Bay Royal Esplanade Restaurant in Isle of Wight

Amazing roast dinner and dessert! Lovely staff, very kind, helpful, and understanding. We are coming back again for sure!!! Really recommend this little gem, can’t believe it wasn’t more packed! We spilt gravy everywhere and staff were very helpful to help my friends who burnt themselves, and moved us tables so we could get a clean start! Staff were amazing ❤️

Had a lovely stay at the Royal Esplanade Hotel in Ryde, Isle of Wight. It is a charming traditional hotel. It is well positioned for the hovercraft and catermaran ferries and all island public transport (literally other side of the road). Beach, attractions, Ryde town centre shops and places to eat out etc. are all a short walk away. The staff are a real asset to the hotel - they were all so welcoming, friendly, helpful, and provided excellent service.

When I arrived I went to make a drink and found all the coffee and tea stuck firmly to the dish the sachets were in. They replaced it but obviously hasn't been checked. My bathroom window was open slightly the 2 nights I stayed. On the last night I looked up (I'm short) to see a soap bar balanced on the frame of the open window. Wasn't mine as mine was unused. The room looked clean, but with those two issues I'm not sure how thoroughly. The breakfast was ok, but quite basic. My sister didn't want a full breakfast and asked just for tomatoes and mushrooms. She was brought a plate with half a tomato and 4 small mushrooms. I would have expected them to say least double this up when so little is ordered. See my photo.... And see the tomato and mushroom portion given without the rest. At breakfast we were made tea from a pot of cold water. The server hasn't realised the urn wasn't on. So just a little more thought and care here and things would be so much better. Easy to fix. So a mixed bag really here. I still enjoyed the stay and the staff were friendly. I loved the Victorian hotel surroundings and building and it's character. It's in a great location on Ryde. The view watching the hovercrafts across the road was great. Parking must be pre-booked as the car park is small and not at the hotel. It's around the corner. So make sure to book it off needed as parking is difficult around there. Hotel is in a great location and rather quaint Booking.com website did say there is a pool table there. There isn't and hasn't been for a while.

We visited for coffee and tea, the service was good, reasonable prices, a nice selection of cakes and nice comfortable lounge.

A pleasure to have an afternoon tea where there is a good selection not only of cakes but sandwiches too. We'll presented staff friendly and pleasant.

Food very poor quality and small portions. Stick to a roast, don't deviate as portions are size of kids meal.

I stayed one night here on 27th May... It's called the Royal esplanade but there's absolutely nothing royal or grand about it except the exterior looks posh.. In my opinion the hotel should be condemned not fit for purpose...it looks like it hasn't been refurbished since the 1970s... the price at £100 per night is ridiculous for the poor quality and maintenance of the hotel in general and the rooms...my twin room was small dirty stuffy and dingy with furniture from the 70s...bed was uncomfortable...my foot felt like it was going to cave into the floor boards...serious health and safety issues!..no noise control doors banging all night.... I actually can't believe they are able to operate with this shockingly sub standard hotel charging high prices... The only plus side ...its near to everywhere,the staff did their best and were nice...breakfast was OK but I've had better in lower grade hotels... I shall be speaking to isle of wight health and safety department.

Dirty room, awful standards, tired hotel run to the ground to extract maximum cash from naive tourist seeking a “beach location” which is actually on one of the island’s busiest and noisiest roads. Avoid !

The rooms were a bit dated but the service more than made up for it. Any issue was quickly addressed and the food service was amazing. The location is great with lots of shops and a gorgeous pier walk nearby.

The staff at the Royal Esplanade saved our bacon when our Airbnb left us in the lurch. All the staff were really friendly and accommodating. Decor and rooms are a bit dated, but everything worked, and we got a good night's sleep. Breakfast was lovely, as was the bar the night before. Views out the front over the sea.

Kelly at reception was really nice and very helpful. The hotel is nice and the room was really nice, comfortable and clean however, the hot water wasn’t hot and the radiator seemed to turn itself off so I woke up really cold. Other than that, perfect location and reasonably priced

Staying in Shanklin we decided to travel on the train to Ryde. The 'ticket to Ryde' was such good value. Walked the esplanade and the shops and decide to have some lunch before returning on the train to Shanklin. We chose the Bay Royal Esplanade Hotel situated close to the railway station. Faded granduer would sum up the looks both inside and outside. We had lunch and enjoyed the food and the very warm service given by the staff. The feeling of the hotel was certainly one of friendliness, fellow guests were warm, open and interesting. We sat in the window overlooking the Hoverport across the esplanade. We left with a very satisfied glow. Would love to have visited in it's 'heyday'.

