We had the amazing opportunity to head over to the Channel Islands, I’ve been to Jersey a good few times but I’ve not made it over to the smaller island of Alderney before, while I loved every second of my visit. Below I’ll try to provide a detailed review of my stay at The Blonde Hedgehog, from what you can expect in the room, what you’ll be eating at breakfast and all the little extras you’ll find.
Which Room Did We Have?
Ok, so there are a number of houses, consisting of the Blonde Hedgehog, Clarence House, Old Corner House and La Frette. Then inside each building (all right next to each other), there are several rooms available.
We stayed in the Clarence House and were in the Le Huret Suite, which is one of two luxury suites they have in this house.
The building is next door to the restaurant, so you have a 5 second walk in the morning to your breakfast, or to lunch and dinner if you plan on eating at the restaurant, which I’d strongly recommend!
The Bedroom
The bed was really big (at a guess, I’d say a super king, as that’s what we have at home and it seemed the same size). You also have numerous pillows in case you want to sit up in bed and watch TV, but I’m quick to remove these.
Plugged in they had a fan which helped to cool down the room, while we also kept some windows open, which is fine as there really isn’t much traffic around, therefore you shouldn’t have any street sounds to worry about.
It’s also worth highlighting that they have straighteners as well as a hairdryer. While this isn’t my area of knowledge, Raquel was beyond impressed to see a straightener in a hotel room.
The TV was a good size, while it also had all the freeview channels you get in the UK, so we did binge a little bit of E4 while getting ready for dinner. There was also a digital radio alongside the TV, in case you prefer some music to play while you’re getting ready to go out.
There was easily enough storage space for two people, while you can also slot your suitcases into the living room area to the far side of the couch.
The Bathroom
The shower had a rain shower head, which was so nice to take in the morning. They also had a premium quality shampoo, conditioner and body wash, all with a nice scent. It’s those little extras that really do impress me.
There was a freestanding bathtub which I loved! It was so deep, so I certainly made the most of this and took a bath each evening after hiking and cycling around the island. They also provided bath salts, which made the experience even more soothing.
If you like any of the added extras, like bath salts, shampoo or hand creams, full versions can be purchased from reception.
Opposite the bathtub was the ‘his and hers sinks’, something Raquel dreams of in our ‘if I win the lottery house’.
Living Room
I’m honestly not used to a hotel room having a living room, but this was more like a luxury apartment.
On one side, you had a couple of chairs, as well as a sofa, so you could easily get the whole family gathered around or a group of friends together. On the other side, you had a quaint fireplace, with more storage facilities. The internal brick wall also added to the stunning appearance of the room.
At the end of the sofa was the coffee and tea area. These little extras often make such a big difference to your experience when staying in a hotel room. You often get those grim Nescafe coffee sachets, but here you had a coffee pod machine and coffee pods (found in the drawer below the TV), while there was fresh creamy milk in the fridge (also below the TV).
I don’t want you to miss this, as I didn’t notice for the first day, but in the little pot on the tray is a whole supply of shortbread biscuits. They were so tasty, I couldn’t help but repeatedly go back for another nibble.
If you prefer a cup of tea, tea bags were found in the drawer below the TV, as well as sugar, while there was a big kettle and a couple of mugs on the tray.
Breakfast
I strongly feel a breakfast makes or breaks a hotel stay. I get so excited about eating in the morning. Well I can honestly say this breakfast went beyond my expectations.
I will state that the options may vary, being on a small island, as ingredients are seasonal and subject to change, but below were the options on the menu I was provided.
- Hog Breakfast: Smoked back bacon, eggs (your choice of cooking method), kiln farm sausage, mushroom, roasted tomato, black pudding and baked beans
- Veggie Hog: Lentil & nut slice, roasted tomato, mushroom, saute spinach, baked beans and eggs (your choice of cooking method)
- Eggs benedict
- Eggs florentine
- Eggs Royal
- Scotch smoked salmon with scrambled eggs
- Egg on toast
- Breakfast bap with bacon, black pudding, sausage and cheese
- Butterbean cassoulet, with peppers, tomato, poached eggs and rocket pesto
- Smoked kipper, lemon and butter
- Continental meat & cheese platter
We made sure to mix it up each day so we could share our experiences.
Hog Breakfast
I’m not a fan of black pudding so I ordered this without. The egg was poached to perfection, while the sausage was also really nice and I loved how salty the mushroom was. If you’re hungry then this is a great option, I ate a few too many pastries beforehand so only managed to eat half, oops.
Butterbean Cassoulet
I have never seen this as a breakfast option before, so I had to give this a try. It was tasty and also felt guilt-free, getting a couple portions of my five a day, fibre from the beans as well as protein from the eggs. The pesto was also really nice mixed in.
Breakfast Bap
Very tasty and plenty of cheese which we loved. I think it was a brioche bun. We got without the black pudding as not a fan of those. This felt like a nice and naughty treat for the morning.
Eggs Benedict
The eggs were perfectly poached, Raquel liked this one a lot.
Beyond the main course, you also have a buffet where you can start off. Below were the main areas:
Pastries
There was the option of bread, but I opted for a croissant, that was warm and tasted very fresh, so I can only presume it was made very recently. It was so buttery and scrumptious.
They also had brownies, WOW! GRAB A BROWNIE. It’s hard to put into words how nice they were. I could use the dreaded word that makes everyone shudder (moist). They also had Danish pastries, chocolate croissants and a flapjack.
With the breads & croissants, they also had the soft locally produced butter on the table, while at the buffet you could make a small bowl of marmalade, plum jam or strawberry jam.
Fruit
The fruit slightly varied day by day, but in general, we found strawberries, raspberries, apples, oranges, melon, pineapple and blueberries. You could also mix in some yogurt, seeds and apricots. The apricots were really nice and plump, sometimes you get overly dried out ones when they go cheap, but these were incredible.
There was also some cereals, but if I’m honest, I didn’t take much time looking at these, I ate too many pastries to have time for cereal!
We also got a morning coffee (latte), which was really good! Seriously, I’m a bit of an annoying latte snob, if it’s not a good coffee then it always taints the experience, but this was exquisite.
This trip was absolutely incredible, I’m happy to say I would openly endorse the Blonde Hedgehog as an outstanding and enchanting place to stay on your holiday to Alderney. I will be covering more about the island over the next few weeks, such as things to do in Alderney, while I can strongly recommend eating at the hotel restaurant for lunch and dinner.