A PEARL OF AN ISLAND
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Recommendation added: 07/03/2006 12:04
By: lynrog (YSUK rating +87)lynrog has been thanked 2 times for this contribution
"Norton Grange - The Isle of Wight. Well yes it was the holiday competition that got me started on these reviews, but in my defence I have wanted to write about them since joining Ciao. When you join and sit there thinking about what you want to write about, you start thinking of experiences, products anything that you enjoy, you really like and want to share this information with people, well that's what it was like for me. My first thoughts were my holidays, I only started having regular breaks around 6yrs ago, never went far before that. So each time we went anywhere it was a new discovery, a new adventure. I couldn't find them on the site to do the reviews; being new I just didn't know at the time that you could suggest a product. Then my ideas, were put to the back of mind for a while, when this competition came up, it sent me the link to suggest a product, so here we go and my favourite holidays are being written up thick and fast.
So why, Warner's and why The Isle of Wight. Warner breaks were introduced to us by my parents who went on them 4-5 times a year and really enjoyed them. We tried a few of the weekend breaks for ourselves the first one for my husbands 50th birthday nearly 5 years ago now, and wow did I feel like royalty, we went to Littlecote House on that occasion and it felt so posh. Now you have to remember where holidays are concerned I have led a sheltered life. Well after visiting there and going on a few other weekends over the next couple of years, we chose to stay with them to visit the Isle of Wight.
We chose the Isle of Wight because I had been there as a little girl with my parents, again in the 80's the year after the south of England suffered those terrible winds and lost lots of trees etc. when my two girls were only 2 and 4 yrs old (I think). Anyway, it was one of those places that left a lasting impression on me and I always vowed to return one day. My husband had also got pleasurable childhood memories of the place so it was agreed our main week's holiday would be here, just the two of us.
Now don't get me wrong here I love children to pieces they really lighten up your life, but mine are all grown up now and my husband and I wanted some 'us' time together so we chose to stay at an adult only resort.
Right we have made our decision on location now let's phone Warner Breaks to book our week away, I remember looking in the brochure and thinking this is going to cost us a lot of money, around £800 for the week for the two of us. The nice lady asked us what we wanted, so we went for the Ambassador plus room, which is a slightly bigger chalet and comes with a bottle of sherry, small box of chocolates and a small basket of fruit. We chose the bigger room at an extra cost of £6.00 per night because we had previously gone on a very cheap weekend at Corton and the Chalet there was a small twin room (seriously small my hubby's legs hung off the bed and I couldn't roll over being a big lady as the bed was too narrow). After explaining to the lady all our details and the fact that we had been on two weekend breaks with Warner over the last twelve months, with all the discounts for that and the fact it was a 7 night stay it cost us just under £600 for the week including our ferry tickets. Well happy, we paid our deposit and now we waited for the confirmation through the post so we could fill in the ferry sheet and book our ferry to and from The Isle of Wight.
The big day arrived and I am like an excited child and cannot wait to get there, I even enjoyed the long drive down the motorway to Portsmouth to catch the ferry - I think if I remember correctly the ferry takes about 1hr to get into port at Fishbourne, Isle of Wight.
It is not far to our destination and we follow the route in the brochure to find Norton Grange it took us about 15mins from the ferry port. For those of you that don't know, no where is far in the Isle of Wight it is only 26miles across (well that's what my dad told me when I was little).
**** Arrival ****
We were a little early but they booked us in and told us where our room was, giving us the key, they did request to check first with the maid to see if the room was ready, each row of chalets are allocated to a specific maid. So armed with the little map they gave us we made our way to the Chalet (at this stage I got a little nervous after the Corton experience with their room), we got to the room and saw the maid a few rooms down, we asked if our room was ready, it was apart from the fresh towels, she let us in and popped back a little later with the towels. We were very pleasantly surprised it was up nearly up to the same standard as the Hotels, (not as big as the rooms in the Hotels, but big enough). You had a large double bed, dressing table, hair dryer, wardrobes, two chairs and still plenty of space to move around, best of all Roger and I both fit in the bed without worrying about falling out of it or Roger's legs hanging off the end. The room and bathroom were very clean, décor was a little dated but not unpleasant to look at. Well impressed.
Our Holiday begins, after unpacking we go and inspect what is on offer, oh and find our table for the weeks dining. Just down from our chalet was the games room, this had snooker tables, a pool table, darts, skittles, games machines, a small café and the gym. Nearly forgot there is also the beauty parlour and a hair dressing salon here, also a coffee shop. The swimming pool was in the main building.
From the games room we passed the Bowls green and went into the main reception, then through to the main restaurant where the kind staff showed us where we would be sitting for the next week. We even recognised one of the waiters from a previous stay at one of the Hotels, small world.
The main building was not too large, so not much walking to get to each area, the small gift shop for all the things you have forgotten to bring, plus gifts, sweets, newspapers, magazines etc is just a little way to the left of reception. You can walk into the bar that also serves light lunches, during the early evening around 6pm if my memory serves me right they have a pianist playing in here, he was very good. You sit comfortably with a pre dinner drink looking out through the large (Norman style) arched windows out at the Solent. Oh it is so nice and relaxing.
From this bar you can walk into the main entertainment room, the evening usually started with a quiz, bingo and a bit of ballroom dancing. You were then entertained by the resident band, followed by a show put on by the entertainment troupe and finally finishing with the resident band and a bit of disco music.
