Stayed for a weekend at the Safari Hotel. A last minute decision to visit Bournemouth left a limited choice of hotels to stay in so we picked this because it was one of the cheapest (but still pretty expensive for what we got) and had availability.

Location: Excellent. A short walk from the town centre, a short walk from the beach. This was the best thing about the hotel.

Arrival and check in was quick and efficient but the limited parking meant we had to park on the road. We were very lucky to find a (very tight) space around the corner, but I can imagine driving around for ages trying to find a space.

The room was dated but it was clean, so can't really fault that. There was a kettle, tea, coffee etc, a new TV and an electric radiator that did come in handy as the room was cold. The room was cleaned each morning, the bed was made and fresh towels left in the bathroom which was excellent. Free wifi available which we didnt use but it's a nice touch and something that the big chains should take note of. However the most frustrating thing regarding the room was the use of blankets on the bed instead of a duvet. Why?!!! Itchy old blankets have no place in hotels nowadays. Never.

We slept fine, no complaints there. But another frustrating point was serving breakfast from 7-9am. We came for a weekend away from our hectic jobs and just a slight lie in would be nice. This was particularly a problem on the Sunday as we'd eaten breakfast by 8:30am (to avoid the rush at 8:55) but nothing opens until 11 and it was raining, cold and wet so we had nothing to do!

As for breakfast - we were not particularly impressed. The choice was excellent but the Full English was average - the bacon was possibly the fattiest I have ever seen in my life. There was more fat that meat. And the advertised homemade sausages had a very strange chewy texture that I didn't find all that nice. The American Breakfast - waffles and syrup was good but even that came with the nightmare bacon. The breakfast room was nice, clearly it has been recently decorated but it's just a shame the breakfast fell short.

Overall you get what you pay for. If you get it at a cheap price it's a place to put your head down in a great location and the staff are friendly. Breakfast could be great but was a let down. Would we stay there again? Probably not. Unfortunately we paid more because it was a last minute booking and therefore feel like we didn't get value for money. If you can get a good deal then stay there but don't expect much.

I stayed with 3 friends in a family room (3 adults) at the Safari hotel while we visited Bournemouth to go to a wedding in a nearby hotel. The room cost us £92.50 for all 3 of us, including breakfast which we didn't have because we were all too hungover.

Lets be honest, it's a cheap B&B in the middle of Bournemouth which is ideal if you are spending the majority of the time out and about and only need it to lay your head. Items of furniture are a bit odd, and the bathroom is teeny tiny. But we just used the room to sleep in and brush our teeth and went the following morning. The rooms are clean, the linen perfectly starched and the off the wall owners accommodating.

I would recommend the hotel for people looking just looking to rest their head after a night out in Bournemouth. An acceptable price and it does the job nicely.

stayed here for one night,that was enough.you get greeted by a musty,stale smell that gets worse in your room.the room could have done with a bit of a revamp to make it look nice.a good clean would not go a miss,having said that the towels were soft and fluffy and breakfast was lovely.the car park is ok if you don,t mind being blocked in and dont want an early start the next morning

I stayed for two nights over a weekend with my husband but I was actually in Bournemouth attending a conference. I wanted a cheap and cheerful hotel close to the BiC and the Safari seemed to tick all of the boxes.

After reading comments on here I did have my reservations and, working in the tourism industry myself for over 20 years I do have high standards - but I was pleasantly surprised.

It certainly isn't a four star hotel, but then it doesn't claim to be. What it is, is a comfortable clean hotel very close to the BiC. The hosts were charming and very helpful and the car park a welcome extra - so too the free WiFi. There was a tv with a dvd attached in the bedrooms which was great as my husband felt too unwell to go out to eat on the first night.

Only gripes were:
The first room we stayed in on the Friday night (Room 4) was quite musty and the bed very uncomfortable. We spoke to the owner at breakfast and were promptly moved to room 14 which was much better. Also, the sausages at breakfast were a bit too pink inside for our liking - but maybe we were a little picky.

If you do stay there is an Italian next door that is TDF! I had the best speghetti carbonara I've had for years.