Member Spotlight: The Fig Tree Hotel

Becoming a premier destination and revered boutique hotel in an area is no mean feat. Such is the ambition of The Fig Tree Hotel, in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.

Aiming to provide a memorable experience for every guest as well as providing a cosy retreat complete with rousing entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere for locals alike, emphasis is placed on getting the small details right.

Originally built in 1954, the building existed as Auckland House Hotel, proudly operating until 2016 when the long-standing owners retired. Step up sisters Wendy and Karen, who seized on the potential of the property and then opportunity in 2023, and The Fig Tree Hotel was born.

Hotel manager Billy Urry has been at the helm since August 2024, tasked with manning the charge for establishing the hotel and a level of consistent quality that Billy knows a hotel needs to provide in order to sustain.

Pooling from an extensive hospitality laden history that began working at a children’s holiday park on the Isle that he admits “inspired an interest in the industry”, Billy never looked back from there. Spending time cheffing, then moving into front of house positions at various pubs and restaurants, prior to lockdown suspending everything he had just started working in a hotel.

Not too long after emerging from lockdown, Billy got involved with a cousin who had been working at a mountain bike centre on a farm. A few years prior, the farm owner decided to butcher the animals onsite to sell to the island market. In 2021 he saw it right to go one step further and try out a street food venture in the lens of offering quality cooked locally produced food to the Isle, quite literally taking the food from farm to fork.

It was here Billy stepped in as the catering manager to man the operation and saw things grow from one food truck, to also comprise two permanent stands, as well as trading at pop-up events. Things went well for a while, but Billy found there was “always something calling me back to hotels”.

An opportunity to work for Premier Inn lit up his aspirations, and Billy spent two and a half years employed as a manager for them, on sites in Guernsey and the Isle of Wight. Buoyed by this experience but wanting a bit more hands-on involvement, he came across the job vacancy for manager of The Fig Tree and “how it was written really enticed me”.

Able to borrow from his combined hospitality experience and particularly that of having such involvement in running a hotel for such a large brand as Premier Inn, Billy was well placed to take on the task and pour his passion into establishing The Fig Tree.

“I think working for a big company like Premier and you realise how important it is to have a brand identity. That’s one thing that I’ve really been able to implement – giving the hotel its own identity. Making it indistinguishable, so you know that you’re here every time that you walk around different parts of the hotel.”

It is a hotel he has a lot of appreciation for – and the chance to create something so tangible and desirable so close to home is a precious missive. One example of how the identity has been formed is found in the strategic placement of neon saying signs dotted around the hotel, providing a warming touch and lending themselves well for selfies and social content – a great way to further establish the brand.

This also allowed Billy to bring his creative outlook into play and benefit from his previous graphic design experience – showcasing how hospitality always stands to gain from individuality.

“It’s quite refreshing when you don’t have to just have all the things that are expected, and it’s a bit more interesting and I think that’s where the position of our hotel is – where we look like a boutique hotel, we really need to act like one”.

Furthermore, owing to the street food stint and feeling passionately about tapping into local resources, Billy mentions that the Hotel intends on using all Isle of Wight produce wherever possible in the upcoming season.

Primarily serving breakfast every day for guests, the onus is on delivering a quality experience in a relaxing atmosphere to make the ideal start to a day. This consists of a continental buffet that is constantly being added to and evaluated, while still keeping it manageable for kitchen staff and profitable for the hotel to serve up. It is by no means limited to this – “If a guest comes to me and asks if there will be a raspberry preserve on breakfast. There’s nothing stopping any of the team going to a shop and buying that just to make that guest happy. Because if that’s what they really want, there’s no reason or limitations that we shouldn’t make that guests happy”.

“We offer a fully cooked breakfast as well as options including light English muffins with bacon and poached eggs. We realise the importance in having a good selection for guests on everything that we do. I think it’s Claridges in London who have a rule which is ‘you never say no to a guest’. I like that rule because as much as people might think differently or find issue with that, ultimately the guest is the reason that we’re all here. So we have to accommodate every single request if possible.”

Even with a streamlined operation, Billy touts the importance of implementing a food safety management system and keeping procedures tight so crucially, everything is safe, above board and everyone working for The Fig Tree and staying there can rest assured in the safety of that which they eat and drink: “The important thing is making sure that it’s easy to manage whether you’re there or not.”

“For the breakfast we want it to be just as exciting as if you were to have a meal with us in the evening when we do open our restaurant in the night. You can have lots of choice. It should be really fresh. It should be really favourable.”

The same approach has been applied when dinner events have been rolled out. Fig Tree have looked to implement evening offerings slowly but steadily, so they can ensure they get everything right and test out how sustainable it is in order to shape the most efficient way to enact this, without it becoming a detriment or overly stressful for the business. Billy touts the recent Christmas day lunch that was a rousing success as a solid barometer for what can be achieved, and something to build on moving forward.

A working agreement with Isle of Wight entertainment voucher operation The Price is Wight has had a big influence on encouraging dinner service, offering guests a deal on staying at the hotel with an evening meal included. This has allowed them to gauge appeal without committing too much or overstretching themselves.

As well as being a great way to reach new people and get others to sample the quality experience The Fig Tree provides, it is a good example of strengthening connections within the local community and how local businesses can help one another improve the relative economy and all stand to benefit. “To have the local community support you is worth more than anything money could buy.”

Billy is not naïve to the value of word of mouth, and reputation is everything in that regard, so the hotel prides itself on exercising continually high standards: “If a couple of people come in for breakfast, great, that’s a bit of money in the till but also if you can wow them they’ll start talking about you and that can quickly spread.”

This can be particularly prevalent in a small community like that of Shanklin and is something The Fig Tree actively taps into: “We have a bar that is open for non-guests all day, as well as the live entertainment we are looking to host more of, we put on an open mic every Monday in collaboration with a local musician and supported by so much local talent – which is really interesting because it gets a lot of people in that wouldn’t necessarily come to our hotel for a drink.”

Speaking about the Isle as a whole, Billy is someone well placed to evaluate the food scene and touts how it’s seen something of a burgeoning flourish recently. He mentions the diversity diners can enjoy – pointing in particular to the efforts of Robert Thompson, who in 2007 became the youngest British chef to be awarded a Michelin star at age 25, then earned another star at The Hambrough restaurant on the Isle of Wight. Following a stint running the eponymous Thompson’s Restaurant, he is now running RT Café Grill in Ryde.

Pointing also to The Heron in Ryde who provide casual dining, à la carte menus and “top level quality without the pretentiousness.” Championing local produce also, it only points forwards for culinary and hospitality experiences on the Isle that so many businesses are looking to celebrate what comes from within and what will no doubt, endear to anyone sampling the delights.

Find out more about The Fig Tree Hotel here and follow their journey here.