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Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 10 Opinions
6 Mona Drive, Douglas, IM2 4LG, United Kingdom
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of people enjoy staying here
10 Opinions
the view to the southwest
impressive
esplanade
Manx Parliament Building
I would like to travel to the Isle of Mann to see the TT races. Is there a good location to stay in Douglas which is not 5-star expensive ? Also close to good local restaurants. Any other suggestions would be helpful.
The Isle of Man gets very, very booked-up well before the races begin, so you should try to find somewhere as soon as possible.
Look at:
http://www.isleofman.com/tourism/accommodation/
In fact, it gets so booked up that ordinary people offer rooms in their homes (for a fee, obviously): http://www.visitisleofman.com/homestay/ Might be your best option, but you still need to be quick.
If you find the TT accommodation too expensive or not available please be aware that there are other motorcycle events on the island at other times of the year.
We watched events in the Southern 100, a 4 mile road circuit, which has been running for over 50 years every July.
There are other events in August which are probably more impressive.
No doubt the TT is the best; but if you are sitting on a grass topped wall in the countryside watching motorcycles roar by, taking photos of the place where someone went past earlier, perhaps you will still have a good time.
It is generally much easier to find somehwere to stay than it is to actually get onto the Island! Book your travel first and then have a look for somewhere to stay - there will always be someone with a room to offer you but it does get more difficult to find that someone the closer you get to the event! Basically - book early to avoid disappointment.
Once you have your dates sorted try the homestay as suggested above for the best prices. A lot of people also offer this service privately (ie; not regulated by the Government) but this requires trust on both sides as you are not offered the same protection if you have problems and the host is not covered by insurance. It is not common for people to have problems though. Look at www.iomtt.com - you can post your accomodation request here and also find people who are offereing accomodation.
Good luck and hope you manage to make it over here :-)
Just outside Douglas on the road to Port Erin at Santon, you may pass over the 'Fairy bridge'. It is rumoured that each time you pass over, if you don't say 'good morning' to the fairies you will have bad luck ! Don't tempt fate; say good morning and stay healthy !
I suppose one can't miss out the subject of the Isle of Man TT motor bike races. The races effectively close all the main roads in the island.
If you are a biking buff, great. But otherwise you may find the road closures a nuisance when trying to get around the island by road.
If you are in the Isle of Man when the 'TT' is on and need to get around, you are probably better off to use public transport in the form of the Steam Railway on the Electric Tramway Railway systems. If you are into bikes, bring your camera and maybe binoculars too.
Although this page is under Douglas, in reality it's for the whole island.
Most people in the UK know next to nothing about the Isle of Man, unless they’ve had some connection - a holiday, or business perhaps. That was my case, anyway. Anyone outside the UK probably knows even less, and is less likely to have a connection.
It’s right there, in a box between England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. But it‘s tiny - the population is just 70k. And access is not that wonderful at least from Scotland. For me it was a 3.5 hour drive and then a 40 minute flight. That was because there are no flights to/from Scotland on a Saturday, at least in winter. Any other day of the week is fine, tho'! The ferry is 3 hours plus, from Lancashire.
It is not part of the UK. It is not part of Great Britain. It is outside the EU.
It has it’s own parliament - the Tynwald. It is a British Dependency. The Manx language is a form of Gaelic.
Population is about 70,000. It had annual economic growth of 1% as at February ’11, in the middle of a UK recession. Unemployment was 200 at that time, against job vacancies of 150. I think that’s called “full employment”, but it seems a rather alien concept. And you’ll hear plenty of foreign accents from the central and eastern Europeans working in service industry jobs.
The island is best known as an offshore tax haven, so banking, insurance and financial services are a huge part of the economic landscape. The other big claim to fame is the annual motorcycle event - the TT races. Motorcycle racing on the normal roads. Sounds pretty wild - I’d love to go back to see that!
I had a lovely 30 hours there in February 11. It was wet and windy most of the time, but I saw enough to make me want to come back in the summer. It is a popular tourist destination in season.
Douglas, Doolish in Manx, lis located on the eastern coast has been the capital of the Isle of Man since 1863, taking over from the old capital of Castletown in the south west of the island.
It is by far the largest town on the island with a population of roughly 26,000. While Douglas is the capital, the centre of Manx finance and the port of entry for boats from Ireland and the UK, it is still in many ways a bit of a sleepy seaside town. But this is still where you will find the best shopping, the historic Gaiety Theatre and the most accessible nightlife as well as the national museum and art gallery.
Tips on Douglas can be found on my Isle of Man pages.
Climbing to the top of the water wheel was a real task for me as I'm scared of heights - but I did it !
Laxey is just a few miles from Douglas north in the direction of Ramsey.
Laxey is also the starting point for the mountain railway to the top of Snaefell.
Picture 'borrowed' from an IOM tourism site.
Local Douglas (Isle of Man) time: Same as UK.
Currency: British and Manx pound.
Language: English (and Manx: historical only )
Nearest large town(s)/city: IS Douglas.
If you are travelling from the UK, you don't need a passport to visit the Isle of Man but it is a form of identity for hiring a car etc.
No financial gain is received by any travel tip writer. We do this purely for enjoyment and to help fellow travellers.
If you find my tips useful, ratings would be appreciated. Thanks.
What's the current weather like in Douglas? (Link)
If I can quote from the little vinyl record that came with my holiday brochure for the Isle of Man at the time that I went there.
'When standing on the top of Snaefell (the mountain) you can see five kingdoms. England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and above - the Kingdom of Heaven'.
When I stayed in Douglas, this was the Falcon Cliff Hotel which used to put on some good entertainment in the evenings for a modest fee on the door.
However, I am told that it is not a Hotel anymore. Sad loss.
Flags of the Isle of Man on Douglas promenade. The 3 legged design on the flag history says that, "No matter how I land, I will stand". Or something like that. The tracks in the foreground are for the horse drawn tram that runs along the seafront.
Short cuts:-
Fancy a look at my other Isle of Man pages
such as Port_Erin (Link)
Or how about Peel (Link)
or Back to my Homepage (Link)
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Q: TT Races "I would like to travel to the Isle of Mann to see the TT races. Is there a good location to stay in Douglas which is not 5-star..."
A: "The Isle of Man gets very, very booked-up well before the races begin, so you should try to find somewhere as soon as possible. Look..."
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