The Cumberland

The pros: - Extremely friendly and helpful reception staff which makes your day - Nice and well-maintained pool area - Sea view rooms offer great views - Historic art deco style hotel - if upgraded and renovated this could be a real gem - Excellent room cleaning service and make- up of the room - Good room size - Comfortable beds - Sufficient wardrobes for luggage The cons: - Dated hotel; visible in rooms, facade, stairway to the rooms... Old carpeting in the room which had a weird smell (ok when keeping the balcony door open) - Too few sun loungers in the pool area and people reserving them early in the morning despite a non-reservation policy (which does not seem to be enforced) - Breakfast is basic and exactly the same spread every day. By the end of breakfast time, things run out and are not replaced. More fancy options can be ordered at additional cost. Not something you would expect from a 4 star hotel at this price point. - Parking situation - too few parking lots for the number of guests arriving by car and very narrow space. Arriving later in the day means parking is full and one has to check with the neighbouring sister hotels (which are also busy) if there is a parking lot available. - Note that the beach, although opposite of the hotel, is at a different height level (hotel on a cliff) and therefore it is not easily accessible from the hotel. It requires ~ 15 minutes walk to a footpath that goes down to the beach to access the beach. So quickly going to the beach for a swim and coming back to the hotel is not really an option. This is the same for most other hotels in Bournemouth, by the way, which mainly are gathered in this part of town. Overall, we had a nice several days long stay. The fantastic summer weather definitely helped our experience as sea view and pool are two of the hotel's main assets.

The staff and service was excellent. The pool, restaurants and bar were clean, well maintained and very comfortable. The room was perfect for 3, nice new bathroom. There is some noise between the rooms. We have a very enjoyable stay.

Very friendly and good hotel. We were with a dog.