Carrington House Hotel

booked in to room 102, the lift noise was non stop banging, then was moved to room 83 then a party of wedding guests used the next room for a all night booze up,no sleep,too expensive ,better off staying in a older more established hotel. No more than a overpriced travel lodge.

I stayed in the Carrington House for two nights 20-22.7. with my girlfriend and as always found it to be very good value. We booked the breakfast and dinner option and were surprised by the quantity of menues available. For example we had a Rosemarie prawn salad to start, a filet of salmon for main course and a very delightful Orange Creme brulee` all included. The only dissapointment was the missing air condition in the room. But overall a very nice stay and highly recommendable. And don't forget to join Bournemouths nightlife, I highly recommend the Tokos or Bliss....

This hotel provided an enjoyable weekend. I was pleasantly surprised, after the negative feedback from others. It has very helpful staff; they are mostly foreign, so occasional communication problems occur (eg when I requested a cream tea, I was presented with a teapot and a jug of cream, but this was speedily remedied). The young lady on reception was very friendly and efficient. We arrived at lunch-time but were able to go to our room straightaway. It was "cosy" rather than spacious, but perfectly adequate for a weekend. If it had been for a week, then I think I might have found it cramped. The only problem with this room being small was that it did feel hot at night, even with the window wide open. However, you can't expect a hotel in the UK to install air-conditioning in all rooms just for the couple of weeks in the year when the temperature is in the 80s (not unless climate change in the future affects temperatures drastically!). Everything was clean and tidy, and dispensers of shampoo, hand cream, etc are included. I don't know why other people complained about the decor of the public areas. It looked perfectly OK to us. There are several lounges and a bar area to sit in, and a nice shady garden (separate from the children's play area!), so despite the number of people staying there, it doesn't feel crowded. There were several events at the hotel, but the staff coped quite well with the sudden inrushes of large numbers. They could have had more staff in the bar though, because one person wasn't always enough. The disadvantage of the restaurant is that it isn't large enough to seat everybody in the hotel, so you may have to queue for breakfast or dinner, before you can be seated. Plenty of choice for breakfast, and the dinner was Ok. I wouldn't call the food outstanding, but then it's not the sort of place where you would expect to sit for several hours enjoying a gourmet meal. They cater for people who would rather be out enjoying themselves, so service is quite brisk. It's a bit of a walk to Bournemouth town centre - a pleasant stroll along the cliffs or along tree-lined roads if you like - but a taxi there or to the station only costs a few pounds. Overall I thought this hotel good value for 30 pounds per person per night.

After reading the last review I was rather worried about our weekend away at this hotel, however there was no need. The Staff were friendly, rooms clean and food fine. All the public areas are new other than the hallways upstairs that do need decorating .The children enjoyed the play areas. I found this a good value 3 star hotel.

Quite simply the most awful hotel I have stayed at for a long time. I cannot begin to imagine under what conditions the positive reviewers of this establishment live. This hotel is seriously tatty and neglected, worn out old rooms and commmunals that have seen little or no improvement in many, many years. Noisy, dirty, cold, depressing and generally very uncomfortable. The hotel has absolutely no redeeming features what so ever. Avoid like the plague !!

We have just returned from a ten night stay at this hotel. We had three children aged 7, 3 and 6 months. We booked a family room. Overall we were very pleased with everything about this hotel. This is our fifth straight year we have holidayed in Bournemouth and we were beginning to despair we would ever find a good hotel. Howver the Carrington scored highly on most aspects. It is certainly child freindly and if you want to avoid children stay away. However it is by no means 'butlinesque' and represents very good value for a AA 3 star hotel. The foyer and ground floor including restaurant, bar areas, and play areas are spacious and have all been refurbished to a high standrad. Many comfy sofas to chill out on. Smoking is allowed in the bar but the restaurant and rest of hotel is non smoking. Ther is plenty for kids to do when you are in the hotel including a good sized indoor pool (a little on the chilly side but fine for us) and internal and outside play areas plus a lovely garden to relax in. There is also plenty of parking. Worthy of special mention is the the staff who are very helpful and polite wherever you go and responded promptly to all our requests. We arrived early but our room was ready and no problem to check in. When we were there there was an evening programme of childrens entertainment evert night including magicians, discos, and family quiz nights. It is local for Bosconbe Beach and Pier being just a 10-15 min stroll through a lovely park. There is also no real steep climb on the way back. Boscombe in particular is a good beach for families with plenty of arranged beach activities should you want to join in. Food in the hotel is well cooked, tasty and plenty of it though by no menas Gordon Ramsay. The breakfast is self service and the selection of hot and cold choices is immense. It was a real treat. After breakfast we never ate in the daytimne we were all so full. Our room was spacious, well decorated but not as roomy as some of the posts here had suggested. The kids loved the bunkbeds. Our ten nights HB for all of us cost about £1300 which I thought good value compared to other 3 star hotels in Bournemouth. We are all vegetarians and the hotel catered for us very well. Each night there was a hotel Veggie dish of the Day alongside the standard menu choices. There is a plentiful supply of high chairs. If i am to be critical the walls and carpet on upper floors need refurbishment as they looked tired in the daytime. It is also some way from Bournemouth Centre - good 30 min walk. Also some of the waiters are over eager to take your plates! We are already planning our return. If you are looking for a good quality hotel that is family friendly my experience of Bournemouth suggests the Carrington will be hard to beat.

