Spending Christmas On Isle Of Wight

[Jennykenny]

Planning on spending Christmas on Isle of Wight. Would like to be based somewhere busy, and although I will be taking the car over and exploring the island by car, would like lots of restaurants within walking distance of an interesting hotel.
Where to stay? Town-wise and hotel-wise?
(Don't need or want 'live entertainment'.)
I know it is early to be thinking of this, but all the good places get booked up year to year, as I am already finding out.

[Buenchico]

The Isle of Wight only has two towns of any real size (and neither of them are exactly big!). Ryde has a population of 26,000 and Newport has one of 24,000. (All other IoW towns and villages have populations below 10,000).

Of the two, Ryde is probably the more tourist-orientated (because it's on the coast) and thus more likely to have hotels and restaurants open over the Christmas period. So that's where I'd start looking:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotels-g503890-Ryde_Isle_of_Wight_England-Hotels.html

The TripAdvisor reviews for the Lakeside Park Hotel seem to have several 5-star ones from people who've stayed there at Christmas, so it might well be worth considering:
http://www.lakesideparkhotel.com/

[Jennykenny]

Brilliant. Thanks Chris.
After 2016's Christmas nightmare of no trains from Worthing, BA on strike, baggage handlers on strike and thick fog, I decided I would only plan things I had some control over, assuming ferries to I.o.W aren't cancelled by bad weather or on strike.
I actually did get away to Tenerife without problems for a week but it was a close run thng.