Langtry Manor Hotel, Bournemouth

...we ended up staying at Langtry Manor.

Situated in Bournemouth, I have to say it wasn't the easiest place to find, despite the fact my partner knows the area very well and still nearly managed to get us lost. It's not hidden in the back of beyond by any means, just situated on two sites on opposite sides of the road.
This is because the main manor house which hosts reception, dining area etc is on a different site to Langtry ...
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Langtry Manor is an Edwardian themed hotel, with staff appropriately dressed to give the air of the times, as well as furnishings and rooms keeping in with the same theme.
The hotel itself was built in 1877 by Edward VII for his lover, Lillie Langtry. It was bought by its present owners thirty years ago.
The hotel itself has been featured on TV a few times now, one of which was during a visit by the Hotel Inspector. More ... more

It was my birthday two days before Christmas and my other half had told me he'd booked a night in a hotel. This was a total surprise to me as it was so close to Christmas day itself, but we ended up staying at Langtry Manor.

Situated in Bournemouth, I have to say it wasn't the easiest place to find, despite the fact my partner knows the area very well and still nearly managed to get us lost. It's not hidden in the back of beyond by any means, just situated on two sites on opposite sides of the road.
This is because the main manor house which hosts reception, dining area etc is on a different site to Langtry Lodge which hosts function rooms as well as extra accommodation.

Langtry Manor is an Edwardian themed hotel, with staff appropriately dressed to give the air of the times, as well as furnishings and rooms keeping in with the same theme.
The hotel itself was built in 1877 by Edward VII for his lover, Lillie Langtry. It was bought by its present owners thirty years ago.
The hotel itself has been featured on TV a few times now, one of which was during a visit by the Hotel Inspector. More about this and the history of the hotel can be learnt by visiting the hotel's website.

**Our stay**

On first arrival, despite it being dark, we could see the beauty of the hotel. It stands very grandly in it's grounds, slightly away from the main road, all it's lights twinkling making it very appealing to enter.
We made our way straight to the reception which as I mentioned is based in the Manor building. Reception is based directly inside the entrance, which was very warm and cosy. A friendly receptionist greeted us with a smile, and almost knew who we were straight away. I hope this didn't have anything to do with us arriving later than planned.
We were instantly asked to fill in the registration card, stating our car registration number etc, and given our key. As we were staying in the Lodge building, we had a separate key to let ourselves into the main building as well as our room. (Very handy for a late return to the hotel should we wanted that).
Our case was swiftly taken from us and we were taken to our room by another very friendly member of staff.

My partner had told me he'd specifically asked for a room with a Jacuzzi bath as it had been recommended to him by a friend.

The hotel comprises of six suites which can include their own lounge rooms attached. Needless to say we couldn't afford these rooms as they charged top prices. There are also 14 Master bedrooms in the Manor. The hotel states these are all decorated individually with no two rooms being the same. It would have been impossible to nose round all of them but would have been nice.
The Lodge hosts another two suites, one being on the ground floor and apparently very suitable for disabled guests, but again I can't personally comment on this aspect. There is also a conservatory room and access to the garden area which is separate to what the Manor has to offer.
There are also approximately another ten rooms in the Lodge situated on two floors. Ours was on the first floor.

Upon opening the door, I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say first impressions were nice, although I was expecting a slightly bigger room. As I mentioned our room was to have a Jacuzzi bath, which it did, however this was nestled in the corner of the main room with only a curtain for privacy. The bathroom consisted of just the toilet and wash basin.
There was a very nice four poster bed which took up most of the space in the room, and a few other pieces of furniture dotted around such as a table, wardrobe, dressing table, TV etc.

As I got over the size of the room which wasn't too small by any means, just not what I was expecting. I looked around for all the little touches and general cleanliness etc. The bathroom was very clean, and I managed to find a complimentary box of chocolates on the bed which were there due to it being Christmas.
We didn't have a very good view unfortunately and managed to look out across a car park to another building where we could see other people should we have chosen not to draw our curtains.

The general feel of the room was very Edwardian and all the furniture reflected this. The bed hosted the old fashioned blankets as well as duvet on top. For me this was the best part of my stay, as the bed was so comfortable and soft, I had one of the best night's sleep in ages.

We had been invited over to the bar for Christmas drinks but we declined this option as we already had dinner arrangements. Being a Saturday night, the theme in the restaurant was an Edwardian banquet. The hotel really goes to town during these and despite not having attended one myself, I have heard about them via friends etc. It's just not my personal choice, especially on birthday night.

We didn't find a lot of noise pollution during our stay. The hotel was set far enough back from the road for us to escape it, and the rooms around us were fairly quiet, even though we knew the hotel was fully booked that night.

The reason we booked the Jacuzzi room was so we could try it out of course, and it was a lovely sized bath with plenty of room for two. There were the obvious safety notices around which was a good idea as neither one of us had any idea on how to operate the controls.
The overhead shower attached to the bath wasn't working which was slightly disappointing, as were another couple of controls on the system. It didn't stop us enjoying our Jacuzzi.

A continental breakfast was included in our room price, but we decided that as a treat we would have breakfast in bed and were willing to pay the extra price.
Booking with reception was just a phone call away and again they were very helpful, even offering my partner the full English instead of continental.
Unfortunately the next morning breakfast was quarter of an hour late, but was delicious in itself so we didn't complain as such, just mentioned it on the comments card on check out.
There were extras attached to the room such as optional mini bar, which hosted average prices and products. We both felt the TV was in need of an update as looked very old and tired within the room but were told that rooms were in the process of being refurbished.
Internet connection was available on request as well as a complimentary hair dryer being in the room etc.

Overall for the price we paid of £89 per person per night, we wouldn't choose to stay here again. This is purely because it wasn't exactly what we expected it to be. However saying that it was a very pleasant stay with super lovely staff.

Tariffs for rooms vary according to luxury and prices for all different types can be found via the website.
Check out time was 11am and check in is anytime from 2pm.

If you're looking for something slightly different, this may be the place you want.

 

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