Welcome to The Rothesay

This wonderful family owned establishment is a pleasure to stay in, it is our aim to take traditional hospitality and warmth and offer our guests an efficient mix of relaxed, friendly service with quality bed and breakfast accommodation.

Michael and Lynn Finlay and family are delighted to welcome you to The Rothesay, which is set well back from the road on the edge of the village of Highcliffe, in the former grounds of Highcliffe Castle. The many guests returning for another dose of luxury will bear witness to the complete refurbishment that has taken place in 2005 to enhance your comfort and pleasure.

We have a large private car park to the front and both a courtyard garden and traditional grassed lawn to the rear, here guests can just sit, relax read a newspaper and while away their time and on occasion hear the sea.

Back to top

The Rothesay is located a five minute stroll from the fairy tale Highcliffe Castle, with gorgeous cliff top walks, views across the water to the Isle of Wight  and award winning unspoilt beaches, leading to Keyhaven in one direction and Christchurch river in the other.  

Five minutes drive will take you into the New Forest, once the hunting ground of William the Conqueror and now the newest national park in Great Britain, where horses, cows and pigs (at certain times of the year) roam freely with “right of way” over today’s cars and lorries and many traditions remain largely unchanged. Here you can visit the stately home of Lord Montague in Beaulieu, he can often be seen driving or walking around his home which is also the location of The National Motor Museum.

 Area Features

Highcliffe is a village with many quality restaurants, ranging from those serving Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisine to the Globe, a family restaurant, the Hinton Oak public house, The Lord Bute hotel located next door to us, which serves excellent food of the highest standard, to an excellent traditional fish and chip restaurant on the High Street.

The shops in Highcliffe are a pleasure to wander around and have managed to retain their own particular identity and charm, without loosing their function. All of the above are within easy walking distance of our front door.

There are 13 en-suite bedrooms at The Rothesay, including six ground floor rooms.

One bedroom is designed for single occupancy, two twin rooms and seven  double rooms, we also have three large king size four poster suites (one of which boasts an oversize bath and separate two person shower with bidet).

Romantic champagne breaks are our speciality.

The Rothesay is licensed to serve guests with alcoholic beverages, both in their rooms and in the lounge and a quite extensive selection of drinks are always available.

The dining room looks out over the garden, where squirrels chase and play and can be further encouraged by the odd brazil nut, once they have tapped on the window to gain your attention. Here we can accommodate up to forty people for pre booked buffet functions, with a stunning selection of home cooked savoury and desserts which are so unusual today, all freshly prepared by Stephanie on the premises.

Our breakfasts are a pleasure to behold with fruit, fruit juice and cereals to select from followed by a full cooked English breakfast using the finest dry cured bacon, our own farmhouse sausages, free range eggs, cooked to your liking, or a lighter  smoked salmon with scrambled egg all followed by our very own home made preserves and marmalade. We also offer a full vegetarian alternative breakfast.

The Rothesay has a lovely 30 foot long heated swimming pool, which is free for guests use during their stay and with the temperature of 33 degrees centigrade brings a new comfort to the meaning of bathing, should you feel in need of additional pampering, pop into the sauna and relax further.