HotelChatter

You should take the hotel's invitation to "step inside one of the best in world boutique hotels" with a pinch of sea-salt - it's only a ten-minute ride from batty-old-women Bournemouth after all. But it's definitely worth its crabsticks.

17 rooms and 12 two- and three-bedroom suites, which are apparently the best bet if you've got kids, friends, or a lot of lovers. All with flat-screen tellies for the soap operas and comfy king-size beds.

Nauti-Boat
The suites all look out over the River Stour, and you can pop up and down it on a 'Nauti' boat - that's another thing, the English love bad puns. If you're feeling really English, the staff will chug you round the Isle of Wight, stopping for what Isle'o'Wighters claim is the best fish and chips in England.

There's a spa and hypnotherapy pool for when it rains, which it often does, and the Tides restaurant has two AA Rosettes. Not quite a Michelin star, but it does mean it serves up slighter better grub than the Isle of Wight fish and chips, and you don't have to pay Michelin star prices.

Décor is [*tacky alert*] based around a nautical theme, but give or take a couple of port hole windows, a telescope for peering at the sea and a wavy blue colour scheme they've managed to keep the atmosphere simple and stylish. Almost boutique-style, but not quite. This is a seaside hotel standing on the site of a former Pontins holiday park after all.

Buckets, spades and kiss-me-quick hats at the ready.

Bottom line
Standard rooms from £169 per room per night, or a two-bedroom suite from £349 per night for four people. All-inclusive 'Romantic Break' weekends and other deals available.

Tags: UK Hotels / English Hotels / Seaside Hotels / Monica Guy / Bournemouth

by femmefatale