Second visit to the Christchurch, Staying at the end of jan for 2 nights DBB in a bronze room, I think this visit was better than the last.. All the rooms are beautifully decorated with a lovely bed that you just don't want to get out of.. Lots of lighting, wardrobe space and drawers and somewhere to sit other than the bed (our tea tray was hidden away in the wardrobe) The bath is huge and great to have a relax in (you can have mood lighting if you wish!!) A good strong shower.. My only small complaint is there is no make up mirror with a light...

We ate in the restaurant both nights as part of the package and found the food choices to be varied and very good, The food was presented beautifully and tasted wonderful, We came away both nights feeling very happy and contented and full... Thank you to Louise & Matthew (I hope I got your names right!) for your excellent service.... Afternoon Tea is a great treat as well.. Breakfast we had the full English but you can can have a Continental and help yourself to cereal and fresh fruit & pastries if you wish.. Did not go to the spa this time but I would recommend booking in advance as it can get busy... Everybody is really helpful and always happy to help... A delightful place to get away from it all...

We stayed in October 2011 and booked a last minute 2 night stay which because of the 'book on the day' offer was half price.

Christchurch is a stunning town but the approach to the hotel is a surprise -through a residential area and not like the photos at all. But don't be put off - the other side of the hotel looks out onto the stunning harbour complete with swans.

Our arrival experience was fairly chaotic - Saturday afternoon- a wedding reception in full flow and a queue to be checked in. However we hadn't had a long journey so we were pretty relaxed. However we also queued to pay when we left on Monday morning so maybe more reception staff would be useful. Our room was a 'bronze double' and not harbour-facing which would have come at a huge additional premium. It was surprisingly small and although superficially grand the paint work was shabby on the windows next to the bath and the one chair was tightly wedged in a corner. The toiletries were rather stingy= one wafer thin bar of soap between two for two nights. ( I had to phone to request a new 'bar ' the second night!) There was no air conditioning and the room was intolerably hot during both nights with the window open.

We had not booked in advance to eat in the hotel on the first night and it was completely full so we ate at a nearby pub's Thai restaurant, as recommended by a receptionist. It was great food and great value.

The next evening we ate in the Jetty Restaurant and because it was a Sunday night there was a set menu. The starters were superb and beautifully presented but the mains were disappointing and overpriced for what they were. Cheese servings on the cheese platter were virtually microscopic. Service was at times amateurish for a restaurant that takes itself very seriously. For instance, you do not expect to be presented with the petit fours and told 'it's ok, these are free'!

All in all this hotel is a strange mixture- some lovely areas such as the restaurant where you have breakfast with a stunning view of the harbour - some good charming service particularly the incidental staff such as the doorman, the porters ( and the nice man who brought my soap) but had I paid the full price for my room I would have felt overcharged. Although there is a superficial wow factor much more attention to detail is required to justify the luxury label and prices for room and restaurant.

We stayed in this hotel on 25th January for my wife's 50th birthday.

On arrival at the hotel we were able to get parked however the parking was somewhat limited due to the fact that it is shared by the spa. The situation is less of an issue in the evening and is negated by a sensible, double parking policy and therefore overall does not cause too many problems.

The hotel is nicely presented from the outside with a traditional 'british coastal white' appearance and certainly has a quality look to it. On entering the hotel we were very impressed with the 'grand' feel of it with nice furnishings and decorative features. We were particularly taken with the beautiful chandeliers throughout the property.

The lady on reception (seated at a table as opposed to hidden behind a desk - nice touch) was extremely friendly and efficient and the check-in process was speedy and went without a hitch.

On our way to the room and throughout our stay, we felt that all of the communal areas were extremely clean and well kept.

Our room (305) was a 3rd floor harbour view room. Our first impression was that the room was huge! One of the biggest hotel rooms we have ever stayed in, in the UK. The decor was again fantastic, a vintage style but done with modern fixtures and fittings. The bed was sumptuous and warm with a huge padded headboard. Also in the room was an ipod alarm clock, television, tea and coffee facilities, safe etc. Everything you would expect from a quality hotel. The room was very warm and cosy. I felt a certain amount of dread when I saw sash windows as the previous 'English' experience was of rotting, draughty windows which did nothing to hold out the elements but I was delighted to find that these were modern double glazed units done in the vintage style - a really nice detail element.

