Carlton Hotel

The Carlton Hotel is an excellent choice to base yourself in Shanklin and to explore the Isle of Wight. Anne, Bob and all the team are professional, polite, caring and considerate in looking after all their customers no matter if you are staying, dropping in for lunch or a drink. Everyone is welcomed with a smile and outstanding service. Our party had two rooms both of which were cleaned spotless every day. Our rooms had showers, duvets, tv, coffee / tea / milk and biscuits. There are hot and cold choices for breakfast, in the dedicated breakfast room, which starts at 8:30am. From cereals, including Kellogg’s Frosties, through to a full English breakfast every meal was cooked extremely well with quality ingredients. All meals were served fresh with a friendly smile by the amazing breakfast team who made sure you started your day fully fuelled. There is off street parking as well as free on street parking in Park Street immediately outside as well as the surrounding roads. We never had an issue parking. The is a large open plan area with a bar, tables and chairs as well as comfortable sofas and chairs with more tables for lounging and resting up. There is also a large TV screen to watch the vast selection of terrestrial and subscription channels if you are having a day off from the sun and or sightseeing. There is a very large decking area with tables, chairs and umbrellas which give stunning views of the sea and passing ships crossing the channel out in the distance. The deck has the sun all day long. The decking leads down to a large garden with a lawn and well stocked and matured boarders, which has benefited from a lot of hard work and looks simply stunning. Here visitors would have lunch , served till 3pm, and join the residents. The food at lunch is extremely good with generous portions. At the rear of the garden there is a gate leading to a quiet road which has the entrant 50 meters up the road to a lift that takes you down to the esplanade, sea front, beach, restaurants, bars, attractions, amusements, etc. Sandown is a two mile flat walk along the esplanade past the beach huts and the town has more shops, bars, restaurants and a pier to explore. The town of Shanklin is down a hill where a high street with all the usual shops can be found as well as a supermarket (Co Op). Ten minutes in the car away there are Aldi, Lidl’s and a huge Morrisons with a petrol station. Our stay at The Carlton was peaceful, restful, relaxing and everything was made extremely easy for us to enjoy ourselves by the wonderful team looking after us. There are very good reasons above and more to say that explains why there were no vacancies when we were there and many returning guests. Hopefully one day we will join that group. Well done The Carlton Hotel and thank you for a marvellous holiday.

We had a wonderful stay in the hotel, the view from the beautiful garden is stunning and Anne, her family and the staff are the sweetest people we’ve ever met. They have a nice lounge with a superb view at the sea, where you can order something from the bar. When you can’t walk easily there is a cliff lift that takes you down (and up again) to the beach at the cost of just 1 pound. You can reach the old village through the Chine, a gorgeous gorge that reaches down to the sea, you can even meet some dinosaurs.

This is a beautiful Hotel and Bar the views from this Hotel are stunning. The gardens are beautiful kept. One of the most beautiful places I have ever sat and had a drink. The hosts Jay and his wife make you very welcome. I didn’t eat there but the food looked amazing.

Just back from 4 nights at the Carlton, can't recommend it highly enough. From the minute we arrived to leaving we were made to feel at home. Room was clean, tidy and comfortable. We booked the sea facing room with a good size balcony and thanks to an unusually warm end to September were able to sit out every day. Breakfast choice was extensive, full English was superb. This was our first short break at home in the UK for years, after this experience it will not be our last. Many thanks to Ann and her team.

The gardens were lovely, the guest sitting room was nice and big, with tables as well as sofa's and tv, you could eat takeaway in there which was good. But our expensive room was basic and old, the bathroom smelt of damp. The toilet was stained. We left our wet towels on the bathroom floor for changing. We received 1 clean towel the other wet one was hung over rail. I mentioned about an iron and board, Anne said ask me tomorrow at breakfast. As I saw Anne hoovering, I went up and ask about the iron. she stopped and said very abruptly if you need to talk to me ring the bell for staff, even when I apologised, she ignored me. There was a bell rung every morning for breakfast. There wasn't much selection of fruit only grapefruit or prunes for breakfast, everything was brought to you. One morning I had 5 prunes (thats all they gave) and Cereal. I asked for a croissant, the waitress said, I suppose as you didn't have a fry up. I felt uncomfortable there, I definitely wouldn't stay there again and it wasn't worth what it cost. I will definitely go back to Isle of white as it was beautiful and so much to do and see.

Your adverts mainly focus on the gardens rather than the rooms. Some rooms are shown but these would be the 'better rooms' The awards seen are for the gardens and not the hotel itself. We got addressed on arrival by a male as 'my darlings!' not appropriate!! Breakfast was like an army camp with a hand bell being rung at 08.30hrs, you have until 9am to finish up then they want you gone. On our first morning we were served mouldy toast, we didn't hear a word despite pointing it out, no apology, nothing. While getting ready to go out there was a knock at our room door asking if we will be long as they wanted to clean the room and we were the last one! The room was on the ground floor, the outlook a fencing panel! You could smell mould the minute you walked into the room, this was coming from the bathroom which needed a complete overhaul. The use of objects such as a toilet brush and a loo roll holder to 'hide' bad areas of mould, the shower had very little pressure. The furniture was old and tired. Our kettle leaked, so you ran the risk of being scalded every time you made a cup of tea. Again, despite reporting this, nothing happened equally no apology. We were told on arrival that someone would always be available if needed, except you could never find anyone. In the evening the bar staff were loud and foul mouthed, this went on until well after 2300hrs! The owners daughter was due to get married on the Saturday, family were arriving all through the week, so parking was non-existent, we had to park out on the road. In the morning, after the evenings family gatherings the lounge contained rogue socks, rubbish, juice bottles etc and was a general mess. Maybe you should have closed the hotel to accommodate the family instead of your paying guests! We won't be returning

Have stayed at the Carlton Hotel before, yet again on arrival was welcomed in by the lovely Anne who gave us our keys. Have stayed in there lovely rooms upstair before, but this time we had a room downstairs which was lovely & spacious & the bathroom was big with bath/shower, all provided with tea/coffee etc. The Deck tea gardens is such a beautiful garden overlooking the sea, just perfect for a beer & a Gin & tonic. We have had several lunches there which have been amazing. Great location for travelling around, and Hotel is not far from the cliff lift to take you to the beach too. Anne, Bob, leigh & Jay made us so welcome again & they are so helpful. My husband and I will be looking forward to that beer & the Gin & Tonic on our return.

Had a wonderful stay at the Carlton; it's a real gem of a hotel in a great location. On arrival we were welcomed by the lovely Anne who showed us around and couldn't have been more helpful - she also served us a fantastic full English breakfast each morning which went down a treat! The room was spacious and spotless with the most comfortable beds and pillows and big bathroom. The standout part of the hotel is the exceptional gardens and bar area. The deck and gardens are fabulous with beautiful views from the clifftop looking across the bay. We had a lovely lunch and the best Pimms I've ever had! I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.

I go to to carlton tea Gardens often as i live local and dont have a garden so love the garden and setting but mostly the warm welcome from Bob, ann , Jay and leigh plus meeting up with the locals .. I shall continue to go and will always enjoy