We had a wonderful stay at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Jersey. We were very kindly gifted a room upgrade and a 2-course meal in exchange for our review but as always, all thoughts and opinions in this review are honest and my own.
The location
First up, I have to say I was blown away by the location of the hotel. Based in St Helier, just a short taxi journey from the airport (which cost us £16) you can see why the hotel is called the Waterfront. It’s right on the marina, with Elizabeth Castle opposite, and the beach or sea (depending on the tide) on the other side of the hotel. I can honestly say I have never stayed at a hotel which has such a beautiful view.
It’s also really conveniently located, just a short walk to St Helier town centre with its shops and restaurants. The main bus station is around a 10 to 15 minute walk away, giving you access to the whole island.
There is a Cineworld Cinema and Aqua Splash pool complex right next door, so perfect for rainy days if you’re staying with kids, plus there’s a small Morrisons shop just around the corner so you can pick up any essentials you need there.
Our taxi driver also told us that it’s just a 3-mile walk along the coastal path, perfect if you have a pushchair, to St Aubin. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to walk to St Aubin this time but we will definitely do this next time we stay.
The welcome
I love that feeling when you walk through the hotel doors and you know instantly that you made the right choice. The reception area at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Jersy is large, bright and had fab décor with cosy sofas to relax. There are water jugs with fresh lemon and bowls of fresh fruit that you can help yourself to. It’s the little things that make a hotel really stand out!
The welcome from the receptionist couldn’t be friendlier. There was no queue and we were immediately checked into our room and given helpful information about the hotel and its facilities.
The room
I’ve already mentioned the stunning location of the hotel and I imagine the view would be spectacular from any of the waterfront rooms of the hotel, however from a Panoramic Suite the view is out of this world. I have never stayed anywhere that has had such an incredible view. As soon as I entered the Panoramic Suite I thought, that’s it, I’m going to be spending all my time in here, we’re not going to be exploring Jersey as originally planned! Of course we did go out and explore Jersey but it made the trip extra special having such an incredible base.
Entering the living area
First up, you enter a small hallway. There’s a cloakroom to the left with a sink, toilet and large mirror (perfect for doing my make-up as it also had a magnifying mirror and was well-lit). Straight ahead is the door to the living room. You should have seen our faces when we first walked through to this room. My jaw literally dropped and my two-year-old son was ecstatic. I don’t think he had ever seen or could have imagined anything like it in his life. There is floor to ceiling windows that wrap round the entire room, with views out towards the marina, castle and sea. There’s a flat-screen TV, a sofa bed and some comfy armchairs to relax. There’s also a Nespresso machine and a fridge.
The bedroom
Off of the living room is the bedroom and again I couldn’t believe how amazing the room was. The panoramic windows continue into the bedroom meaning you can lie on the king size bed whilst looking out to the marina. Magical! There’s another flat screen TV which you can also watch whilst lying in bed. There’s lots of space, a desk with chair, lots of storage room and wardrobes to hang your clothes, complementary dressing gown and slippers, complementary water, hairdryer and kettle with tea and coffees.
There are two other doors leading off from the bedroom. One brings you back through to the hallway (my son loved running around in circles from the hallway, to the living room back to the bedroom) and the other leads into the ensuite bathroom with bath/shower and complimentary toiletries.
The suite was absolutely stunning and was kept lovely and clean throughout our stay. I could have spent my whole time looking out at the views from the room. Watching the sunset over the sea was just beautiful. Sam spent hours throughout our stay looking at the views and watching the people walk by below.
The Restaurant
The hotel has a bar which serves food as well as a separate restaurant. We were booked on a bed-and-breakfast basis which meant we had our breakfast here each morning.
The food was delicious and there was a wide variety available, something for everyone. In fact, on the first morning, I had omelettes ordered from the menu and a freshly made smoothie. The second morning I helped myself to a fry up (I was on holiday after all!) and the third morning I had a pancake, again ordered from the menu, followed by a selection of cheese with freshly baked French bread and a Virgin Mary (it was my last day so I couldn’t resist the cheese)!!
There’s a great selection of food for little ones too. My son enjoyed fresh fruit, cereal, pancakes and omelettes served with apple juice and a paper straw. Well done Radisson Blu for not having plastic straws but still managing to keep the kids happy! The waitresses are on hand to serve you tea and coffee.
