Need to know
Rooms
Nine, including two rooms and two suites in the main inn, five rooms and suites in Clarence House, standalone cottage with three bedrooms the Corner House, and four-bedroom farmhouse La Frette.
Check–Out
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm; notify the hotel if you’ll be arriving after 9pm.
More details
Rates include a Continental breakfast with homemade granola and jams, breads, pastries, yoghurt, fruit, cheese and charcuterie (and warm-from-the-oven biscuits in your room each day), but à la carte items are charged (nothing’s priced over £12).
Also
The hotel restaurant and ground-floor bathroom are fully accessible. Suites are set at the ground level, but have two steps to the entranceway – staff are happy to lend a hand on request.
At the hotel
Alfresco dining terraces; two gardens: one Mediterranean style and open to all, one English and open to guests; log-fire-warmed sitting room with board games; cinema lounge; charged laundry service; free WiFi; umbrellas for guests to borrow; plug adaptors on request. In rooms: Flatscreen TV, Roberts Radio, mini fridge with milk and water, tea- and coffee-making kit, bathrobes, Plum & Ashby bath products. The cottage and farmhouse each have a fully-equipped kitchen too, while the latter has a kitchen garden.
Our favourite rooms
When it comes to getting sett-led in, you’re spoilt for choice: the individually decorated rooms and suites are spread across the Victorian main inn (formerly the Rose & Crown) and Georgian residence Clarence House; and there's an 18th-century workers’ cottage or a four-bedroom farmhouse, each perfect for family or group stays. The inn is perhaps the cosiest, and we like Spikes for its original dormer features or the forest-green Den for the bath tub in the bedroom. Le Huret Suite is the stand-out in Clarence House for its antique brick arches, fireplace and imported African lighting. And, of the standalone residences, Le Frette just pips the Old Corner House to the post for its acres of lushly green farmland.
Packing tips
Bring binoculars for scanning the hedgerows, ‘be prepared’ gear for activities, and comfy shoes for the cobbled streets.
Also
The hotel has quite the team on hand, alongside philanthropist Julia Anne-Uggla and Tracey Farquhar-Beck who oversaw the refurbishment, interiors expert Charlie Horner curated the look, and Uggla’s daughter Riley designed the staff uniforms.
Pet‐friendly
Doggos are welcome in Clarence House or the Old Corner House for £10 a night or £25 each a stay if more than two nights (just keep them off the soft furnishings). They’ll get a bowl, treats and waste bags too. See more pet-friendly hotels in Alderney.
Children
Hoglets can stay (staff can book babysitting), but must be accompanied in public areas. Classic seaside fun, open wilds to cycle, derelict forts to discover, and a steam train will entertain. An extra bed costs £30 a night for under-12s, cots £10.
Best for
Younger children who can walk and talk.
Recommended rooms
Either one of the cottages, which both have a kitchen for flexible dining. La Frette is the more private, with acres of surrounding fields.
Activities
Close encounters with wildlife, clambering over fortifications, kayaking and riding the steam train give a bygone Enid Blyton feel to proceedings. And the hotel has board games and a cinema room. The top speed limit here is 35mph, so it's fairly safe to let your children go free-range.
Babysitting
Staff can help to book a local sitter.
Also
Bring any rainy-day distractions and beloved tech.
Sustainability efforts
Hotel owner Julie-Anne Uggla puts philanthropy at the heart of all she does; and, what she does – building and investing in companies, establishing a school for disadvantaged children, creating a film foundation to offer free video production to charities – is highly successful. Her first fundraising efforts helped 16 Ukrainian orphanages to keep running, then she launched the Cities Talking app (with self-guided tours for travellers) and Zamcog, a hugely effective initiative to support and educate orphans and disadvantaged children in Zambia. The latter has raised over five million and helped thousands of children with food, shelter, schooling and employment with Pizza Hut franchise Dagon, another of her investments. She works closely with NGO Human Rights Watch too, and shows no signs of slowing down in her Earth-saving efforts with the Blonde Hedgehog. The stay is plastic free (and encourages guests to only bring refillable bottles), uses LED bulbs, has boilers on timers and water-saving devices, and has water buttes on the garden pipes. Eco-friendly products are used (Plum & Ashby and Damana bath products; Belu water) and while refurbishing the inn extra layers of insulation were added to save energy. Recycling is part of the day to day, rooms have energy-efficient and water-saving EcoKnit robes and towels, and the kitchen garden supplies many of the restaurant’s ingredients, while almost all others are sourced on-island; vegetable waste and coffee grains are used for the composting. The hotel works closely with the Alderney Wildlife Trust and operates in as environmentally sound a manner as possible. There’s a daily update for guests who are interested in the hotel’s projects and perhaps want to get involved themselves.