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Which is the best hotel in Guernsey when comparing the Old Government House Hotel & Spa, the Duke Of Richmond Hotel, and Fermain Valley Hotel in Guernsey? If you want to avoid reading our entire article, the answer is that the Old Government House Hotel is undoubtedly the best luxury hotel in Guernsey.
We have reviewed the Old Government House Hotel in more detail here, and the entrance is pictured above. If you want a better deal, book the Old Government House or the Duke Of Richmond via our luxury travel concierge.
1. Best Location: Old Government House Vs. Duke Of Richmond Vs. Fermain Valley
Old Government House is brilliantly located on the edge of the center of St. Peter Port. It is a 2-minute walk from the main street and enjoys harbor views and immediate proximity to the waterfront and all the town’s quaint harbourside and streetside restaurants. Its location can’t be beaten.
The hotel is situated up the hill from the main street, so the hotel benefits from decent harbor views from its pool and garden terrace as well as from many of its rooms and communal areas. It looks out over a small garden as the front, so the location is fairly peaceful, yet you are a few steps from everything St. Peter Port offers.
While the Old Government House and the Duke Of Richmond are both centrally located in St. Peter Port in Guernsey, the Duke of Richmond is a 10-minute walk up the hill from the town center and further inland. The walk is very pleasant through the upper part of Candie Gardens, but it is a fairly steep climb up the hill to the Duke of Richmond, meaning the Old Government House wins on location.
There is less in and around the Duke of Richmond. There is a nice garden across from the hotel, but there is little in terms of restaurants and cafes around the hotel. Instead, there is a big communal park opposite the hotel.
The Fermain Valley Hotel which we have also reviewed, is fairly remote. When we stayed, they provided a minibus that drove you down the steep hill into St. Peter Port. The Fermain Valley is walkable to St Peter Port. It would take maybe 30 minutes, but the walk back is up a long, steep, neverending hill and is a real slog.
The Fermain Valley Hotel looks out over probably the prettiest pebbly beach on the whole of the island. As the crow flies, it is probably only 200 meters from this beach, but again, to get to this pebbly beach, you need to walk down a hugely steep road and, even worse, walk up it on the way back. We did this and had to pause on the way up. It’s that steep. It’s possible for adults to get up and down to this pebble beach and then follow the coastal path back up the cliffs, but you have to really like hill walking, and this walk is unsuitable for small kids as it is so horribly steep.
I can’t help but think that the ravine that leads from the hotel to the beach would be an ideal setup for a chair lift to take you up and down to this pretty pebbly beach and would make this lovely clear bay accessible for everybody. Because this beach is so steep to get to, there are only ever a few hardy coastal walkers in the cafe by the beach, and rarely anyone in the water.
2. Style & Character
The Old Government House Hotel & Spa is the only five-star property in Guernsey and is situated in the heart of St Peter Port with panoramic sea views. It is considered a landmark of luxury and heritage in Guernsey, and the hotel feels classically elegant.
Staying here is like stepping back in time or into an Agatha Christie movie. A grandfather clock ticks behind the reception desk as you enter. The marble hall leads to a library area, a brasserie, and a bar beyond, all of which gaze out onto the ever-so-pretty garden that forms the centerpiece of this hotel and comes complete with an inviting pool surrounded by greenery.
This hotel offers a slice of history, and before becoming a hotel in 1858, The Old Government House was the official Governor’s residence for the island and the Bailiwick. During World War II, the property was occupied by Germany, and it became their General Staff Headquarters, so the building has interesting historical significance.
This is undoubtedly the best hotel in Guernsey. Its main advantage beyond its location is the setting and its many welcoming communal areas. The garden setting also makes this hotel stand out over and above the other options in St Peter Port.
The Duke of Richmond has similar classic decor, but it is not as smart as the Old Government House Hotel or Fermain Valley Hotel. The corridors between the rooms are worn and depressing. While the Duke Of Richmond is loved and has great staff, its rooms are tired, and it lacks gardens or many communal areas.
There is one main restaurant at the Duke Of Richmond, where you can have breakfast and book lunch or an evening meal. This leads onto a terrace and down to a pool on a lower terrace. The decor has an African hue with a big wooden leopard in the hall and lots of zebra and leopard skin prints in the bar, which is different.
While the Duke of Richmond has everything you could need, it misses out on the greenery at the Old Government House and lacks the elegance and the numerous communal spaces offered by the Old Government House (known locally as the OGH).
The Fermain Valley Hotel comes in second for decor. It is much smarter than the Duke Of Richmond but is not as classy as the Old Government House. It had more than one restaurant, a stunning outdoor terrace with wonderful views over the treetops and out to sea, and pretty upper gardens and lower gardens that lead down to the bay.
The higher-level rooms are larger than those at the Duke Of Richmond and feel more modern, so overall, the decor is much better than that at the Duke Of Richmond, although not as good as the Old Government House Hotel, but the location of the Fermain Valley is a problem. If you like to walk anywhere, it is a slog to get to, and there are not many restaurants or pubs nearby.
