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The Chestnuts B&B Shanklin, Isle of Wight (Hotel Review)

I stayed 5 nights at The Chestnuts, a bed and breakfast in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. I came just before the busy season (May 2022) so I got a great deal, and decided to stay longer than I might’ve otherwise.

The Chestnuts is in the southern part of IoW and very close to the beach, but I was more tempted by the fact that it’s a bed and breakfast actually run by a family, which is fairly unusual in America. At the time, this was early on in my travels and finding homestays and other cozy accommodation was still new to me!

This is a review of my stay at The Chestnuts, plus information about my room, the hotel itself, and other things related to my stay.

Note: I paid for the room myself and have not received compensation from the hotel for writing this review. It’s my own thoughts and experiences and I’ve not been influenced in any way!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and buy something, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep this blog running— thank you! Read full disclosure here.

The Chestnuts (Shanklin, Isle of Wight)

Quick Info

  • Address: 4 Hope Rd, Shanklin PO37 6EA, United Kingdom
  • Plus code: JRMG+95 Shanklin, United Kingdom
  • Phone number: +441983862162
  • Check In: 3:00 pm
  • Check Out: 10:00 am
  • Breakfast: Yes!
  • Wifi: Yes!

Getting to The Chestnuts

Most people get to the Isle of Wight by ferry. There’s actually a few ferries, one from Southampton (the one I took) and one from Portsmouth. The Southampton ferry stops at the top of the island in Cowes while the Portsmouth one goes to Fishbourne or Ryde. (There’s another that goes from Lymington to Yarmouth as well, but most of the tourist stuff is on the other side of the island so I recommend heading to that side.)

To get down to Shanklin, you can either book a taxi, rent a car, or do like I did and take the public bus. If you’re planning on doing that, then taking the ferry to Cowes or Ryde will be easier since the bus stations are closer to the ferry terminal.

There’s a few routes that’ll take you down to Shanklin, including a seasonal bus that runs during the summer months only. Whichever way you take, it’ll be about a 1.5 hour transit time.

The thing to remember is that all the bus routes basically go in a big circle. Most buses meet up at either Newport, Ryde, or Shanklin. More on Isle of Wight bus lines here.

Public Transit to The Chestnuts From Cowes

  • Cheapest: Walk to Well Road bus stop and catch Bus 5 going to Newport. Get off at Newport bus station and catch Bus 3 going to Ryde, then get off at Ryedale and walk about 5 minutes to the B&B.
  • March-September ONLY: Walk to Well Road bus stop and catch Bus 4 going to Ryde. Get off at the Ryde Transport Interchange and catch the Island Coaster going to Yarmouth, then get off at Atherley Cross Road and walk about 2 minutes to the B&B.
  • Train lovers: Walk to Well Road bus stop and catch Bus 4 going to Ryde. Get off at the Ryde Transport Interchange and walk to Ryde Esplanade to catch the Island Line train going to Shanklin, then get off at Shanklin. From Shanklin Station, walk about 5 minutes to the B&B.

Public Transit to The Chestnuts From Ryde

  • Catch the Island Line train going south and get off at Shanklin. From Shanklin station it’s about a 5 minute walk to the B&B.
  • Walk to the Transport Interchange (about 0.5 miles) and catch Bus 3 going towards Newport. Get off at Ryedale and walk about 5 minutes to the B&B.

🛳️Coming to Southampton on a cruise? Book a private full-day tour of the Isle of Wight including Osbourne House, the primate rescue center, Carisbrooke Castle and the model village in Godshill.

Check-in & Hotel Staff

Once I made it down to Shanklin, I managed to roll my suitcase down some surprisingly steep hills and located The Chestnuts fairly easily. The whole neighborhood is a mix of bed and breakfasts, tiny restaurants and regular local housing, so it’s very peaceful. The owners, Haley and Nick, were out walking and found me waiting at the entrance with one of their neighbors, and once we all got together I got checked in quickly and shown to my room.

One of the nice things about bed and breakfasts in particular is how involved the owners are in running the place and interacting with guests. The Chestnuts’ owners know heaps about Isle of Wight, including how to navigate the bus schedules, and they were very friendly without being overbearing. It was nice to have quick conversations in the morning and say hello when coming back after a day of sightseeing.

My Room

I booked a single room which came with an ensuite, a TV, hot water kettle/coffee bar, wifi and a heater. It was a tiny room but perfectly fine for one person. It looked like it’d just been renovated so it was fresh and clean.

Looking towards the door from the back wall.
Looking towards the back wall from the door.

I visited the Isle of Wight in April and for some reason I was absolutely freezing– I guess it really doesn’t get warm until June or later– so I actually did use that radiator quite a bit.

Bed

Single beds in the UK are smaller than US twin beds, just fyi.

Standard comfortable bed and pillows, though of course it’s a little difficult to get used to the UK single mattress size. It’s even narrower than a US twin mattress!

Bathroom

Very nice shower with comfortable hot water and good pressure and decent toilet. As for bathroom amenities, this combo hand/hair/bodywash was attached to the wall as shown in the photo.

View

Looking out the window/door.

I had a garden view room! Not a back alley or side of an industrial building for once! So nice!!

This part of the building only had one other room near it, so I only had to hear one neighbor’s noise instead of the whole building. Fantastic!

Hotel Breakfast

Ah, a proper English breakfast! Kudos to B&B owners for shoveling this out day after day; I’d be exhausted by the second day, myself, and probably shut the whole thing down.

Breakfast hours were 8:00 am – 9:00 am and you pre-selected what you wanted on a form the night before. The food was put together once you got to the dining room and the eggs made fresh, so it only took about maybe 5-6 minutes to get. This is also the time when the owner(s) came out and chit chatted a bit about what sightseeing stuff I wanted to do, and then when the food is ready they left me to it which I appreciated because I despise talking over breakfast.

The food was very good, especially the eggs and bacon which were from a local farm.

Self-serve toast, cereal, juice.
The breakfast order form.

One thing I especially appreciated was the option to get a takeaway breakfast. Very handy if you want to go out sightseeing super early!

Shared Spaces

Dining area

There was a few public spaces for guests to sit. The biggest one was the dining area, which is where breakfast was given. There’s also the back garden (as shown in the photo earlier) and a small sitting area on the porch.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed my stay at The Chestnuts. It’s in a good location to public transport, the beach is only about 5 minutes away, and there’s some nice shopping streets nearby too. The neighborhood was super quiet when I was there, but that’s probably because it wasn’t high season yet.


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