Boscombe Reef Hotel

the rooms on the web site are not the ones you stay in so BEWARE all the dubble rooms with en suite looked great on the web site they had wooden floors a bedside cabinet either side of the bed very nice.
our room had a bed pushed up to a wall 1 broken bedside table, i,m a carpenter and would say the whole room needed pulling out freshining up and made into a comfey single rather than a very small doubble,the shower was dirty all needed a face lift.
felt a bit like we got swindled.
there wasnt even anyone there to welcom us so we didnt even get to sighn in, good job there was know fires that night, but there was someone to let us know we had to get out at 10am nice!
never again.

The 'hotel' room was very poor. Our room had a homemade toilet constructed right next to the bed, complete with a concertina door that was broken. The homemade shower was also a farce. It had been constructed using a thin peice of plasterboard with a fixed shower head crudely attached to the wall by a peice of wood. The notice by the shower suggested running the water for three minutes as the boiler was in another part of the house, however we ran it for a good ten minutes and the water was still freezing. The breakfast was a help yourself set up, ie serve yourself with cereal, orange juice, tea and to cook your own toast, which although were weren't expecting wasn't too bad, although I cannot imagine preparing your own breakfast if other residents are in the dining room at the same time as space would be limited.

This is a moderately well equipped guest house rather than a hotel, at the cheaper end of the range but not such good value as one or two others (see my other review) and a long way from the conference centre where I wanted to be. But Saturday seems to have a higher rate, it does cheaper deals for a three night stay which are excellent value. Location fine for Boscombe pier though. The road it is on has a distinct lack of parking space but this is problem in many resorts. My room was not ensuite, a basic electric shower across the corridor, you have to turn the switch on on the wall first or it won't work! The guy who runs it is a laid back character, very friendly, often out and about. Breakfast seemed ok. Room basically furnished and clean enough, quite a new TV. I would stay here again if I could not get somewhere closer to Bournemouth town centre.