Wessex Hotel

Disappointed with the hotel looked very run down from the outside better when you got inside no gardens to speak but at least we had a car park space.The room was o.k. but very hot we had a premier room on the ground floor so we overlooked the staff car park and every night the children were woken by bottles being put in the bottle bank.at about 11.30 pm probably would be quieter on the other side of the hotel.The food however was great and the entertainer on the Sunday night was really good.The out side swimming pool was not very clean either. Locality was good. The room was clean and well equipped the bathroom was too but thought a premier room would have been in a better position.

Firstly I would say I often review hotels for this site and 90% of the time I am falling over myself to praise them so I am certainly not a misery guts. I spent three nights here from 21st to 24th July. The main problem with this hotel was that the single rooms are nothing like the photograph of a single room on the hotel website. The difference in the quality is an absolute joke. When I arrived the sullen lady on reception told me that they required payment on arrival and I am not surprised now. After seeing the incredibly small cramped room number 365 that was seriously in need of modernisation I complained, mentioning the photo on the website which was spacious and modern. I eventually managed to speak to a more helpful person in reservations. This lady explained they would only be swapping like for like since the rooms were all the same and she admitted with a glint in her eye that she understood perfectly why I would complain. In the end they kindly offered me another room in a different hotel but it was on the wrong side of the town for all my events so I stayed put, I had specifically researched the hotels on West Cliff because I needed to be nearby. By the way they mention on the site that they give you a family of Forrestdale Ducks for your bathroom which is fine but mine remained thoroughly landlocked since they didn't provide an accompanying bath just a small shower. I had breakfast on Saturday and Monday mornings and the food is of a very good quality however the staff do hover trying to take your plate away as soon as they think you might have finished. On Monday when I arrived at 9.30am because they should serve till 10.00am and I was met with the staff clearing everything away. I managed to get some food and orange juice but their clearing away created an atmosphere to me of "get out we have almost finished" when I should have been able to have a leisurely breakfast for 30 minutes. I was gone by 9.45am and by then absolutely all the food and drinks had been cleared away completely. It wasn't all bad there. The reception and the bar area have been recently renovated and are quite nice if a little reminiscent of a characterless Weatherspoons pub. The spa area with indoor and outdoor pools, sauna and steam room is perfectly fine and it is kept clean and tidy. Apart from their rush to move you on from breakfast the people in the restaurant were very friendly when you spoke to them unlike the previously mentioned sullen lady on reception called Deborah who really looked like she didn't want to be there. I didn't get my wake up call and she admitted she had checked me out of the system before 9.00am which is why it was cancelled. At least that got a laugh from her at my expense. I was just glad I had woken up on time by myself on time. Overall really only okay, thankfully I had only paid £50 a night for my room which was just about acceptable, if I had paid the full price of £80 a might I would have felt massively cheated !!

I celebrated my 60th birthday with 16 members of my family, including 7 grandchildren, at the Wessex Hotel. We all had a wonderful time, the staff were brilliant, the food was absolutely superb and the leisure facilities were great and enjoyed by all. We highly recommend this hotel and can't wait for our next visit

We had our wedding here in October 2005 in the Bryanstone suite. It was superbly done and we had many guests stay overnight on the eve of the wedding. All of the staff could not have been more helpful. Before the wedding (couple of months before) both myself and my husband kept popping in as we both lived with our separate parents and felt so much at ease. The reception was great and we became quite friendly with one. We tried their delightful Cream Teas and even if you are living in Bournemouth or staying at a different hotel, I would DEFINATELY reccommend them. Two scones, pot of tea, jam, clotted cream for such a reasonable price (even in the winter season!!!) I would definately reccommend this hotel to any of our friends either getting married, wanting a long weekend away, short break or just a one night stay. The Wessex Hotel is part of the forestdale group and I can only hope that if we travel we stay at another hotel which is part of the same group we get the same standard as the Wessex. FIRST CLASS!!!

Stayed just the one night at the Wessex, glad we didn't book for any more! The entrance/reception is ok but the bedrooms and staircases certainly need some renovation. We booked with a special offer but would not liked to have paid the full price, it was not worth £120. Bedroom was a bit on the cramped side and with one or two cobwebs to add to the atmosphere. Would not go back in a hurry and would not recommend to others.

We have just returned from a masonic ladies weekend at the Wessex Hotel. Before we left, we read the reviews on here so we knew what we were expecting. We found the venue to generally be of a high standard, the only small criticism would be the decor of the rooms which is looking a little dated and in need of modernisation, that being said, the rooms were very clean and the bathroom was higenic, just looked at little dated now. The public areas are very nice and relaxing and pool, sauna etc is great to!! The hotel does employ a lot of European staff which in honesty is not an issue as they all speak good english, food was brilliant and served well, We would stay here again in the future and would reccomend this hotel.

Great Location, Food fantastic. MOST of the staff provide a great service. However ........ - WATCH OUT FOR FUNCTIONS!! - During these, hotel guests then become unimportant, bar and lounge area was allowed to be taken over by the delegates - notice in place informing hotel guests that areas were now out of bounds!!!. kept awake by the noise which went on into the early hours Apart from the functions were were also disappointed with the bar staff, who spoke broken english and came across as quite rude, not what you would expect from this class of hotel - spoilt things abit for us. Our room was also badly positioned - family room was over kitchen, so woken up early every morning by plates clattering, cupboards banging, and extractors humming loudly. As we had booked this well in advance we expected to be given one of the better located family rooms that we have had before.

Very surprised at the lack of english speaking staff especially the resteraunt....you may be surprised what turns up on your plate.....i lived in bournemouth for a few years so i was aware of this hotel's convinient poition on the west cliff and hoped it would be like coming home, unfortunately the language barrier made the holiday quite difficult.

Good position - not too far to walk to shops or beach. Room was adequate. Both indoor and outdoor pools were clean and good to swim in. Would be nice if early morning in the pool was child free and would be good if the jacuzzi was working. Maybe it is this year. It was September 2003 that I and my daughter stayed. The best thing about the hotel was the quality of the food, which was really excellent. Will be staying again this year and taking both daughters this time. Am really hoping that the same chef is still there