We had a meal from the set menu in the restaurant on our first night which was kindly gifted to us by the Radisson Blu. It’s also worth noting that Kids eat free at the Radisson Blu. The food was delicious and there’s a good selection on the set menu.
We had mussels to start, followed by the steak for our mains. The kids menu is fantastic and there’s a selection of starters, mains and desserts for the children to choose from. Sam enjoyed garlic bread to start followed by a burger patty for his main.
It’s very convenient having a restaurant in the hotel and ideal if you don’t want to brave the weather outside.
The Facilities
As well as the bar and restaurant, the hotel has a swimming pool, gym and spa too. I was tempted to sneak off to have a spa treatment but sadly ran out of time. However, we did manage to have a swim in the hotel pool which Sam absolutely loved.
The pool is lovely with windows looking out at the sea. There are loungers to relax by the pool and a sauna too. We spent almost an hour swimming up and down with Sam jumping in (with me catching him). He was so happy and didn’t want to leave! The changing rooms were clean with showers and lockers and towels you can help yourself to.
Family Friendly
The Radisson Blu chain is perfect for families for many reasons.
Firstly, and probably most importantly, kids stay free. Not only do they stay free but they eat free too so that saves a lot of money when you’re a family and makes your holiday budget stretch further for fun days out and treats.
Secondly, they have a great Global Explorer pack for each child staying at the hotel, which comes with crayons, a treasure hunt and global explorer currency which can be used in the hotel to buy a drink. This is such a great idea and a lovely start to the holiday for your little ones.
Finally, families are made to feel welcome which sadly is not always the case in some places. We had a very warm welcome from the staff at the hotel. Most staff were really friendly and made an effort to make us feel relaxed and comfortable.
Our departure
We were all so sad to be leaving but none so sad as my son who literally refused to leave the room. He made a protest in the only way a two-year-old knows how, by throwing a mammoth tantrum.
“I want to stay here,” he cried.
“Me too,” I cried back.
“I don’t want to go home,” he wailed.
“Me neither,” I wailed back.
There was absolutely no consoling him (or me) so I did a terrible thing and told a fib.
“We have to go as the lady will be in soon to clean the room,” I told him.
My son may only be two but he’s no fool. He had seen the lovely ladies who had been cleaning our room and remembered how nice they were when they turned down the sofa bed on our first night and left us with chocolate, so as the ‘lady’ threat wasn’t working, here came the white lie…
”It’s not the nice lady, it’s a scary lady.”
I know this is parenting at its worst but I was desperate. My son was having a massive tantrum, outright refusing to leave, he wanted to stay there forever, and we might miss our flights! Reluctantly, at the thought of a scary lady arriving shortly, we finally managed to leave the room. All was well, or so I thought until we were queuing to check-out and my son pointed at the lady in front of us at the top of his voice “Mummy is that the scary lady?”
“No sweetheart,” I managed to splutter between the embarrassment and uncontrollable laughter that was threatening to surface. “That’s not the scary lady. That’s a very nice lady.”
Fortunately, the lady in question (who was lovely by the way and by no means scary in any way) saw the funny side and ended up laughing uncontrollably too along with the receptionist and her two colleagues who were also checking out. At this point I couldn’t speak for fear of actually dying from laughter but Mark managed to explain we had used the threat of a scary lady coming to the room as he was refusing to leave and it was the only way we could get him to leave.
End of our stay
So that was the way our stay ended, with me exiting the hotel with tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks, my son sulking because he didn’t want to leave but relieved that there was no scary lady and Mark fortunately managing to remain sensible and order us a taxi.
And that just about sums up my thoughts on the hotel. A wonderful place that felt luxurious but not snobby, with super friendly staff, from the receptionists to the cleaning staff to the man who managed the leisure facilities. We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome and Radisson Blu hotels will from this day on be the first place I look for when booking a hotel. I hope this review has done justice to just how wonderful our stay here was. Thank you to all at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Jersey for making our stay so memorable. We had a wonderful stay and I really hope we can come back again soon.
Radisson Blu Waterfront Jersey Video Review
To read more of our family travel adventures visit my blog
To watch more of our videos, watch my YouTube channel which was recently featured in Mother & Baby Magazine.
#RadissonBlu
