Sefton Express Hotel

The Sefton Express is a modern block at Ronaldsway, blue-clad above and glazed below, with a curved glass corner that glows at dusk. It was built to do one job properly, which is to put a bed within reach of the runway.

Flagpoles stand on the forecourt and the entrance sits in the sweep of the glazing. Open grassland and hedgerow begin where the tarmac ends, and beyond the fields the ground lifts into the low green hills that run down this end of the island. Nothing about the architecture is coy.

Under the tall windows

The main room inside runs up two storeys to green-framed windows that reach the ceiling, with pale walls, cherry-wood chairs and tables spread over tile and carpet, and a rack of island leaflets near the door. It serves as the breakfast room and stays bright on a grey morning. A separate meeting room is set around an oval boardroom table.

Rooms kept plain

Bedrooms are practical and unfussy: cherry-wood headboards and shelving, terracotta and sage cushions on white bedding, a desk, a telephone, a flat-screen television and a kettle tray with cups and sachets laid out ready. Doubles and twins are both here. The bathrooms are white and tiled with a mosaic border, some with a shower and others with a full bath, and toiletries and a hairdryer come as standard.

Ballasalla and the south of the island

The hotel sits at Ballasalla, alongside the Isle of Man Airport. The nearest town is Castletown, the island’s old capital, over on the south coast with its castle above the harbour.

Best for

Early flights and late landings, and anyone working on the island who wants a quiet room and the shortest possible run to the terminal.