Once one of the top holiday destinations of the UK with big hotels and a large tourist economy, Sandown on the Isle of Wight has since been subject to national headlines, referring to it as a ‘ghost’ town and a ‘crumbling seaside town’.
But is the answer to try to get back to the glory ‘bucket and spade’ days of the seaside town, or is it to adapt, modernise and move forward?
Holidaymakers in the 20th century used to flock to Sandown, remembers Cllr Ian Ward, who has served the town for over 20 years and has won five council elections.
He said: “When I was a young lad, I was a luggage boy and visitors used to come in their masses.
“The whole of the road was blocked and the whole of the town seemed to be for tourism. Hardly anyone went abroad, and Sandown was a sort of ‘abroad’.
“The majority of the economy revolved around tourism. So when it diminished, Sandown suffered, because it was the primary tourist town on the Island. It is difficult to recover from that.”
Cllr Ian Ward outside the Ocean Hotel on Sandown Esplanade (Image: IWCP)
At the centre of the negative image is the Esplanade Hotel and the Ocean Hotel on the seafront, both closed, run down and the subject of arson.
The Ocean Hotel closed its doors in 2017 and has since suffered regular arson attacks, leading to it being secured by police.
Information released through Freedom of Information requests showed from 2017 to 2025, of the 211 fires in Sandown, 36 were treated as arson – and just two of these offences led to prosecutions.
Data sourced from a Freedom of Information request showed just two incidents of arson in Sandown since 2017 have led to prosecutions (Image: Hampshire and IW Constabulary)
Inspector Rob Abel from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “We understand that derelict or abandoned premises are a concern to the local community in Sandown. Of the seven reported incidents of arson that our officers attended in 2024, four were related to derelict sites.
“In 2025, only one of seven reports was connected to a derelict building site and the investigation into this incident remains ongoing.”
“Arson investigations are challenging and evidential opportunities are often limited due to the nature of the incidents.”
The Ocean Hotel during a major fire in May 2021 (Image: Stephen Sheaf)
Inspector Abel said officers complete regular sweeps of derelict buildings and have used stop and search and anti-social behaviour dispersal powers to prevent incidents in Sandown, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the landowner to ensure sites are secure.
Charges are not the sole potential outcome of an investigation, especially when young people are involved, Inspector Abel said, as other outcomes such as community behavioural orders and community resolutions can be used so as not to disproportionately criminalise young people.
Cllr Ward has been part of the efforts to change the Ocean Hotel for around a decade – but the building is ultimately tied up by planning policy, which stipulates it can only be used for tourism.
Cllr Ward said: “It is not a case of getting rid of the hotels, it is a case of creating options which makes the seafront more marketable.
“We are never going to get back to those days of my childhood when the hotels were full.
“The Ocean is my target and my aspiration. If the planning inspector lifts the policy, I can say I have achieved something, then it is down to developers.”
The Isle of Wight Council confirmed a Planning Inspector’s report is due to be published in April, which will set out any recommendations made to the council. Any changes to local policy are expected to come into effect in autumn 2026.
The Ocean Hotel, closed since 2017, remains derelict (Image: IWCP)
Cllr Debbie Andre, ward councillor of Sandown North since 2017, also said the town’s ‘bucket and spade’ days are over and singled out the town council’s planning enforcement officer as a catalyst for progress.
She said: “The whole tourist economy in the country and on the Island, but especially Sandown, has changed.
“The bucket and spade days of the 1960s are no more. I think that was already happening prior to Covid, but Covid definitely accelerated it.”
The owners of the Esplanade Hotel, next to the Ocean, were served with a Section 215 Notice in 2025. It also suffered an arson attack.
The Esplanade Hotel was last set alight in September 2025 (Image: IWCP)
The Isle of Wight Council confirmed the owners have complied with ‘the majority of the requirements’ meaning the building appears intact from the outside.
Planning permission was granted in February 2024 for the hotel to be converted into 14 residential apartments and six holiday apartments, which has not yet materialised.
Remedial works have been made on The Esplanade Hotel in compliance with a Section 215 notice served in 2025 (Image: IWCP)
I spoke to some people along Sandown Esplanade to find out what they thought of the derelict hotels and the situation in the town.
Gillian and Paul, from Ryde, have lived on the Isle of Wight for 29 years and regularly walk from Sandown through to Shanklin.
Gillian said: “As far as I am concerned, make it flats for local people. I think it is woeful that it has been left for so long.
