Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel

I had a awesome stay

Great historic hotel that has been redone nicely. Staff are very nice and overall a very pleasant property with an amazing view of the sea and directly on a cliff over the beach which you can easily reach. Only negative for me and it’s minor, they charge for coffee at breakfast if you want anything else than the normal brew. Very pleasant stay would definitely recommend.

Lovely hotel in a great location. Very friendly, welcoming and helpful staff.

I spent 2 nights at this hotel with my partner and my parents to commemorate my birthday. We treated ourselves to a sea view suite, and the views were absolutely fantastic. The suite was newly renovated, and the main room was beautiful. The living area had a sofa bed which was ok to sleep on, but could have a thicker mattress to provide additional comfort. Service at breakfast was so so, whereas the dinners were outstanding on both evenings, at an acceptable price level. The Jurassic coast area is very beautiful, so this hotel makes for a nice basis to explore the area, and have a comfortable stay in a historic hotel.

Wow!! What a hotel. We only stayed here for one night but I would fly back to Bournemouth just to stay here! The views from this hotel are so calming and absolutely priceless! They staff very friendly and could not fault the room. One of the comfiest beds I’ve slept in in a hotel! Wish we had booked the sea view room though! I can’t believe the bad reviews for this place. If wether had of been better we would have made great use of the outdoor pool but unfortunately was raining during our stay. Can’t wait to return some day.

Hotel staff were lovely but they clearly didn’t have enough staff, especially in the restaurant. Breakfast in particular was chaotic at the weekend as there wasn’t enough staff serving. We stayed in a cottage which was a great size but needed a refurb. The taps on the bathroom sink turned around, the shower was very noisy on a low setting, the electrics were also suspect. Expected more for the money we paid.

I booked the room on the Marriot website, and it was not clear that this room was 'off-site' or a 'lesser' room from the website despite the rate. It said it was a cottage, but that did not suggest an outside walk, very difficult stairs to navigate, and a significantly lesser standard room. The heater in the ante room was on full blast and could not be turned off. It was a warm weekend and the heat was awful. I had to ask for this to be attended to. Never mind the wasted heat loss. Conversely, the bathroom radiator did not work at all, so we could not dry the towels and adhere to ‘green’ credentials even if we wanted to. Wet towels to boot. The significant thing was the electrics. The plugs next to the bed on both sides were round pin. I haven’t seen these for decades. My grannies house!!! There was no way to plug in phones nearby, and crucially, my partner’s breathing machine for sleep apnoea. Happily, the lead just about made it to the sole three pin square plug under a window beyond the bottom of the bed. It was only because my partner was experienced in electrics that we came to realise that the whole circuit was a light switch 5-6 amp circuit and not designed for 13 amp appliances. We asked for an extension lead but it never materialised. The issue with the electrics then became very clear the next night when we tried to boil the kettle on the light circuit and the whole bedroom and bathroom blew. No lights. Nothing. This was 11pm at night. I was hoping for a night-time bath and bed. Instead, we got Malek the night porter equally bemused by the ancient electrics. The problem was fixed, but the time was lost, and the experience was tainted even more. Never mind that the electrics are illegal wired and could cause a fire due to lower grade wiring on a 13 amp socket!!! Marriot clearly hasn’t bothered to invest in refurbishing these rooms. Poor carpet throughout. Old lino in the bathroom. Aircon units that sound like an airplane taking off or do not work, and which are also carelessly wired alongside the TV to get away from the ancient electrical limitations. At checkout I explained the list of issues. The lady was not happy with my reasonable comments and pursed her lips more and more and only tried to deny the issues. She tried to argue that the room was four star because of the room rate. That was a stretch for a Mariott and not something I think they would normally lend their name to. I calmly pressed my point. When we were passed to the manager, he acknowledged the shortcomings of the room, the issues we had faced, and we negotiated a decent discount that we were happy with. Still, a poor showing to have had to deal with that in the first place. And the lady handing the issue to start with needs a better poker face and much more amenable manner. This room was not cheap on a bank holiday weekend!

Another good stay st a seaside favourite hotel. The location is surely the best in England- exemplary sea front views to Purbeck with the sole sound of waves on the beach at night. Great refurbished rooms with nice seaside artwork and friendly staff Reasonable parking charge if you can get a space Lovely dinner in Brasserie Blanc and nice drinks in the bar I worry that Marriott aren't investing in this hotel anymore. The pool and spa building remains closed from Covid days and odd little things were missing like only one room had the Nespresso machine, my shower bottles on the wall had no shampoo just two conditioners, our teapots at breakfast were missing lids and the mugs mismatched, tables weren't cleared in the bar after people left until you asked. All odd little things that could be sorted easily. The main problem is the cliff landslip out front has closed the funicular for months so getting back up to the hotel from the beach was a hard climb for my elderly mother. I really hope they don't abandon this place to fall into the sea ! We'd like to return again soon

Our go to hotel in Bournemouth and it did not fail us. Seaview suite was airy, modern and well appointed. Location is great well placed for beach and restaurants. Public areas all neat and tidy. With choices we only dined at breakfast time and have to say the buffet was more than enough. Staff all friendly and on point. It could have been a five but car park management needs attention too many people allowed to ignore the rules negatively impacting other guests.

Very clean. Excellent service. Need to note that you don't need to pay for parking in the car park - better (and cheaper) to pay at reception. Disappointing that the bar and room service ended at (or before) 11