Pleasant atmosphere; good prices; comfortingly "olde worlde" and just, well - nice! A lovely place to sit the afternoon with a glass of Malbec and rea the paper.. As I said - nice!

This is not a 5 star hotel, it is Registered as a 3 star, but in my book its not far off a 4 star. The staff were very friendly and couldn't do more for you. The hotel exudes old world charm, and the food was very good, both for dinner and breakfast. If your journey brings you to Ryde, you could do a lot worse than this fine hotel. The hovercraft also stops just across the road.

Excellent value hotel and restaurant run by a lovely team who all deal with you with a smile on their faces. It’s in a good location and has prior arrangement private parking just around the corner from the hotel building. One small criticism would be that the room was not as clean as we’d experienced on previous stays, particularly with regards to the surfaces of the furniture, door handle areas etc. Also the underside of the loo seat wasn’t particularly great either. Small things that wouldn’t take much to sort out and didn’t affect our overall view of the hotel which, as I said earlier means we will of course be staying here again soon.

Great steak and chips. Apple and blackberry crumble so good we had itthe following night too! Very good food

I had baked crab to start, followed by lamb shank; my wife had prawn cocktail and fish; all served by friendly, helpful staff, who were suitably masked for the current restrictions. Diners were well spaced out. Dinner was much better than many similar hotel restaurants.

stuck in the middle of the restaurant like a goldfish bowl, and the teaks were like shoe leather and burnt

We were one of several large parties for the Christmas celebrations 3 days before Christmas. We had 3 courses, all of which were served promptly after sitting down (some meals arrived a little before others, but not a long wait in between). The food, considering how many were being served was hot and put together well on the plate and tasted good. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff as we had a guest with food intolerances and we wanted extra cranberry sauce etc. All was dealt with pleasantly and efficiently. I would recommend their Christmas meals to others. We then went to separate room where there was a 'disco' Some of the music played was rather random - not sure the DJ 'read' the audience well enough but it was still fun and he interacted with people in the room.

Visited here on my daughter's 50th birthday. It was a bit sad because we lost her lovely Dad and my beloved husband of 52 years in February of this year.If only be had been sitting with us.We were comforted by excellent food that we ordered and service you couldn't fault. Lovely white tablecloths, and very quite and relaxing atmosphere. We did need this after the year we had. My daughter and I had the gammon ham, eggs and chips which was cooked to perfection in greater quantities than I could manage. The staff were so helpful and friendly. Will return again for the happy experience.

avoid. There are no words to describe the poor standard here. Undercooked food, slow service, disinterested staff and no choice of where to sit. You're ordered to sit somewhere

Music/radio blasted out from the kitchen overlooked by our room from 6.50am until 11pm. 3 requests to management to get it turned down have resulted in it being turned up. Clearly the kitchen staff have no concern for guests. Other staff are helpful, polite and smiling. Our room is ok, bathroom tired and lacking a shelf to put things on and a towel ring by the basin.

Treated my Mum to lunch here as part of a special deal with the Isle of a Wight Hovercraft. Food was better than I expected and service was super. Recommend.

We ate here twice and enjoyed the atmosphere and service. The prices were very reasonable, including house wine. However, the first time we both had steak and ale pie with chunky chips ans could not finish it. There was a lot of pastry, the gravy was very rich and the chips very filling. The second visit was disappointing as my fish pie was very small and just came with crusty bread and salad. My husband's salmon was a tiny portion, though well cooked.

There was only two waiters and all tables occupied but we did not have to wait between courses..amazing service! Enjoyed our meal which was hot and well cooked.

I like their english breakfast a lot. i went for vegetarian breakfast and they serves the best vegetable sausage i guess.

My meal was ok and my wifes meal which was a lamb shank was really very small for the price. On a better note the waiter was excellent and the service was fast

The restaurant is conveniently located in the hotel. The menu is limited but the food was good. Good staff but the service was a bit slow.

Visited Island for the day to meet up with a friend for lunch who wanted good honest food that wasn't too fancy. This ticked all the boxes. Good English food, well cooked and nicely presented. Pleasant atmosphere and pretty good views in circumstances, being opposite the hovercraft terminal. Friendly and helpful staff.

The food was not adventurous but good size portions ,well presented with a choice of vegetables. The soups were very good but the choice of sweets was often limited if you were not an early eater.

We found the restaurant by chance from the advertising board outside.we both ordered the roast beef which was tender and succulent.This came with plenty of veg and lovely roast potatoes .we will eat here again well worth a try for any hungry traveller .