“We love to come here and walk along the beach, but anyone new coming here for a holiday must be wishing they did not come.”
Rachel, another local, said: “Clean it up, make it something – as long as it is not looking derelict, I do not mind, as long as it is not an eyesore.”
The view from outside the derelict hotels – one of the iconic ‘postcard’ views of the Isle of Wight (Image: IWCP)
Jaz moved to the area permanently just weeks ago after assessing different areas of the Island with her husband – they both ‘liked the vibe’ of Sandown.
She said: “I think the local community are trying to revive Sandown to what it was in its heyday. There are big derelict buildings, but that does not speak for the whole community at Sandown.
“If the community does not stay together and help, it is never going to revive.
“Apartment buildings would be absolutely fine; there are lots of people moving over and everybody wants to live by the sea.”
Running a business in Sandown can also have its challenges. Paul Saville, who has operated the historic Browns Golf since 2023, urges something to be done.
He said: “There has been a reduction in holiday-level numbers in that short time since July 2023, but last year, we had 10,000 people coming through the doors playing golf.
“Something has happened in Sandown; it should not be this way. It needs people to come in and people to deal with the derelict buildings.”
“A lot more needs to be done, and it needs to be done quicker.”
Paul Saville, operator of Browns Golf, has been frustrated by the state of Sandown (Image: IWCP)
Another issue facing Sandown, is the price of getting to the Isle of Wight in the first place.
Both Red Funnel and Wightlink are private companies – and while there are murmurings of government intervention, nothing concrete has materialised.
Emma Stevens, owner of Shore Things in Sandown, a bespoke decor shop, said: “The ferries have got us over a barrel.
“It is not viable when you think of how they are charging – that needs to be governed better.
“Sandown is just waiting for that regeneration. The people really make it; the sense of community is really good from those that want to give that. But lots of people say lots of negative stuff.”
Emma Stevens, owner of Shore Things, said the community in Sandown is good but many say negative things online (Image: IWCP)
Ellery Peak, a director of Sandown Pier, questioned where new investment would come from without people coming over in the same volume they used to and pointed out people could get a package holiday abroad for the price it costs to come to the Island.
Ellery’s family have been involved with the pier for over 50 years and has owned the pier since 1984.
He said: “The ferry prices is a big thing. It can’t be shied away from. Without the people coming over you don’t have any scope to invest.
“Those first couple of years after Covid, the Island was bustling. Nowadays it’s gone the other way.
“It’s what’s going to come into the town to give it a boost. That’s the tricky thing to pinpoint.”
He said the UK’s coastal tourism is struggling and didn’t think Sandown was an exception, but thought the town was harder hit because of the added complexity of ferry travel.
Ellery Peak, a director of Sandown Pier, which his family has been involved with for over 50 years (Image: IWCP)
In response to criticism, Wightlink’s head of marketing, David Williams said: “To help boost the tourism economy, this year marks our biggest ever investment in tourism marketing as we work to attract more visitors.
“We will continue playing an active part in any positive action that brings investment and visitors and supports regeneration across the Island, including Sandown.
“We work closely with attractions and accommodation providers and many tell us that negative media coverage makes it harder to attract visitors. It is important that we promote the very best of the Island.”
Lee Hudson, commercial director at Red Funnel, said: “Through our market research we know the ferry experience is considered one of the most appealing reasons to visit the Isle of Wight.
“Awareness is beginning to improve, which we strongly believe will encourage more holidaymakers to travel over and enjoy the Island in the coming months.”
The problems in Sandown are numerous, but individual excellence and community is underneath the obvious problems the town faces.
Cllr Ward said: “I would not want to live anywhere else. It is that community feeling. I look at Sandown now and I definitely feel an uplift. I cannot prove it, but there are more people here.
“Not everybody thinks Sandown is run down. There are business opportunities here. Yes, we have shops closed down, but that is normal.”
Cllr Ward said some people have a predisposition to have a negative image of Sandown.
He said: “What Sandown needs is commercial investment, and there is light on the horizon.
“We can only take the barriers away and then hope.”
Cllr Andre added: “Within the town, there has been very much this move against talking Sandown down, because it is almost a self‑fulfilling prophecy.”
The Isle of Wight Council said it acknowledges the wider issues affecting Sandown and over a dozen commercial properties have been refurbished as a direct result of council engagement.
Where notices have not been complied with, the council has pursued prosecution and has worked with police to secure vacant properties.