Best Western Hotel Royale

Visitors to the Best Western Hotel Royale are first met by a nicely arranged front garden with manicured lawns lined with pretty flower beds and dotted with mature trees and palms. The hotel itself -- although adorned with some intricate wrought-iron balconies and attractive window boxes -- has a slightly weather-worn and old-fashioned facade that betrays its 1950s origins. Inside, the lobby and reception is pleasantly bright with stylish purple velvet armchairs and colorful modern artworks combined with neutral tones and some dark wood furnishings. Formerly the Anglo Swiss Hotel, this privately-owned property is spread over four floors and extends to a tidy rear garden and lovely wooden annex housing an indoor swimming pool. The overall atmosphere is peaceful and pleasantly unfussy, although certainly not upscale.

The hotel is situated on a leafy residential road in the more tranquil East Cliff neighborhood of Bournemouth. Lacking the seafront setting of many Bournemouth hotels, the hotel's location isn't ideal, but there's still plenty in the way of bars and restaurants within walking distance. The quieter end of the town's seven-mile-long stretch of sandy beach is also about a 10 minutes' walk away, with the more lively arcades and amusement parks just over 15 minutes away by foot. Bournemouth's main train station is a little more than half a mile away, while those arriving by car are a couple minutes from the nearest A338 turnoff. 

The Hotel Royale has 56 rooms, plus eight family-size studios. They're all clean and neat, though decorated in fairly uninteresting style with patterned (and mostly uncoordinated) fabrics, old-fashioned wooden furnishings, and carpeted floors. In-room amenities are what you'd expect from this level of hotel -- free Wi-Fi, electric kettles, flat-screen TV with some satellite channels -- while superior rooms also include bathrobes, upgraded toiletries, and iPod docks. Family rooms sleep up to two adults and three kids, while some rooms also open to small furnished balconies overlooking the pleasant front garden. 

The hotel features a decent-sized heated swimming pool housed in a nicely-finished wood-slatted annex that overlooks a pleasant lawn lined with sun loungers. The Aqua Brasserie serves a buffet breakfast each morning (not always included in the rate) as well as a simple dinner menu using locally sourced produce. Parking is available on-site and although it's not free, it is cheap and proceeds go to a local children's charity. A hotel bar is also open throughout the day and Wi-Fi is free of charge throughout the property.