The bathroom was also really nice. It was very warm and cosy thanks to another double glazed unit and the shower was really large for a hotel which again was a really pleasant surprise. The toiletries provided were of a high quality also.

All in all the room was absolutely excellent and we were extremely pleased. There were two minor points to note however. The bed was VERY soft. If you like this then you will be delighted, if you don’t you may find it difficult to sleep - horses for courses as they say. Also the floors in the hotel are very creaky; We were very sleepy following our visit to the spa and crashed out at about 9pm. We were then kept awake by the people in the room above walking around for the next 2 hours because of the creaking of the floor. Again a minor concern and certainly nothing that spoiled our stay.

The following morning we had our breakfast in the restaurant. The restaurant has a real 'high dining' feel and again is absolutely spotless. The breakfast was absolutely excellent with a big choice of continental, cereal and of course the full English. Not too much else to say other than we thoroughly enjoyed it with the nice views of the harbour being a perfect compliment. It was a fairly rainy day and I am sure that in nice weather it would have been even better.

Overall a lovely stay in a lovely hotel. I am not sure if we would return due to the firmness of the beds however that does not detract from the quality and customer care delivered at all.

The Spa

The spa is attached to the hotel and is accessible either through the car park as a standalone building or through the reception area of the hotel which is very convenient for guests.

On arrival we were immediately taken with the excellent standard of décor and the general tranquillity of the area. The reception staff were very friendly and efficient and we were offered complimentary fruit, water, tea, etc which was a nice touch.

The spa itself is divided into the treatment rooms, a small but well-furnished gym and a pool area consisting of pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and salt grotto.

For our treatments we had a bespoke spa package of full body massage, indian head massage and facial and I have to say they were fantastic. The young lady, Danielle, who did mine was amongst the best I have ever experienced and I have had massages and spa treatments all over the world. She was attentive and extremely adept at what she was doing leaving me feeling wonderfully relaxed, I cannot recommend this highly enough.

The treatment room was extremely well decorated, at just the right temperature and extremely conducive to relaxation. Following our treatments we had time to use the facilities and again they were first rate.

If I had one point to make about the spa it would be that it is quite small. On our day there were about 5 other people in the pool area and that was a good number to keep the peace and quiet. We went midweek however and I can imagine that in busy periods (evenings and weekends) it would become very crowded and not quite as pleasurable to be there however this is just supposition on my part and so would suggest people try for themselves as my personal experience was excellent and one I would definitely repeat.

We visited this hotel in the middle of January 2012. We stayed for two nights for dinner, bed and breakfast with a Spa treatment on the second day.

The hotel is very clean, modern and tidy. Every staff member was very polite, accommodating and nothing was too much trouble. Even when we ran out of packets of coffee in our room we phoned reception asking if we could go and collect some, five minutes later there was a knock on our door with some more coffee packets!

The food in the restaurant was lovely with a stunning selection for breakfast. The cooked breakfast is waiter service rather than buffet, which is so much nicer as everything is cooked fresh rather than stuck in a trough under a heat lamp!

We had Spa treatments which were lovely, everything is just right from the chill out areas, the herbal tea, the complimentary smoothie drink after a treatment to the pool area with hot tub, sauna and steam room.

They also have a salt and mineral room which, something that I have never used before, you sit in a room where salt and minerals are pumped in to the air which then lands on your skin.
The gym is slightly limited for serious weight training but very well equipped with cardio equipment, a few resistance machines and dumb bells up to about 25kg. It is enough for a good few workouts whilst away from the usual large gym at home.

The bar is very comfortable with lots of areas to sit together and relax. The hotel backs on to the river which is beautiful. This place is very special and definitely worth a visit. We go away a lot and it’s not often you come back and say that absolutely everything was just perfect.