As this was the Isle of Wight we went out every day visiting the sights and stayed in during the evenings. We would spend some time in the entertainment lounge, but it usually got a bit loud for us, so we would nip outside and relax at the tables provided on the patio still hearing the music in the background and watching the sun go down over the Solent, oh it was a beautiful sight. I can only describe it, because we lost all our pictures when my computer caught a virus and died on us (yes, I know I should have saved them to disk). To us it was so beautiful the sea was calm and a deep blue, which got deeper as the sun set, the trees along the edge darkened with the sun setting and the little sailing boats just bobbing a long and the odd light going on in the larger yachts that sailed by, seriously it was just idyllic. With the music softer now in the background you could just sit there and enjoy the scene unfolding in front of you.
The staff in the hotel excelled themselves, they were extremely helpful if you needed to know anything, they talked us through a day trip that we booked through them to Portsmouth. On one of the evenings during our stay my husband had a little problem when he opened the butter to put on his roll, the butter had melted in the tub and when he took the top off it spilt all down his trousers, leaving a nasty greasy stain. We explained what had happened to the manager and he told us to leave the trousers with him and we would get the trousers back for 0900hrs the next morning. Well, never in a million years did I think he would get the stain out of the trousers, but he proudly informed us that he contacted his mother in France, took her advice and the stain was gone, the trousers were returned to us clean and pressed.
I will say a little about the food at Norton Grange, there was always enough choice, although little plain for my husbands' tastes but it was varied and edible. It was 3 yrs ago we visited Norton Grange and if it has followed the hotels, the restaurant service would have changed last year to a wider variety of food to choose from a buffet bar.
The only thing I did not like about Norton Grange was the noise you got from people coming past your chalet on their way back to their chalets, it felt like they were going to come inside it was that close. You don't get this so much in the Hotels.
*** Out and About ***
We visited a few places during our stay, I would like to tell you about a few of the places we saw.
The Waltzing Waters - this was a beautiful show, it mesmerized you all the way through, the fountains of coloured water danced it way through many tunes from the classics to modern pop - it was amazing to watch. For research I just looked them op on the internet and you can download the video from www.waltzingwaters.com . I have to say we both really enjoyed the afternoon visit to here, we had never seen one of these shows before.
The Needles - We visited here on our week away, had a little walk round the shops and cafes (I did think they were a little over priced), we went for the chair lift ride down to the beach to look at all the rainbow coloured sands - This was very brave of my hubby as he is absolutely petrified of heights, I had to hold on to him down and back up and I'm scared of heights too, but it is a must if you go The Needles as it is a spectacular sight to see. You can buy or own kits here to make your own coloured sand arrangements - great fun for the kids.
The Pearl Centre - This was one of our lazy day visits as it does not take long, imagine a very large Jewellery shop and you get the picture - I have never seen so many different pearls there were fresh water and cultured pearls all on sale. You could even pay for a lucky dip cultured pearl, you pick your oyster and the assistant opens it up, gets whatever size pearl is in there, weighs it and values it for you, you can even get a valuation certificate with it. Sorry I can't remember how much it was, but I remember thinking it was a lot of money. Roger did buy me a lovely pair of pink and white droplet cultured pearl earrings, they came in a little velvet bag with instructions not to spray hair products or perfume on them. They are lovely and you have to bring a souvenir back from your holiday don't you.
Osborne House - We set aside a whole day for the visit here, it is the beautiful home of the late Queen Victoria, it is well worth a visit if you enjoy stately homes and grounds. I think it cost us around £18.00 for the two of us to visit, it is a member of the Heritage Trust and they do offer you a chance to join and you get your money back. You can visit the main house and tour round the gardens - There is also the Summer House which was the children's nursery (this was bigger than some detached houses around today), it was build like a Swiss Lodge, you can work round this as well. We took a pony and trap ride around the grounds (dead romantic if there weren't other people with us). That was nice as I have trouble breathing sometimes and can't walk too far.
There are lots of wonderful places to sea in the Isle of Wight we didn't to them all, this was a relaxing holiday, sometimes trying to fit all the sights in can wear you out. But if anyone is thinking of going there you have Museums galore, from little ones that take less than a hour to visit, to bigger ones that will take you a morning or afternoon, there are beautiful scenic walks available, Carisbrooke Castle to visit, Robin Hood country park - great for the kids with the farm animals and adventure playground. Black Gang Chine - I went here as a child and it was lots of fun, a little scary when you walk next to the cliff, but is has wonderful things to keep the children happy, from memory it had a cowboy town where they can run about an explore, model dinosaurs they can climb all over and much more.
**** Conclusion ****
I would highly recommend a stay here, you have the freedom to go off where you want or stay put and enjoy the facilities they provide, like the Hotels, Norton Grange offer many facilities, daytime\evening activities for all those that want to join in. The couple at the next table to us won the snooker competition (he, he, they were the only two that entered and the wife won, it will take him a long time to live that down with her). Meal times were something like - 0800- 1000 for breakfast and 1830 - 2000hrs for the evening meal - but don't quote me, it was 3yrs ago. To us the whole week was brilliant, sadly due to loosing my photos we only have our memories, but I know that one day we both want to go back. Roger only said this the other night when I told him I would be reviewing it. We went there the last week in July and it was not overcrowded as the tourist season was only just starting.
We would also recommend The Isle of Wight itself, there is so much to do here, that a week (if you want to rest as well), is not long enough to get everything in, there are some beautiful coastal towns like Sandown and others, something for everyone here whatever your age. It is easy to find leaflets and information on places to visit, on the ferry across there are tourist information leaflets available.
**** Contact Warner Breaks ****
www.warnerbreaks.co.uk
Norton Grange
Yarmouth
Isle of Wight
PO41 0SD
01983 760323
Warner Breaks booking line - 0870 601 6012"
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