Melville Hall Hotel

A gravel driveway curves through a large well-tended garden and up to the Melville Hall Hotel -- an adult-only spa property occupying a 19th-century stone building with a couple more recent architectural add-ons. Reception is in the older section of the hotel and features some of its original features such as high ceilings with ornate coving and elegantly arched doorways. An extravagant centerpiece chandelier, antique vases, and a marble fireplace contribute to the classically traditional ambience of the place while busy floral carpets and dowdy furnishings add a more dated and old-fashioned feel. Its no-kids policy and relatively secluded position means the vibe is more peaceful than most hotels in the area, attracting couples keen to have some peace away from the little ones with some spa-based indulgence.  

The hotel is located in a fairly quiet, residential area of the seaside resort of Sandown in the southeast of the Isle of Wight. Although set back from the seafront, the yellow sands of Sandown Bay are just half a mile away -- or 10 minutes on foot -- where visitors can find a traditional pier and plenty of cafés and restaurants. Sandown station is also 10 minutes' walk away, though train connection are limited to a few stops up the coast. It's just under a half-hour drive to Sandown from the island's northern ferry terminal in East Cowes -- with connections to and from Southampton. Alternatively bus services connect via Newport and take around an hour and 15 minutes.

The hotel has just 30 rooms in total, all of which are decorated in a perfectly pleasant through not particularly exciting blend of modern and traditional styles. Room sizes can vary a great deal between the spacious superior category and occasionally poky standard rooms. In-room amenities include free Wi-Fi, electric kettles, and flat-screen TVs with Freeview channels (though no satellite or cable channels). Traditionally styled, white tile bathrooms include Gilchrist & Soames toiletries and heated towel rails -- and spa rooms include jetted tubs -- though some bathrooms look in need of a refresh. 

Guests have free use of the hotel's Utopia Spa Leisure Club which comprises a heated indoor plunge pool, hot tub, and spacious sauna. Infrared heated cabins with ambience lights and music also provide extreme relaxation, together with a range of beauty and massage treatments while an outdoor spa pool with hydro-massage jets is open during the summer. A cooked-to-order breakfast is included in the rate, though -- typical for the island's hotels -- service is short and finishes early. The hotel's Summerhill Restaurant also provides a wholesome lunch menu and a three-course dinner in the evenings. A hotel bar serves drinks to both guests and locals and features memorabilia from the Isle Of Wight music festivals of the sixties.