3. Pools
All three hotels have a pool, but the Old Government House pool is a sun trap surrounded by greenery. The Duke of Richmond pool is pleasant but set in a lower courtyard with limited area to lounge. It’s sufficient and has a decent pool but lacks the indulgent feel of the space and greenery offered by the OGH pool. The Fermain Valley has a small indoor pool if you are planning to stay outside of the summer season, this is an advantage, but this small pool is not great in the summer and is hardly worth visiting.
4. Rooms
The rooms at all three hotels are classic in design and are not modern, but they are well-maintained. The sea view rooms at the Duke of Richmond are particularly nice, with balconies and views of the harbor over the trees.
At the Old Government House, the views vary depending on which room you get. There are sea view rooms, but many have views out over the pretty streets. The rooms here are larger and better.
The Platinum rooms at the Fermain Valley Hotel are also much nicer than those at the Duke Of Richmond and comparable to the Old Government House in terms of decor, but they have one major disadvantage. They have no air conditioning and when we visited in the summer, we found them way too hot, almost unbearably so.
Fermain Valley is also on the flight path, so all the planes that arrive at Guernsey Airport fly over the hotel. This is fun during the day, but if you leave your windows open at night, you will be woken by the first flight, which arrives very early in the morning. Again, this is a problem if it’s hot, as you can’t leave your windows open without getting woken ridiculously early.
If you are looking for views, the Duke of Richmond Sea View rooms and the Fermain Valley Hotel Sea View Rooms are quite lovely, but overall, the rooms at the Old Government House are more spacious and luxurious, and they tick all the boxes as they are quiet with great blackout curtains and are not on the flight path.
6. Food & Drink
Breakfast is best at the Old Government House (the best on Guernsey) and the Duke Of Richmond (the second best on Guernsey). These two hotels have a delicious buffet and a la carte menu with the usual Full English, Eggs Royal, Eggs Florentine, Pancakes, Waffles, etc., on offer.
The brasserie setting at the Old Government House is a classier setting for breakfast, and the buffet also has the edge with a bowl of berries and a larger variety of fresh fruit and yogurts. However, you will not be left hungry or wanting at either hotel. When it’s sunny, you can enjoy your breakfast in the Old Government House gardens shaded by trees and among the little garden sparrows and robins who hunt around for the crumbs, which is completely idyllic.
The breakfast at the Fermain Valley Hotel is not as good, with a smaller spread and less quality produce (berries, fresh orange juice, etc).
We did not try the Duke of Richmond restaurant in the evening, but it sits next to the bar, which is quite dingy. The restaurant does have a nice terrace with views that catch the afternoon sun.
At the Old Government House, the brasserie restaurant offers a really tasty menu that is reasonably priced, and there is often a live piano player that adds to the atmosphere.
The bar at the Old Government House offers a lovely setting with big windows overlooking the garden and the harbor. It is one of the best bars in Guernsey. Because it is next to the Brasserie, you can also enjoy the tinkling live piano music from the bar.
The Fermain Valley Hotel offers a number of restaurants and a nice outdoor terrace, but if you stay here, you can’t easily head into town for the evening without taking a taxi, so you are limited to eating in the hotel, which is nice enough, but we prefer the setting and convenience of the Old Government House Hotel.
8. Price
The Old Government House is the most expensive hotel in Guernsey, and rightly so, as it’s easily the best and head and shoulders above the other hotels in Guernsey. The Duke of Richmond is considerably cheaper and, in our opinion, is the second-best hotel in Guernsey. It is a lovely hotel with great staff and a welcoming feel. The breakfast at both hotels is excellent. The Fermain Valley is also cheaper than the Old Government House and has nicer decor in the rooms the the Duke Of Richmond, but the lack of air conditioning puts us off returning here in the summer, no matter the price.
10. Conclusion
The Old Government House is the best hotel in Guernsey. It is beautifully located and has a lovely historic feel, gorgeous gardens with views, and a great pool. This is a proper 5-star hotel in Guernsey and is ideal for the luxury traveler.
Fermain Valley Hotel and the Duke Of Richmond do not have the prime location of the Old Government House. They do not offer the historic significance, the ambiance, or such a great breakfast. If you are in Guernsey in the summer, neither hotel has a pool that is anywhere near the magnificence of the pool at the Old Government House Hotel either.
However, if you are on a tight budget, the Duke of Richmond is the second-best hotel in Guernsey and offers lovely bright rooms with great sea views (book the sea view room; we really loved our stay in one of these). It is 4-star rather than 5-star but remains in second place for the best hotel in Guernsey.
The Fermain Valley Hotel comes in third. If you book a top room here, the room itself will be better decorated than the rooms at the Duke Of Richmond, but they don’t have air conditioning and the location of the Fermain Valley Hotel lets it down as you have to take a minibus into town, which is a pain, as there is little nearby.
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