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We bought our one night stay via Groupon and therefore got an excellent value for money out of it.The hotel is beautifully situated 3 minutes away from the sandy beach and the gardens which were stunning.We were very impressed with the spa/pool/gym facilities although (and this applies to the rest of the hotel too) are in need of a new look.The garden area of the hotel is beautiful.Checking in was easy and quick but I must say that some guests next to us trying to check in with another member of staff weren't as lucky. The woman didn't seem to interact with the guests well (they were confused whether they could check in or not because she took so long to reply to their request for it, and then only after continous questioning advised the guests that she wasn't logged onto the till).The room was okay but as was said before outdated, there were stains on the carpet. The rest was perfectly clean though and I loved the bedding!The food, I have to say, was a let down. The Groupon stated we'd get a 2 course set meal and we were told to help ourselves on the buffet instead. Obviously this meant we could eat more but overall (as we were on an anniversary trip) I would've preferred to actually have something nice. The buffet was far from special (which is what you want from a hotel - I can cook cottage pie, dry fish and ominous looking crumble at home... getting some cream for the crumble took about 10 minutes, too). For breakfast there was a big variety of fried foods, so 'proper' English breakfast, but because it had been sitting there in these heated containers all the fat and condensation had collected, the tomatoes were shrunken.Service was pretty shocking, we waited 20mins for somebody to recognise that we had a wine voucher and only after calling somebody to the table it was brought. All the staff were the same for dinner and breakfast which I find sad for the staff and it doesn't surprise me that being there for so long would discourage the worker and influence morale.Overall we liked the stay but more because we paid so little for it, and the location of the hotel is fantastic. I doubt we'd stay again without Groupon or other voucher schemes. I'm not sure it deserves to be classed as a 4 star hotel but the rating might be a result of the Leisure Club facilities.

THE FOOD. i would not feed it to my dogTHE SERVICE. no one knows what they are doing.THE ROOM. black staining behind the toilet.PARKING. ¿¿20 PER NIGHT.OVERALL. I am 64 years old and its the worst hotel i have ever been in.

I stayed here with my husband a few weeks ago. We asked for afternoon tea;as there was only one barman, and plenty of customers it took 25 minutes for the tea and food to arrive. Dinner was lasagne covered by a 'film of fat', overcooked oven chips and an assortment of other awful overcooked food. Breakfast the next morning was very similar. The health club staff also decided to clean out the wastes in the showers when a number of clients were trying to shower and change. It was very unpleasant to see the staff in rubber gloves pulling out handfuls of muck and grime. raised my complaint with David, the General Manager but despite calling him three times, his promised callbacks have never materialised. I have also emailed my complaints via the Britannia Hotels website but they have failed to respond.

My husband and I went away during the bank holiday weekend and were fortunate to stay at The Royal Bath Hotel which was the first hotel in Bournemouth opened in 1883. Cannot understand the complaints. Our room and bathroom had everything we needed. The cleaning staff do an excellent job. The buffets offered a good variety and the breakfast had everything we could ask for. The staff lead by David Aylott were courteous and always willing to chat and offer friendly advice. The gym had fantastic technogym equipment which pleased me not end. The hotel overlooks the sea so the location is brilliant. We went for a good time and took everything the hotel had to offer and more. We will surely be booking to go back in August with our family to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday and wish the staff and hotel a fantastic summer.

I stayed here for business on Tuesday night. The hotel is absolutely enormous! It looks like something out of a film from the outside, with different levels, shapes and designs across numerous floors. It couldn't be better positioned, with great swathes of the hotel with sea views and the rest looking across the seafront and the International Centre (BIC). Next door is a large public car park. Parking in Bournemouth comes at a premium - ¿¿12.50 for 24hrs in the adjacent car park, ¿¿20 to park at the hotel (underground), and similar prices in other nearby on-street parking.The entrance to the hotel is nicely turned out, with staff who are helpful without trying to suck up for tips. The large bar you pass through to get to the rooms may have once been a ball room, with high ceilings and lots of Chesterfield-style sofas. The dining room is the next large room you pass on your long walk to find a bedroom, and initially looks well turned out (I'll return to this). Third on the right is a small bar with very fashionable tartan carpet, and looks very smart.Limited access for disabled people - you have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the bedrooms. If there is an alternative for wheelchair users, it is not obvious although staff will be able to advise. After the staircase, the journey becomes a lot longer than you anticipate. The carpet also changes. From a clean, smart red carpet to a blue one that is completely worn through and threadbare at the doors. Every person in the hotel seems to have to pass through these corridors, and they need a lot of work. The floorboards are very noisy and I pity those who are placed in the rooms on these corridors, because even though I tried to walk quietly through here, it was not possible to avoid making a racket even in flat shoes. There is a spa, gym and pool which is off this corridor, but I did not have an opportunity to go in, sadly.After walking four different corridors, I finally found the way up to my bedroom - 473. This means going up in a small lift. The room was large, with a wonderful sea view, and sounds of the sea crashing was a great lullaby later that night. Twin beds pushed together to make a large double, with a cover where the mattresses joined. The beds, although reasonably comfortable, were not fixed together properly and slid apart easily. The bedding was excellent and very clean.The windows didn't close properly, with no handle on one at all, and the other handle damaged and unable to close either. For me, as I like the fresh air - even when it's storming gale force winds as it was on this night - this was fine, but for many it would be unacceptable. The bathroom was nicely done out, but the very old fashioned towel rail was leaking badly and despite mopping up the water, I still had wet feet because the water was under the tiles and every stop saw it splash up from underneath. Breakfast was fine - a large buffet with cereals, bread, fruit and a fry up. It needed more monitoring by staff, and seemed overly complicated with repeat stations where they weren't needed. Mugs would be nice instead of cups for the coffee. Teapots would have been good for the tea.Dinner was...... naff. A buffet with an Italian theme. ¿¿15 seemed a pretty good deal, but the food was mediocre. Don't get me wrong, there was a reasonable amount of choice, but nothing had much flavour, the quality of the ingredients was poor and the bread stale. Buffets are never easy to cater for and I wonder whether they would do better to take orders individually for the same price.All in all, it was a mixed bag. The hotel is very worn out and many things need to be repaired. On checking out I mentioned the issues and noted that there was a considerable list that my points were added to for repair. The bar was nice and the staff very pleasant.If it were a school report:- must try harder.