Portland Heights Hotel & Leisure Centre, Isle of Portland

The Portland Heights Hotel is a hotel I have been familiar with for most of my life as a child I played squash there, as an adult I worked there frequently as a mobile disc jockey, as an "older" adult I got married there, and finally on 11 occasions I have stayed in the hotel when returning to visit Portland. While some things progress through the ages The Portland Heights appear to be continually on the decline.

The Portland ...
...played at being Hotels the Portland Heights was a professional; and highly professionally run hotel. Originally the hotel had a three star rating, however now its just a two star hotel; a two star hotel with three star prices.

After years of decline the hotel has now been re-branded now known as The Heights - Isle Of Portland Hotel. But I guess the big question is, is re-branding enough?

A single room in The heights ... more

The Portland Heights Hotel is a hotel I have been familiar with for most of my life as a child I played squash there, as an adult I worked there frequently as a mobile disc jockey, as an "older" adult I got married there, and finally on 11 occasions I have stayed in the hotel when returning to visit Portland. While some things progress through the ages The Portland Heights appear to be continually on the decline.

The Portland Heights is a rather grand looking hotel set a top the hill on Portland. For many years it was the only "proper" hotel on the Island, while a variety of pubs played at being Hotels the Portland Heights was a professional; and highly professionally run hotel. Originally the hotel had a three star rating, however now its just a two star hotel; a two star hotel with three star prices.

After years of decline the hotel has now been re-branded now known as The Heights - Isle Of Portland Hotel. But I guess the big question is, is re-branding enough?

A single room in The heights will cost you £91 per evening, a twin or double will cost you £106 these are for standard rooms. If you want a more deluxe treatment a single will cost you £121 per evening, and a twin or double will cost you £136. Room facilities are rather limited for the price, tea facilities, en suite, trouser press, TV and most rooms have a view of the swimming pool. The hotel has always been stingy when it comes to heating, being on top of a hill at the windiest part of the island heating should be a paramount thought, strong often gale force winds hit the hotel cooling the bricks giving the hotel a general chill. In 1996 I had my wedding reception here, and got a free hotel room "the best in fact". While the day of my wedding was warm-ish the night was bitterly cold; while I appreciate that we could well have been making our own heat a little more heat would have been nice. We spent the night in awful freezing conditions, and were no help to each other to create warmth. A slurred phone call to reception (I was drunk) got no help and the following day both of us woke with the Flu, this lasted for well over a week.
January 2003 bought a similar fate, no flu this time but a terrible sleepless night because of the cold. And finally my recent visit on a cold wet night bought about another tale of doom and gloom, and believe it or not I spent most of the evening in the bath in order to get warm; and when I went to bed I slept fully clothed. I have never stayed in the hotel and found the heating on, and I know what your thinking! Why keep going? In short convenience, and lack of choice.
You can obtain room service, but this is limited and incredibly expensive that is of course if you can get an answer to your call.

On the subject of food the hotel offers a Bistro and Bar, the variety of food over the years has ranged from the exquisite to the abysmal. On my most recent stay I found the food to be no better than my own cooking. The Bistro area is designed to look a bit nautical, but to me reminds me of cheap and tacky deckchairs on Weymouth sea front. To add to this your made to feel guilty if you dare to eat here beyond 9.30 p.m. It's not all bad though over the 20 years I have used the hotel one thing has remained consistent, the breakfasts are superb. I love a fry up and the fry up's here are by far one of the nicest I have ever had. If you want more food you can have more and your under no pressure to eat in specific time frames, it's a complete contrast from the evening service. But one of the best things about eating here either day or night is the panoramic view; from the windows you can see for miles of cost to the east and the west, and you also get to see most of the legendary Chesil Beach.
As an add on the Hotel also has a Coffee Shop which is a bit of a bum offering really due to limitations, but at least you know its there. Prices are not to extortionate in fact on a par with any popular coffee house.

The hotel offers a number of conference facilities which are a reasonable offering but in honesty the prices escape me. I remember holding a training session here and was very impressed with the rounded service and the refreshments we were offered. From small rooms for 5 people to a room that can accommodate several hundred. when it comes to organising your conference in the region few hotels offer such a good service; this includes the nearby towns of Weymouth and Dorchester.

The swimming pool is a token offering, its an outdoor pool that is permanently heated to 27 degrees Celsius. Trouble with this pool is you have swum it in a few strokes, but at least its there if you need it. The hotel has a squash court, which I used to use as a child but never really got the hang of although I was great at tennis. I think Squash was a bit too fast for me. The hotel also offers a sauna and steam room which I confess I have never tried, its just not my bag. And finally a small gym offers exercise bikes, rowing machines and weights.

All round service within the hotel varies, initial entering of the hotel gets you top quality service with a manager always nearby and incredibly helpful reception staff. But as you slip beyond the entrance the service slides; bar staff cannot be bothered to talk to you, waitresses cant really be bothered to talk to you, and other management often ignore you like your beneath them. One real saving grace is the night porter and incredibly cheery guy who will go out of his way to help you.

Would I recommend the Heights?

I'm 50/50 on the Heights the good is often shadowed by the bad and vice versa; each visit brings new levels of both good and awful service it seems there is a terrible lack of consistency and over 20 years of using the hotel this has always been the same. The hotel is incredibly over priced because they exploit the views and the location, but the rooms are below the standard of a travel inn in fact quite a lot below. The key thing for the heights is location, if it was based at the foot of the island it would have been pulled down nearly 30 years ago; people always pay for the view. I hope that things at the Heights improve as I'd love to say "go tonight" but its highly unlikely and as a result I'd not really recommend the Heights for anything other than a passing visit, conference or a meal. 

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