Chale Bay Farm, IOW, The Perfect Family Holiday

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to the Isle of Wight for a family break.  We had been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks, especially when we found out we would be staying at the wonderful family-friendly Chale Bay Farm, situated in the south west of the island.

The setting really is as idyllic as it looked from the pictures on their website.  Set is 26 acres of pasture with awesome sea views, as a family, we couldn’t have wanted for anything more from the location.  We travelled over to the island with Wightlink Ferries and had such a lovely trip.

Chale Bay Farm is owned and run by Charlotte and Steve who were fabulous hosts.  Steve is also the chef and believe me he cooked a mean breakfast! Charlotte checked us in and showed us to our Duplex family suite, which was nestled in the corner of this square courtyard (three sides accommodation and one side the restaurant/bar).

Baby was obsessed with the wonderful central pond filled with fish.  She made friends with a ‘sparkly’ fish and had to find and greet it every time she passed!

I just adored the views, acres of fields finally meeting the sea.  Perfection!

The Classic Family Duplex room was so light and airy, it had a super king size bed on the ground floor, with comfy settee, Smart TV, desk, and access to the bathroom.

The room was equipped with everything you would expect from a hotel; safe, packed mini bar, proper hairdryer. Plus there was a box of great toys for Baby and a Sony FM/DAB/iDock Clock Radio.  I was happy to see a well stocked tea tray, with biscuits (not that I ate any!) and bottled water (which was replaced daily).  The Egyptian cotton bedding made for a very comfortable nights sleep, even if I did have to share with a wriggly (almost!) 3 year old!

The great thing about the bathroom for families was that it had a bath! So many places just have a shower and with little ones this can be really tricky, if like Baby, they don’t like getting in the shower. A powerful shower was set in the bath for us grown-ups.  Lots of high quality towels were piled on the heated towel rail and Gilchrist and Soames toiletries ready for use.

Upstairs boasted two single beds and another sitting area with another TV (this time with a built in DVD player), making it the perfect choice for families. Charlotte and Steve popped a stair-gate at the top for us, just to be on the safe side.

The two floor layout was a breath of fresh air;  we could put Baby to bed and we didn’t have to sit silent in the dark all night.  Most people would pop the kids upstairs, however we hadn’t taken Baby’s monitor with us, so we popped her in the double bed; Mr Hubby and I then had our evening in the living area upstairs, before I went downstairs to share with Baby. The room is big enough the also have two cots in operation, so two couples with a little one each could easily share this one room.

Breakfast was served just a few steps across the courtyard from our front door and ran from 8.30-10am.  A great selection of cereals, fruit, juices, yoghurts complimented a wide range of cooked options.  I had just started Slimming World and they were very accommodating, cooking me exactly what I was allowed to to eat to stay on plan.

Baby was so thrilled to see her special place setting each morning.  We will gloss over the fact that I wasn’t allowed to use her napkin, as it had Cinderella on it so it had to be kept pristine!  It was so lovely for her to have a special place setting with kid friendly cutlery and plates.

Baby’s breakfast

Mr Hubby’s breakfast

My Slimming World friendly option!

The bar can be opened for guests at a moments notice and stocks a good selection of wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks.  Blu-ray players and game consoles can also be requested, as can travel cots and and ironing boards.

Chale Bay Farm has 8 guest rooms, most of which have patio doors opening onto a small private terrace with seating (room 3 which we stayed in didn’t have a terrace)

Here is a little video we made of our travels!

I couldn’t recommend Chale Bay Farm highly enough, especially for families. I hope that in the future we have a chance to return.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary stay at Chale Bay Farm in return for our honest review.