The Kings

A lovely hotel The staff were so kind and friendly. I spent my 80th birthday at the hotel and dined in the restaurant. They also made me and my family feel very special. A big thank you from me you were all lovely

OUR TWO NIGHT HOLIDAY 22.09.2026 The hotel is in a good position for the town, Christchurch Priory, and the town quay with views of water, small boats, birds and open spaces. Nearby there's the Old Mill tea place for snacks and ice cream with seating in the open to enjoy the views. The hotel staff are very pleasant and friendly. With the help of £155.00 Tesco points we had paid a total of £401.90 for two nights in one room for two people including breakfast but I've noticed that if booked in other ways the cost can be lower. Our holiday actually only lasted five hours, we didn't get to stay over night and of course we missed the breakfasts. My wife has dementia. My original review, the hotel thought, put them in a bad light unfairly as the small issues would not be relevant to most people. So I'm rewriting more moderately and pointing out that it was my experience only and other people, not in similar circumstances to us, should have a brilliant time. The million or so people with dementia plus the million carers might find my experience helpful. We are in our eighties and with my wife's worsening dementia it was likely to be our last holiday together after 59 years of marriage. I needed so much for us both to have a nice relaxed and interesting time. THE START I was aware that there is limited parking but I called prior to our stay and was told there were twenty something spaces and there should be no trouble on our day of arrival 22.09.2026. After a two hour journey our satnav took us to the hotel and on passing slowly I noted the car park was full. I was aware there was another car park at the rear but didn't know how to get there. I needed to stop outside the hotel so I could pop in to ask directions to the car park at the rear. But there was nowhere to stop. I continued driving over the narrow small bridges not sure what to do. I set the satnav again and went on a large loop to pass the hotel again and the car park was still full. I continued over the small bridges again constantly looking for somewhere to stop until I reached Bridge Street car park. I was concerned that it was a bit of a walk for my wife back to the hotel but I had no choice. Next problem was the car park only took cash and I had none. I was very lucky that a kind lady gave me the £1.20 for a one hour stay. We were lucky also that there was a toilet there which we urgently needed. We walked to the hotel and was given a map for the rear car park. I asked if someone could come with me to the car to help me find the way but they had no one available. I asked if my wife could stay at the hotel with someone keeping an eye on her whilst I went back to the car. They said she could wait in the empty restaurant/bar but I said someone would need to keep an eye on her and there was no proper answer to this and I could see that they had few staff available so we walked back to the car. I managed to follow the map ok via some one way streets and finally parked at the rear of the hotel in a somewhat stressed state, Unfortunately my wife had become set in a mood. She was then offput by the tiny cramped lift to the second floor. It's an old building and the hotel feel that it's lucky to have a lift. It would be ok for those without dementia or those suffering from claustrophobia. The room was okay except my wife became confused by the giant mirror on the wall next to the door. The mirror was fixed to the wall and was about seven feet tall and approaching four feet in width. She wanted to walk through the mirror. I partially covered the mirror with a large plastic bag and then unpacked. We went back downstairs and then a short walk in the park opposite where we found a cafe with views of the water and boats. I was able to start relaxing but my wife remained unsettled. We hadn't had lunch so I decided on an early dinner at about 4.30pm at the hotel. The menus seemed to lack small plain meals – everything was what might be called 'fancy'. My wife hardly ate anything and the only item I enjoyed was the starter - breaded blyton Brie. We then did a short walk round the corner to the High Street before retiring to our room at around 7.15pm with the idea of watching some tv before going to bed. The tiny lift again made my wife nervous and she was reluctant to enter. On entering our room she pulled off the cover I had placed on the giant mirror and she became very frightened over it. I was unable to calm her down and I was worried she might cause some damage. I decided to pack but couldn't because I had to control my wife. I was surprised there was no telephone in the room to call Reception for help so I used my mobile to call my son. Although my wife is incabable of holding a proper conversation she listened to his voice and that kept her calm whilst I packed. We arrived home at about 9.30pm. The hotel probably couldn't have done anything to help in our circumstances but I feel it's reasonable for me to describe my experience for the benefit of people with certain disabilities. Our initial unfortunate experience could have been avoided if the hotel had provided more information about parking, saying it's not possible to stop outside and provide the map and entrance details for the rear car park. Disappointingly it's not the hotel's policy to make refunds or partial refunds for situations like ours so our five hours cost us a lot of money.

We had our lovely usual room. The staff are particularly friendly and helpful. A little gem.