The hotel is on the sea front opposite the hovercraft. We had a seafront room with breakfast and evening meal. We had a wonderful few days the ginger and pear cake was devine. Recipe would be appreciated... I wasn't well and the staff could not...

Espantosa. Tenía la Mejillones tailandesa. Los mejillones eran principalmente roto y había sido hecho a la muerte con la salsa además que he tenido. Mi hija tenía algunos muy extraño color scampi. El servicio era terrible y nos costó conseguir ninguna atención en absoluto. El restaurante estaba vacío. Cuando me quejé, el camarero dijo que iba a decirle al chef. A pesar del hecho de que me había dejado la mayoría de ella, no nos ofrecieron un descuento o algo. Diabólica - Aléjate de este lugar.

We have eaten here about four times now and each time has been a pleasant experience. Each dish is adequate and tasty although the Prosecco really should be kept chilled!

Мы ужинали в нем, понравился подбор вин, меню - по сезону, цены - замечательные, официанты - быстрые и аккуратные.Мы остались довольные. Спасибо.

stayed for a few days at this hotel so eat breakfast and evening meal every day choice of cereals fresh fruit and fruit juice as well as toast white or brown and a variety of cooked breakfasts. 3 course evening meal with a choice every thing i ate was served nice hot tasy and looked and tasted good.

This is a very pleasant place to have lunch. Very good service and the food very well presented. Even my twelve year old boy ate all his meal as it was so good. Will recommend to every body. The young man that served us was very well mannered and will go fare in his career.

I asked if they did Breakfast for non-residents - yes they did. Off went the receptionist to obtain a table - I noted there were lots free when I peered into the Dining Room - "no; they were full up"; she said. So off I went: see my review " A Tale of Three Breakfasts"a note where I ended up, in fact, having breakfast.

Currently staying at the hotel itself and we dined here just last night for a 3 course dinner. It was absolutely wonderful, and thoroughly enjoyable. The food is magically, the menu offers good choice and variety and the staff are on hand for your foot and call. The price reflects the foods quality and the effort gone into producing the fine dining experience. The portions are kind and the restaurant and bar itself was lovely, cosy and well decorated. The only critique I have was that although the live music was magical it was slightly too loud - not particularly for those deaf or wanting a good conversation, but wonderful at the very least! We will be coming again tomorrow evening.

We decided to try a new venue for Sunday lunch and were really pleased that we did.The almost empty restaurant deserved to be full as the lunch was really lovely.Our Italian waiter was very attentive. We both chose the beef ...portions were generous and the accompanying vegetables beautifully presented..baby whole carrots, chopped cabbage in a mild wholegrain mustard sauce, greens and mangetout. The cheeseboard had 3 good portions of local cheeses and the brownie came with a chocolate sauce...heaven. A fab South Australian shiraz at a very fair price complemented the meal perfectly. Was glad to see more people turn up for a later lunch as this place deserves a try. We will be back !!!!

The first evening I had the Fish Pie, served with great side dish of vegetable (Chantenay Carrots, Broccol and cabbage with a delicious cream and mustard seed sauce) - delish. Only complaint - I couldn't finish it all - excellent value. Second night I had the Tagliatelle with Smoked Salmon and Mascarpone Sauce. They didn't stint on the salmon - wonderful.

We had Lunch in their ‘Harry’s Brassiere’ section, and the food, service, presentation, surroundings and value, were superb. Amazingly they also serve San Miguel, which was just ‘icing on the cake’.I had their Club Sandwich while seated in a comfortable leather armchair, and my ‘dining experience’ was great. The last time I had a better Club Sandwich was in Stanford 20 years ago, so in my book it was that good, I can’t wait to visit again.

Nice meal, fresh and well cooked. Server was really friendly too.Quite posh décor but were made to feel welcome even though we had cycled and turned up in jeans (The other people eating were dressed for the occasion)

Walk past the main restaurant in this vast old hotel (recently refurbished) on the seafront in Ryde, and head for the quieter Brasserie. The menu has a somewhat retro flavour, but please persist, a surprise awaits. First, the prices, which are extremely retro (read competitive!) and then the retro portion sizes (read huge) and finally the quality of the food itself. I had the crab ramekin starter, followed by a generous piece of sea bass served on a bed of steamed mussels. All the meat eaters at our table also had plates groaning with food, and plenty of side offerings too. We chose the house white (Chenin blanc) which was again agreeably priced and agreeably quaffed. All in all the evening was an agreeable surprise.

