DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL! Rooms should be condemned as they are just the pits, showers don't work correctly, basement rooms are just unbelievable, staff need replacing! Not writing anymore as there's more to life than moaning & this hotel is just not worth more than 1 minutes review.
This hotel is a disgrace to the industry and should not be listed on sites such as booking.com of whom I booked from.
Went to this hotel with my family and was given a room which you entered from outside of the hotel. On entering the room all you could smell is the damp, looking around the walls had damp and also the plaster was crumbling, the duty manager said this was due to repainting, I think not. The bed lining was stained and dirty, the toilet was so small only suitable if you were 2ft tall. The toliet door was hanging off. I complained and was shown another room that was equally filthy, again dirty bed linen, chewing gum stains on the floor, dirt everywhere on switches doors a complete health hazard. I will add pictures so that you can see just like a previous customer has done.
I told the duty manager I was leaving but he still charged me and to add insult found that they also charged me for parking even though I did not stay there. I have since been offered my parking fee back and 40 per cent of my bill which still has not happened, I will not rest until I receive a complete refund and intend reporting them to trading standards and environmental health. I made the mistake of reading the comments on booking .com that give a false impression of this hotel which is only after your money and not interested in the quality of your stay.
Be wise stay away from this disgusting hotel.
We stayed at The Croham for a few days in the middle of August. I must be honest and say that I was sceptical at the time of booking due to all the negative things voiced about the hotel. I booked 2 rooms..1 for my 80 year old mother and a family room for me, my wife and 2 young boys. We arrived and parked directly outside. The gentleman checked us in and I took my mum up to her room. It was on the third floor. I asked the manager if he could find us a room for my mother on the ground floor. Although the hotel was full, he came back to us in 10 minutes and arrranged a room for her on the ground floor. She was delighted. we were also given a room at the front of the building on the ground floor. The room was absolutely fine for us. A TV with many many channels and tea/coffee making facilities. We were happy with the room. The hotel is well located for all of what Bournemouth has to offer. We returned back to the hotel and spent 2 good hours in the bar. The desk manager doubles as the barman. It works well, we chose the TV channel and had a few drinks.
The family room had an excellent power shower which was well received. Breakfast was excellent and served with a smile.
The rooms were cleaned to a high standard and all of the staff were very friendly.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a short break to Bournemouth. Its clean, well located and very friendly.
We paid a very reasonable price via BOOKING.COM and I am miffed why so many visitors gave this hotel such a drubbing. SPOOKY.
Overall our stay was not bad, however on arrival we checked in and were advised our room was back out of the hotel and across the car park. Our room was one of three that can only be described as what looked like staff accomodation. We had our own front door and en-suite, room was very clean and tidy but rather dark as you are below as is if it used to be a cellar maybe.
I do have mobility issues and asked before we located our room as to how many stairs there were down to it, as the guy who booked us in stated to go down the stairs. When asked how many stairs he just sgrugged his shoulders and was rather vague before eventually stating he thought there were about 8. He wasn't far off but what he did neglect to mention was the rickety wooden handrail to use - not recommended if you have a mobility problem, Onc in the room it was very dark and neede lights on. There was air conditioning and tea/coffee facility and tv. However there was no remote control for tv and when asked about they stated they had no spare ones as they kept getting stolen !!! The shower handle fell off when using it. The window was not very secure either as it did not close properly at the top. The walls were plaster board it seemed as you could knock them and they echoed. On the whole as we were only staying 2 night it was bearable but for £100 on the Saturday night considering where we were places and niggly issues I feel this was a little steep - however if I staeyed again I would not stay in Room 002 if longer than weekend. Breakfast was fine but very rushed . Served until 9:30 on the Sunday, but by 9:35 they were hovering round you to clear up and the door was locked so noone could get in - or out if you could'nt fathom the door !!!! On the upside though it is very clean and close to town and seafront.
The staff were really helpful and polite, the breakfast was okay could have been a little bit warmer. The coffee was good. The outside of the Hotel looks shabby the lobby area of the Hotel was nice and clearly had been refurbished recently. The size of the room allocated for 2adults and 2 children was fine, the bathroom, linen and towels were all clean and okay. What really lets this hotel down and I cannot see how it gets a 3 star is the state of the bedding, the mattress springs poked through making a very uncomfortable nights sleep, the sofa bed was propped up with a piece of wood, the single bed base was frayed and clearly visible. We spent very little time in the room because it was not very welcoming and I wouldn't suggest a stay at this Hotel to anybody.
Good points - the staff were friendly and welcoming, and lobby and room in which we stay had recently been refurbished and were spotlessly clean.
Bad points - the beds were very uncomfy, the purple hotel name on the outside of the hotel shone through the top of the bedroom curtains to create a purple glow in the room. This along with a green safety light in the room (I can only assume it was there for reasons of safety) and light shining in under the bedroom door meant that when the lights were turned off, you could still see everything! I ended up sleeping with a pillow over my head to block out the light and the snoring from next door. Not great. We ended up putting a towel over the top of the curtains and a t-shirt over the green light, which helped a bit. The bath was sloping and very dangerous to step into to shower. The breakfast was chaos - the staff were very friendly when I managed to attract their attention but there were no glasses left, we weren't asked if we wanted a hot breakfast etc... We had to pay for parking, which seemed odd. When we checked out we weren't asked how our stay was.
All in all I would not go back. I think the rooms, whilst they have been refurbed and do look good, haven't been carefully thought through as beneath the clean surface, there are sleepless nights awaiting you at the Croham!! We booked the room in a rush and stupidly didn't check trip advisor beforehand!
