About us
Having opened The Terrace Yarmouth with their family in 2020, Tom & Ashley decided they didn’t have enough to do already & purchased the iconic St Augustine Villa at the edge of Ventnor Bay. Built as a home for the local rector in the 1840s it has been a guesthouse, lodge and hotel for over 150 years and is most famous for the visits and sketches of Aleksandr Herzen.
We began a restoration of the property in August 2021 completing just under a year later and opening as The Terrace Rooms & Wine, a second venture under The Terrace brand and also our home. Now a six-bed boutique guest house with an emphasis on destination wine, decor & barista coffee, equipped with a wine shop, tasting room & off-season restaurant, all situated beachside in Ventnor.
Press
Recomended as a “Hot New Hotel” by The Independent.
Named among the top ten most romantic UK boltholes by The Times.
Named best autumn foodie break in the UK by The Sunday Times.
Featured as Hotel of The Month in Conde Nast Traveller
Four-page feature in The Caterer, “The Accidental Restaurateur”
Scored 8.5/10 by the Times Luxury Hotel Guide
Named one of the Best Value places to drink wine in the UK by Decanter Online
Silver Star in Star Wine List and nominated for Best Up and Coming Wine List and Best New Bordeaux List
“One to Watch” award in Wine List Confidential
Named top UK Wine Hotel in Decanter Magazine including both the cover and gatefold
Interview in Telegraph - “What Chefs & Sommeliers Drink”
100 Best Places to Stay 2024, The Times
Gold Star from Star Wine List
Best UK New Zealand Wine List 2024, Star Wine List
Best UK Wine List in Wine List Confidential 2024
Tom named by Harpers Wine & Spirits as the UK’s 19th Best Sommelier 2024
Tom wins Sommit New Zealand scholarship
All this without a PR firm on board. We must be good!
FRONT COVER OF DECANTER MAGAZINE JUNE 2023
Opening times
ROOMS
Open year-round
WINE shop
Open 10pm - 5pm seven days. Just pop in & purchase
WinE Bar
By appointment or for residents 12pm - 5pm daily
WINE ROOM DINNERs
Friday at 7pm
WINE TASTING
Residents’ wine tasting included in every stay, daily at 5pm.
Private wine tastings available year round by appointment.
Contact bookings@theterraceventnor.co.uk to discuss
Find Us
We are right on the seafront in Ventnor on the first curve of The Cascades. Postcode PO38 1TA.
Please contact us if you wish to park as we have limited space ashley@theterraceventnor.co.uk
Meet Our Team
Our small team are passionate about all things food, art, wine, travel & hospitality.
Ashley
Ashley is a hotel manager & ex-superyacht
chef whose grandparents owned a B&B in Ventnor.
She is passionate about design, art, wine & making customers happy. Her key role in the business is managing Tom.
TOM
Tom was (or maybe still is, he can’t say) a guidebook inspector who fell into cooking & wine. He is a Top 20 UK sommelier and has staged in over 100 restaurants where, as a journalist, he never cooked a thing. He is passionate about finding unique produce for our restaurant & quality wines for our shop. You can find him moaning on Twitter @eaterwriter
Ronnie
The Terrace Rooms is a guesthouse, which means we live here along with our dog, Ronnie. He is quickly learning to spend time on his own upstairs but guests may encounter him in the bar or pergola. He’s very friendly, scared of everything & getting a lot better at not barking. Do not feed him bacon!
Elisha
After a year working with us at The Terrace in Yarmouth Elisha made the jump to Ventnor and now oversees bar, check ins, wine stock, rooms, & service at our dinners. She recently passed her Level 2 WSET qualification which means she the third-most wine qualified person on the Isle of Wight. Her favouite food & wine pairing is nugs & ketchup with frizante rose.
Dee
Dee wrote us the single best cover letter ever. One reference from Mr Perks later & she was bossing our housekeeping & breakfasts. A Ventnor lady born & bred, Dee knows everyone who’s anyone in the town & gently guides our local offering & minds our Ventnor Ps & Qs.
Also, she is lovely!
Lilifer
Lilifer (Or Lily for short) worked at Ventnor’s legendary Crab & Lobster Tap for almost three years before joining us to help with breakfasts. Unitl Sept 2024 she cooked our big weekend breakfasts, baked bread, ran kitchen service & worked Front of House too. Now she has left us and, as predicted, we cried.