Our Stay at the Chine Hotel in Bournemouth – Review

In May bank holiday – since we decided to do more UK holidays and staycations – we popped down to Bournemouth for the long weekend. We had a bit of a mixed weather because even though it was sunny all the way through, it was freezing cold. Luckily, the kids didn’t seem to mind so we had lots of fun and we enjoyed our hotel’s hospitality almost every afternoon. 

We will be definitely back, it was priced well too. But above all, even though the hotel has 3 stars “only” – i’d give it another one for a lot of reasons I will be listing in the post. If you’re looking for a lovely, friendly hotel in Bournemouth – this is it, don’t look any further.

The Chine Hotel is a fantastic family hotel in Bournemouth, overlooking the pier. It’s a hotel with a history: a stunning, Victorian grand hotel. I do love grand hotels. I’m a hotelier by profession and these beautiful, old hotels were always my thing. The Chine Hotel welcomed many famous (the glam Hollywood kind of term!) guests back in the 30’s and after. It was the place to go, with lush balls and parties. The Chine Hotel stylishly displays many of it’s theatrical past photographs in large glass frames.

The Rooms

We booked a family suite with sea view and it didn’t disappoint. The room was located in the a separate little building on the left of the main hotel building, but this building is also connected to the main building via a closed corridor, which we used when we went to the spa. We just had to put our bathrobes on and it was really convenient. In our family suite comprised of a little room for the bunk beds where the children slept, a large bedroom, a bathroom with bathtub – and a fantastic view overlooking the outdoor pool, the pine trees and the sea.  The room, the bedding, everything was spotlessly clean. There’s nothing fancy, but a clean, light and spacious rooms. We did like that.

The Gardens

The hotel is really just a stone’s throw away from Bournemouth beach. There’s a little shortcut path through the hotel’s lush garden to reach it quickly. The gardens are amazing, beautifully kept and of course by the gorgeous, old pine trees you can tell, how old it’s been looked after by loving hands. Never seen calla lilies growing!

The Staff And Breakfast

Talking about loving hands –  the hotel’s current staff is truly wonderful. The breakfast and front desk staff is very attentive, friendly, they look after everyone and everything. They cleaned the tables super quickly, had a nice word to every guest and food was hot, fresh and promptly refilled at the breakfast bar. Maybe the coffee was the only thing I didn’t like (self service machines). The breakfast room is large, It’s also the restaurant and the main function room too the, next to the hotel bar and it has a large terrace with seating. In our price the buffet breakfast was included and there’s a’la carte option available too.

The Spa And The Pool

During our stay we went to the spa and the pool every afternoon. The spa also has an indoor pool, a hot tub/jacuzzi (this one the children aren’t supposed to be using  – and I can confirm this was promptly checked and we were asked to get out of the hot tub. This was because children cannot regulate their body temperature and the hot water might cause problems for them) a gym, sauna and a treatment room. We also spent time in the outdoor pool because it is heated and it was absolutely delightful being out in the sunshine, using the pool and not feeling freezing.  The children just loved it. They could have spent the whole day in between the two pools. I have no spa photos as the camera use is not allowed.

Kids Entertainment

Apart from the pools, there’s also a small playground with climbing frames and a softplay. Yes, you’ve read it right. A SOFTPLAY!!! This was truly awesome, for we can just pop in after breakfast, before dinner, before bedtime to take the edge off of all the excitement and tire them out before bed. It was really useful and it was open all day.