals were of good quality and as described in the menu.A good choice was available.Home made Pork and Apple pie went down a treat as did the starters two of the party chose instead of a main course. Desserts too were all good value although the Eton Mess might have benefitted from a saucer as the glass was full to the brim.No background music to distract us. A squirrel cavorted on the grass outside and along the stone wall. One of our party is a wheelchair user and access was fine.Carpeted ramp at front and enough space between the tables in the bar area where we ate made mobility very easy.Glasseswe were served soft drinks in were very distinctive. Round at the top but rectangular further down making them very easy to holdWe enjoyed our visit and hope to return soon.

My husand and I were at a tribute night and although the act was good - they usually are - the food was awful as it has been on other occasions. For some reason they have some acts which include a meal and others which you can choose not to eat. I would recommend that you just go to see the act itself and pass on the food.

We decided to spend Christmas day 2011 at the Alverbank. We thought it would make a change to the cooking and entertaining that we normally do. After paying £50 per head we were excited that we could relax and have a lovely day. How wrong we were! On arrival we were given a glass of flat cheap sparkling wine and one canape each. We were ushered in to a crowded bar where we purchased drinks. We were then told to go into a marquee where we would be served dinner. We then had to look for our table which had a sign with our surname along with a printed piece of paper saying that we could purchase a bottle of wine from the bar. By this point we had had no customer service.......I proceeded to the bar to buy that bottle of wine! Along came our plated starters, not too bad! Eventually our main course arrived...ready plated....with vegetables that consisted of one sprout, two slices of carrot, one floret of broccolli and soggy roast potatoes. Food was mediocre at best! There was no personal service throughout the meal, and half way during our meal the staff started to clear tables around us and stack chairs. It felt more like butlins than a hotel. We won't be going back and will not be recommending the food or service!

12.15 lunch,self, wife niece and grandchild [11]order food of 2 chicken liver pate which my wife said was nice,order mains, 2 sirloin steaks[rare] blue cheese sauce and chips with side salad, burger and chips scampi and chips all with side salad.Steak like leather no sign of any red in meat burger couldnt get a knife in it and scampi dry andhard to cut,asked if everything was alright told the young lad serving about our complaint and all he said was sorry,my grandchild said she was still hungry and coul she have treacle sponge pudding it came out she took one mouthful and said it was awful,we all tasted it and it would have been better used as a weight for a mooring in the solent it was that heavy and stodgey,also the pint i had tasted like the pumps hadnt been cleaned for months.I didnt see any management staff to talk to about my complaint and the staff had no pride in what they were doing

We were a group of 30 family members meeting as we do once a year, we Booked a carvary lunch on arrival we were told this was not available. The food came and it was of the poorest quality i have ever had, the service was also poor, the bar person was on another planet . all of us were disappointed ,we shall never be returning and would not recommend this place to anyone.

I had plesure in eatingat this restaurant with a family gathering this week and the food was outstanding...from a rosetted chef with a wonderful varied menu. I had the duck breast with a blackberry sauce ....superb !! followed by the lightest profietroles i have ever tasted. I have travelled around the world on both business and pleasure and found the staff attentive and the restaurant manager a good host. I was shocked to read the other reviews and felt i had to comment.

This place used to offer good value two course pensioners' bar lunches for £5.50. In the early days, they were great, in fine surroundings.We had lunch today (Monday 9 November) and there was a staff meeting in the bar deciding on future events and menus. The three involved were noisy and seemed to be unaware of their other guests on on the adjacent table.The main course of 'roast of the day' was a beef meal which seemed to comprise the left-overs of the weekend. It was luke warm. The roast potatoes appeared to have been deep fried from the previous day, and the vegetables were hard. The meat seemed to have been left over from before. There was no Yorkshire Pudding (surely all roast beef dinners have Yorkshire Pudding !)We told the very young waitress that the meal had been poor, but she showed no interest and made no comment.I looked around for a more senior member of staff (on a previous visit, I had spoken to a tall mature man who appeared to be a manager with responsibility), but this time the place seemed to be lacking any 'front of house' staff.Even the ladies toilet did not have any paper !!!We left resolving never to go back there again. The Seahorse round the corner does great meals with attentive staff.