No one told us a wedding was on that weekend. And they had reserved us a family room just above the dance hall. No sound proofing at all and not restrictions on how loud they could play the music. When I called to complain at 11pm they said it was going on till 12.30!! So we had to bury our heads in pillows listening to thumping cheap music. The resaurant was said to have a micelen star rating. Well that was a joke, The food is ok but nothing at all to shout about. Noisy families running around. Dirty tables. Rude staff. So we will not be staying here again. Also the male changing rooms for the swimming pool were no bigger than a toilet. And reminded me more of a sauna with it being so hot. Things were broken . Outside was not taken care of. Childrens play room once upon a time was nice but now falling apart. A shame as on the face of it it looked an attractive place and value for money. But you get what you pay for. If the management spent a bit of time looking after the place it would be nice. If you like Butins then you will not have a problem. My wife woke up eash day with a bad back from the hard beds. Not enough staff at hand on reception so all had to wait for service. Ok for the kids though as they do not know any better.

My husband, 2 daughters (age 3 and 7) and I have just spent a lovely weekend at Carrington House Hotel at the end of the February half term. We booked a family room which was enormous with large double bed (2 singles pushed together) and bunk beds. Room and bathroom was clean and warm with plentiful towels and tea/coffee facilities. TV only had 4 satellite channels but we were out most of time so didn't matter. The hotel has a swimming pool and children's inside and outside play areas. There is a ball pond area, table football and pool table inside and a small outside playground. The hotel supplies lots of towels for use in the pool ALTHOUGH the only downside is the pool is absolutely freezing. We stayed here a few years ago and the pool was freezing then too. Location of the hotel is great - a 10 minute walk through a park/gardens and straight down to the promenade and beautiful beach. You arrive at the Boscombe Pier end and it is about a 20 minute stroll to Bournemouth Pier, or, like us, you can take the land train along the beach road, which the children loved. This is a 3 star hotel therefore it is not stuffy or overly quiet so we felt very comfortable with the children. The children are welcome in the bar and there are loads of comfortable sofas around where you can sit and read but you are only a few feet away from the children in the play area. Breakfasts are buffet style and great choice and dinners, which are included in the price and the children ate free, are OK. The food is "very 3 star" and the staff are mainly, friendly Eastern Europeans who spend a lot of time dropping and picking up cutlery etc. Children's menu or they can choose from the daily main menu and have half portions for no extra cost. Overall, this is a fantastic hotel for a family break, near wonderful beaches and excursions (ie. Alice in Wonderland Park, Monkey Sanctuary etc), huge family rooms and ABOVE ALL, great value for money. We paid £210.00 in total for 2 adults 2 children for 2 nights bed breakfast and 3 course dinner.

2 Year's ago I went to the Carrington House Hotel. It would be the last vacation of my aunt, who passed away 6 months later. that's why it meant so much to me. She Had cancer, and we (my Aunt, my 2 cousins and I) agreed afterwards that it was a great Hotel, very Polite. I strongley recomend the hotel.

Spent a lovely day/evening during an organised company xmas party. A very pleasent hotel with clean adequate en-suite rooms and friendly staff. Breakfast was splendid. If I were to mention what I consider to be a fault, it was that the rooms were too warm, but that's just a personal preference.