Considering we were there less than two hours it’s hard to believe so much was unacceptable. From walking in through the front door we sort of knew it may not be our type of place but we thought we would give it a go. Cold and uninviting (the door to the street permanently open to the elements and it was blowing quite hard) – miserable bar to the left and the most brightly lit restaurant I have ever been to the right – absolutely no character or ambience. We had a drink (dreadful piped music – others were complaining – corporate music cheaper licence) then went to the restaurant. I ordered soup – it was not only cold and had to go back but I had no spoon. My main course was chicken Kiev (£9.95) described as a pummelled chicken breast with garlic butting all prepared in bread crumbs – what arrived was a chunk of chicken with burned bread crumbs on the outside and no hint of garlic butter – it had not been cut-open. The manager said they marinade it in garlic butter – then it’s not chicken Kiev is it!! – It’s chicken wrapped in bread crumbs AND you pay extra for veg (£2.95). My wife faired slight better but her crab ramekin (£6.95 for a starter) was half-cold – bit of a worry these days. We did not stay for desert we did not want to take the chance. When I went to pay the card machine failed twice they bought another on form the bar but the signal was weak so it took a while. How unprofessional. We saw the upgrade information on the Wightlink Ferry and it look great but it was not it was just awful. Perhaps we hit a bad night but we will not be going back and we will tell people on the Island what they might expect. We eat out every Saturday so they lost the potential of a good level of business. Good luck if you try it.

Excellent hotel just wanted to add photos of some of the friendly staff that work at the hotel we stayed from 19 to 29 September

really enjoyed the meal, service as well. They really try to make sure that you are catered to, which is lovely

Great place friendly staff yes you Peter LOL, would definitely book this again for next year, beats all the others I think.

Good food, lovely setting and welcoming staff. Will return and also spread the word about this little find. Don't walk past, go in!

We had two meals, the price is basically pub grub prices with similar menu's. But very well cooked, presented and served

Just had a drink in here. Didn't stay here as it was quite expensive and right opposite the hovercraft terminal (noisy) However, staff were fantastic, drinks not cheap but a pleasant evening

I went into this hotel thinking it was the sort that would serve a nice afternoon tea in the lounge. Unfortunately they don't.

The hotel is very nice rooms are good food is excellant and the staff are too.Nothing is too much trouble we have come on a national hollidays and would recomend this hotel.

Michelle, restaurant manager was excellent with our unusual diet. She was very kind, attentive, efficient and seemed to be aware of not just our needs but had an good overview of other staff and other guests. She's a very valuable assett to any hotel.Seemingly her husband is the chef and must also be congratulated for producing such good food.

our waiter alex was very friendly and there was a good variety of meals each eveningat the gala meal we had a sorbet and a glass of wine as well as the usual food on offer

Our room on lst Floor no 16 badly needs updating did not like the fact that to obtain a decent upgraded room you had to pay extra this is wrong.

Hotel staff were friendly. Our waiter was extremley friendly, it was an honour that we were given this particular waiter. He is a credit to the hotel.

Food was of a good standard. The Gala meal differed from the normal in that it had a sorbet !! Oh and a glass of wine !Attentive staff.Very tight area at breakfast for serving yourself cereals/ juice etc

all food was pre-prepared and not always very hot but the waitress was very good. Tables were well set out as well.

the food overall for a hotel is terrible the evening meals are the worst ive ever experianced frozen fish at the seaside Ha ! tinned fruit used for sweets etc etc guests becoming ill with stomach problems ,rooms are dreadfull paid extra for sea view windows filthy balcony covered in pigeon pooh, SUM it up DONT GO THERE !.....

for its 2 star rating its basic english food catered for the masses and cheap to boot exactly what you would expect

Really good service and good choice of menu. Service very quick and food tasty and piping hot. Also has good choice of wines to go with any meal.

Polite service no waiting between courses on a table for four we had no comlaint, except that the brocolli was a little under cooked one evening

Having just completed the Isle of Wight Half Marathon, my wife and wanted a light lunch anda drink. The new sun terrace at the hotel seemed to provide the perfect solution. What a shame it failed to merit our expectations. Our order wasn't complicated, two cheese & onion sandwiches, 1 with white bread, 1 with brown. After a considerable wait our order turned up, after I must add orders for other people, placed after ours, the order was wrong! The surly waiter come bar manager offered no apology and nothing to put it right. Whether or not he was responsible for the error is immaterial, as front of house he should know how to deal with complaints. He was clearly stretched without any help and as a result he refused any further orders. The management should take note, staff your business accordingly if you want the business. It was a beautiful hot day, and for you to be turning away staff is a ridiculous business decision. We would welcome communication from you to discuss making it right. On the plus side the terrace and the furniture is great and looks like proving a big hit ss long as the service is improved.