Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel

I chose this hotel because it is very close to the location of a family wedding. I had stayed there a number of times in the past – although that was some decades ago.
Staff were helpful and courteous and everything about the hotel was fine until we returned to our room late at night after the wedding. We then found our room was situated too close to where an extremely noisy function was taking place and the noise was horrible. The problem is that the structure includes suspended wooden floors and unless soundproofing is first class you end up with both the noise and the vibration of the base beat from the music. This is known to be one of the most unpleasant and stressful forms of noise pollution.
I complained and the volume was turned down a little but it did not really help. When the function finally ended the people took a while to leave and were very noisy. As far as I am aware they were not asked to be quiet by hotel staff. (If they were asked they certainly took no notice.)
Marriot operate across the world and must have enough expertise to deal effectively with problems like this. My feeling is that Marriot had invested too little in setting up and sound insulating their function rooms – knowing full well what the consequences would be.
I would happily have left the hotel and slept in the car in a layby in the countryside but my car was boxed-in by several cars. I am sure the cars could have been moved but that it would have taken a while to extricate my car no matter how efficiently it might have been managed. It is not acceptable to charge £10.00 per night and then have to faff about while cars are manoeuvred in order to be able to simply drive away. My view is that the on-site car park is overpriced and inadequate.
We had looked forward to a refreshing swim in the pool in the morning but felt too jaded after a lousy night.
My overall impression is that this hotel could and should be excellent. It is not cheap but it does boast good facilities and the staff are first class. Marriot have spoilt it by penny pinching on sound insulation at the expense of guests and it is something they should rectify. I felt cheated by the experience. The staff gave us a free breakfast and waived the parking charges and for that I am grateful. However when I booked I expected a good night’s sleep but neither my wife nor myself got that.
By all means book this hotel but insist on a written guarantee that you will be allocated a quiet room!