Manor House Hotel Holy Island

I've stayed here every time I've traveled from the US to Holy Island. It is always clean, comfortable and perfectly located. The food works, the staff are friendly. Highlight of St. Cuthbert's Way walk.

We stayed here for 2nights , in what we nicknamed ‘The Telescope Room’. The room was clean, spacious and comfortable. The atmosphere in the bar was cosy and informal. The food in the restaurant, both for breakfast and evening meal, was delicious. But what really made this stay so lovely were the staff. Dan, Richard and all the bar/restaurant staff were so kind, helpful and welcoming. They catered to everyone’s needs, nothing was too much trouble.

High Points: the outside eating area view, the room #3 décor and space with a tub, the food in general; the proximity to St. Mary’s original ruins and St. Mary’s new church; plenty of food variety choices Low Points: a bit understaffed and rushed service at times; the plastic menues Unique Points: location, location, location makes this the best place to stay

The location is magnificent, on Holy Island with views of the water. The room was quite nice. The staff were competent -- handed us our room keys and made us a dinner booking, but were not able to accomodate anything for an early breakfast so we could leave while there was low tide.

Stayed in the 4 person family room which was fine for us (double bed and 2 singles). Power shower (over bath) was great. Tea, coffee and biscuits in room. Gorgeous view of the castle. Beds ok but lumpy and hard pillows. Very quiet room on top floor (no lift!!!); decor a little dated. Had chips from the bar the first night which were just soggy and horrible, but the breakfasts were fabulous (husband had Northumberland breakfast with haggis, black pudding; kids had surprisingly good veggie options) and plentiful. We had one evening meal in the restaurant which was tasty, but mains were £20+ so not inexpensive. Staff very friendly and helpful. The hotel had a small car park which means you can park right in the middle of the village. Hotel is right next to priory ruins, and 5 min walk to harbour and look-out tower. We liked it and would return.

Holy Island is one of the most beautiful, tranquil locations and myself and my family have been going for over 25 years. Every other year we’ve been in a cottage, but this time we decided to go for the weekend and stay in a hotel. The island itself never disappoints and is beautiful in all weathers. The hotel room was spacious for us, but my Mum’s room was a little small. Both rooms were clean. However, my Mum’s room had bubbling wallpaper, an old patch on the ceiling where water had got through and a faulty shower. The rooms are well supplied with tea and coffee. The bar staff in the evening were quite rude and made the evening very uncomfortable. We sat at the table and were given about 2 minutes to decide what we wanted to eat. One man came to see us three times, another young girl came again and then another blonde lady came over. There was about 60 seconds between each visit which felt very pressured. We’re not sure what the rush was as there was only us and another couple sat in the bar. The staff team has one star and that was the man who served us for breakfast. He was very polite, talkative and told us his story of how he came to stay on the island which was very nice. He saved the stay for us and our experience with the staff. The food is very pricey in the bar and there is nowhere else to eat with lower prices as the owners of this hotel also owns two others on the island. We had a wonderful break on the island, but we wish the bar staff were politer and had good customer service skills. The lady working behind the bar gave me a gin and tonic when I asked for a gin and lemonade. She did replace it but did so by making the smallest glass and was not apologetic for the mistake. I had to ask for the glass to be filled up with lemonade as the wine glass had roughly a 3cm gap between the liquid and the top of the glass. I would suggest if you were to stay on Holy Island, you should hire a cottage for the week to get the best experience.