16 Gervis Road, Bournemouth, United Kingdom | (888) 635-3814
Quiet and leafy
setting within walking distance of the train station and beach
Attractive
gardens with manicured lawns and pretty flowerbeds
Good-size heated
swimming pool in wood-built annex open year-round
On-site
restaurant serves breakfast and dinner
In-room amenities
include satellite TV and electric kettles
Parking on-site available (fee is donated to charity)
Free Wi-Fi throughout
Feels
old-fashioned and dated in places
Location not on
the seafront
Some uninspired room decor
The 64-room Best Western
Hotel Royale is a mid-range, privately owned property located in the leafy
Bournemouth neighborhood of East Cliff. While the setting isn't seafront, there's plenty within walking distance, including the train station and the
quieter part of Bournemouth's lovely sandy beach. Rooms are clean and
well-equipped with flat-screen TVs and electric kettles -- though a little plain -- and some open to furnished balconies.
The indoor heated swimming pool is impressive for a hotel of this ilk and the rear
garden even makes a nice spot to sunbathe in the summer. Wi-Fi is free throughout. Overall, rates are
average for the area and you can find rooms nearer the seafront for around the
same price, though this is a pleasant pick.
Scene
Privately owned, slightly old-fashioned property with pleasant gardens
Visitors to the
Best Western Hotel Royale are first met by a nicely arranged front garden with
manicured lawns lined with pretty flower beds and dotted with mature trees and
palms. The hotel itself -- although adorned with some intricate wrought-iron
balconies and attractive window boxes -- has a slightly weather-worn and
old-fashioned facade that betrays its 1950s origins. Inside, the lobby
and reception is pleasantly bright with stylish purple velvet armchairs and
colorful modern artworks combined with neutral tones and some dark wood
furnishings. Formerly the Anglo Swiss Hotel, this privately-owned property is
spread over four floors and extends to a tidy rear garden and lovely wooden
annex housing an indoor swimming pool. The overall atmosphere is peaceful and pleasantly unfussy, although certainly not upscale.
Location
Set in Bournemouth's leafy and residential East Cliff, a 10 minutes' walk from the beach
The hotel is situated
on a leafy residential road in the more tranquil East Cliff neighborhood of Bournemouth.
Lacking the seafront setting of many Bournemouth hotels, the hotel's location isn't ideal,
but there's still plenty in the way of bars and restaurants within walking
distance. The quieter end of the town's seven-mile-long stretch of sandy beach
is also about a 10 minutes' walk away, with the more lively arcades and amusement
parks just over 15 minutes away by foot. Bournemouth's main train station is a
little more than half a mile away, while those arriving by car are a couple
minutes from the nearest A338 turnoff.
Rooms
Clean and tidy rooms have uninspiring decor; some come with balconies.
The Hotel Royale
has 56 rooms, plus eight family-size studios. They're all clean and neat, though decorated in fairly uninteresting style with patterned (and mostly
uncoordinated) fabrics, old-fashioned wooden furnishings, and carpeted floors. In-room
amenities are what you'd expect from this level of hotel -- free Wi-Fi, electric kettles, flat-screen TV with some satellite channels -- while
superior rooms also include bathrobes, upgraded toiletries, and iPod docks. Family
rooms sleep up to two adults and three kids, while some rooms also open to
small furnished balconies overlooking the pleasant front garden.
Features
Decent-sized heated swimming pool overlooking lawned garden with loungers
The hotel
features a decent-sized heated swimming pool housed in a nicely-finished
wood-slatted annex that overlooks a pleasant lawn lined with sun loungers. The
Aqua Brasserie serves a buffet breakfast each morning (not always included in
the rate) as well as a simple dinner menu using locally sourced produce.
Parking is available on-site and although it's not free, it is cheap and proceeds go to a local children's charity. A hotel bar is also open throughout the day
and Wi-Fi is free of charge throughout the property.