In June 2018, David S said:
It is some years since I last updated the review of The White House Hotel on Herm Island, the smallest of the publicly-accessed Channel Islands. But a change in the tenancy and in the management of the hotel justifies revisiting it.
You cannot look at the White House Hotel in isolation…it is part of a package and the package is the entire island. It is only 1.5 miles long by 0.75 miles wide but has such a diversity of topography that almost everything is there from the cliffs at the southern end of the island to the long, sandy beaches at the northern tip.
In between is a hill that was once crowned by a monastery and which today houses a farm, camp site, holiday cottages, a school for residents’ children (currently five on the roll) and a tiny chapel dating back to the 11the Century. The hotel is at the foot of the hill, alongside more holiday accommodation, a tiny harbor, quayside pub (The Mermaid), reputedly the world’s smallest prison and some shops.
Around 30 or so people live on the island all-year-round, all management and staff of the tenants (the island belongs to Guernsey, 2.5 miles away) but this number is swollen several-fold during the season, that this year began in May and continues until October (plans are there to open all-year-round).
The hotel has 40 bedrooms, 22 in the main building and the rest in annexes. They are all of a high standard of fixtures and fittings, but there are no TVs, no phones and indeed, the island has no cars – bliss. Instead the families have a wide choice of board games in the comfortable lounges, or can walk around the island in an hour or so (longer if you walk the three-sides of the island with beaches) or investigate what’s there when the tide goes out – and it does, for a long way with the Channel Islands’ massive variation of tidal fall.
The island is gorgeous, full of flora and fauna and the Trident shipping company’s 250-capacity catamaran makes four or five return trips each day (£13) with day-trippers from St Peter Port. The views are amazing, of Guernsey, of the neighbouring private Jethou island, of Sark in the distance, of Jersey and Alderney and the French coastline (all faintly); you can see puffins on the cliffs, dolphins in the sea…the variations are endless.
The hotel has a justified reputation for its cuisine and everyone by tacit and unspoken agreement, tends to ‘dress up’ for dinner in the Conservatory – might seem stuffy, but it somehow fits. There is the neighboring Ship restaurant for the more informal choices (you can transfer if on a B&B package). The Mermaid pub also serves meals but it gets hectic during the day with the trippers.
The new management? Competent and welcoming; the staff are as efficient and friendly as ever; the menu choices in the Conservatory are standard supplemented by daily specials which are adequate; little (correctly) has been done to change things structurally or procedural in the hotel; the kids’ menu is better standard food but some variety is needed for those staying a week as it becomes repetitive; the prices of wines remain moderate but the choice is hugely (negative here) French-dominated. We don’t all like French wines and although there are some NZ, Australia, South African etc., it is clear where the emphasis lies. Importantly, you can still buy a bottle of reasonable house wine for £15-ish.
The great thing for families is that many of the rooms contain an annex of bunks that works extremely well. There is a decent-sized swimming pool, erratic tennis court and wonderful short walks.
If the impression gained is that I am a ‘Hermite’ then I will admit to it without hesitation. We have been coming here since our eldest son was 18 months and he is now 33 with his own family.
The negatives? Really procedural and in the early days of a new management, they will probably be ironed out. The kids’ menu (mentioned above) needs attention; the staffing levels during our visit were clearly too low; the overall pricing is still relatively high but worth it – except if you have children under six. The younger ones are free, but for the older ones the value is dubious….£82 a night for an 11-year-old sharing with parents and that ‘afterthought’ for children’s catering, is iffy.
But we remain Hermites and the entire family is pledged to return often. At least one pair of our family representatives will go back every year. In short, Herm Island isn’t perfect, neither the island or the hotel, but they get very close to it.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk