The Hilton is a bit on the faded and tired side. I'm not familiar with the other hotels you mention. Have you looked at the Claremont hotel? Great location and more stylish than some of the other IOM hotels.

Just picked this one up.

All hotels in Douglas are not in the first flush of youth. (some were scruffy when built!) Have you tried the IOM tourist Website?

MUST you stay in Douglas. There are some much nicer places to rest your head and being a small and beautiful Island you are never far from anywhere else.

As for the Hilton, I had friends stay there last year and their comment was "never again!"

Get back to me if you are still coming.

Mille Failt Ellan Vannin!

Hi Rosa

It really struck me when we were staying with family in the Isle of Man over Christmas that such a beautiful (and these days prosperous) island is so badly served with quality hotels and restaurants (especially Douglas) . The Isle of Man Tourism Department, according to some, is largely to blame for this vacuum it seems but there is now investment taking place at a rapid pace in catching up, but that will be several years coming to fruition.

However, we found the welcome and friendliness in shops and pubs to be wonderful, and the pub food excellent - I had the best Lamb Shank ever in the Hawthorn (near Peel) - even better than Welsh Lamb!. The Creek tavern by the House of Mannanan in Peel had a very traditional (slightly rough around the edges!) but cosy pub atmosphere. There is also a nicely refurbished pub in Port Erin - The Station that we visited for lunch.

We stay with relatives in Douglas when we visit but a friend of mine who recently visited as part of a tour said she was so glad they stayed in Port Erin and not Douglas. It is a nice place - and every day she was able to get the steam train to either Castletown or Douglas and the island has an excellent bus service too.

I notice the Falcon's Nest Hotel in Port Erin has had good reviews, so you might want to think of that?

Well actually having re-read the Falcon's Nest 'adequate' is a better description than good.....

The Admiral in Douglas may be worth checking out, and the Welbeck. Alternatively the Mount Murray is a few miles outside Douglas just off the main road to Castletown (but you would probably need a car if you didn't want to rely on buses to get everywhere).

Hiya Rasa111, (and anyone else in a similar predicament)

First of all go to www.visitisleofman.com which will feed you into the 'system'

It would be invidious to select a place for you and not knowing your demographics and needs would not attempt to do so.

The Manx Countryside is beautiful so why stick in our Capital if you do not have to? Being from down under you will be more at home with the big skies and sunsets of the hills and coasts.

The only place I would unhesitatingly recommend to you would be Close Taggart S/C cottages. BUT they are secluded and you will need transport. Good meals in local pubs would not be a problem.

Check out www.closetaggart.co.uk

There is also an option to stay on a farm if this is your thing.

As we live in the Isle of Man we haven't stayed in any of the hotels recently but I can answer your question re parking. Most of the seafront hotels don't have parking with the exception of the Hilton and the Sefton has limited parking.

The others rely on free parking along the promenade. That is fine near the Regency Hotel where you can park 24 hours with no restrictions and there is usually plenty of space (except during TT). Further down the prom towards town there is disc parking (you can get a free disc at the tourist information desk in the sea ferry terminal building) which is restricted to 2 hours during the day (8am - 6pm).

We have work colleagues who regularly visit from Jersey and the UK and this is what they say,

- The Hilton is good for those who like the gym and the pool, the rooms are small and can be noisy if you have a sea front room later in the week as there is Colours bar underneath the hotel (on the seafront side). All rooms were refurbished within the past 2 years and I haven't had any complaints about them apart from the size.

- The Sefton is preferred by those not bothered by the gym/pool facilities and our senior managers seem to prefer this.

- The Clairemont is convenient for the town (this is in the disc zone parking area) and is considered to be clean and comfortable.

I stayed in the 'annex' (about 4 building further up the road - rooms only, no facilities) at the Regency when I first came to the island. I was there 3 weeks and had a bedroom, lounge and bathroom which were all huge and very comfortable. I didn't eat in the restaurant though so I can't comment on this.