Royal Bath Hotel & Spa Bournemouth

A little bit faulty towers but overall was great ‘budget luxury’ for me in a really convenient location. Lovely old hotel beautiful bar area overlooking outdoor gardens. Comfortable chesterfield lounges and sometimes live music and dancing. Rambling hall ways and stair cases. So your room could be a bit of a walk away through funny little hallways around corners and up stairs so check this before leaving the check in desk! Heaps of people had trouble finding their rooms. Then key cards aren’t programmed properly on several occasions I had to walk back to desk and back to room. But apart from having to wipe some mould off a wall …. overall I was happy with stay and location as I got a good deal on Trip.com £35 nite. And they upgraded my room from no window (is this even legal? To sell a room with no window) to a small double with opening window and bath. So I was happy. There is no servicing of rooms so if staying a few days you need to ask housekeeping or front desk for more supplies. Finishing off my coast path walk this hotel is located a 25min bus ride or 15min train ride from Poole. Located right next to Bournemath Beach, promenade and pier in Bournemouth on bus routes 5, M1 and M2. Catch the number 5 bus from the train station to drop you a few meters from the door on Bath Rd. For walking coast path bus 50 leaves from top of Bath rd to Swanage for £2 including the ferry crossing at Sandbanks then you can catch another bus to Durdle door should you wish. Check bus times. Walk on ferry crossing from Shell bay to Sandbanks is free or £1 in other direct (Sandbanks to Shell Bay). I walked to Sandbanks from the Bath Spa Hotel along the beach promenade. Really nice long walk. The hotel features a good buffet breakfast for £12 and average quality buffet dinner (on the night I went) for £15. There was enough tasty items to make it worth while for me. Get in early as they stop replenishing the food if not busy and things run out. It’s a lovely dining ambient overlooking beautiful lawns and outside lounging area. Staff in the dining area were really lovely and helpful and happy. I didn’t use the pool and hot tub but it looked great in a separate conservatory outside area. Some staff were 5 star in their service one bar girl was almost rude and very unhelpful when I asked about wine she just said ‘I don’t know’ and didn’t refer me to the drinks list until I asked a few more questions and she finally said ‘yes there on the bar’ as if I should have known that detail. The rest of staff most helpful and friendly after I stayed a few days. The hotel is vast and a bit like a rabbit warren. One room they gave me was up 21 stairs and I said no way am I lugging my big suit case up there so she changed it to a lift floor no problem. So check these details and don’t accept what you’re unhappy with otherwise they try get away with things if they can. Stand your ground.

The hotel is located at perfect area which is near to pier and other tourist attraction

Best hotel near sea

Rooms are outdated

Was fine could do with a mini fridge in room as constantly had to get ice from the bar for a cold drink in room

The hotel itself needs real improvements! We stayed in the room that was extremely hot, and there was no air conditioning or window that you could open! The only option to have any ventilation was the dusty fan that we found in the wardrobe. If I am honest we wouldn’t be able to spend more than one night at that hotel. We had the breakfast included, which was really simple and not tasty at all. The hotel has a really bad wifi connection, that almost doesn’t work. You can upgrade the wifi to better one for £7 per day, that’s a real shame! Hotel should provide wifi for free! There is a parking space, but again you need to pay a lot per night! Another negative point! To sum up the whole experience at the hotel we would never stay there again or recommend to anyone! The only good thing about that hotel is the location, very close to the seaside.

The location is good but everything else leaves something to be desired, I spent hours looking for my room super difficult to find, broken elevator the common areas have a huge smell of ***** and a lot of strange people I didn't feel safe I don't recommend it and I wouldn't stay there again

Probably the worst hotel I had ever stayed at during 50+ years of my worldwide travel, both on business and private trips. Apart from the location everything else was terrible. The rooms provided did not bear any similarity to the rooms shown on the TRIP.COM website. There was no shower curtain, towel rail was not connected to any hot water source, no instructions for shower settings, no telephone - my rooms were at the far end of the hotel, to get to the lift one has to negotiate a steep flight of steps (difficult with luggage and children, no porter service available, car parking at an extortionate amount of £25 per day, rooms not cleaned during our stay, noisy toilet cistern, chipped bath tub surface in places, inadequate first-aid box (no plasters or antiseptic cream or pads - required when my 5 year old grandson fell in the lawn area of the hotel. One chair in the room was wobbly and unsafe to sit on. More like a 1.5* than the 4* rating on your website. Floors on the way to the lift were creaky making annoying noises I need to make a complaint that I was sold rooms that did not match with what was shown on the website, which is what I used to make the purchase Did not try any food in the hotel, as not many people were seen in the restaurant at anytime, which is bad sign

I visit this hotel many times and am always surprised when people give it bad reviews...it is one of the best value for money hotels around. The staff are always friendly and we seem to always get a free upgrade.