Royal Exeter Hotel

It makes me sad to leave a bad review because I’ve had nice stays here before despite I agree with others that it’s dilapidated and tired. The first two times I stayed the staff were friendly and kind and I slept well. This time, my booking was extended (on my behalf connected to a conference) to include a Friday night which is how I discovered the hideous thumping disco that goes on til 4am and the staff were incredibly rude about telling me there would have been info on the booking - there was not. Someone else noted this in a review so I’ve edited to add I also had a random blast of a fire alarm wake me up around 5am ish only to stop with no explanation or apology after - it wasn’t long and no evacuation but it was long enough to send me rocketing out of bed in a panic. I also experienced rudeness from one of the bar staff on a weekday evening who kept saying he couldn’t hear me (at least three times he said this) and so when I tried to raise my voice more so he could hear me asking about soft drinks, he accused me of screaming at him. It was really odd and made me feel quite upset so I gave up and went to Tesco. However the staff at breakfast were really really nice, the breakfast was pretty decent, and I’d have rated the hotel higher had I not experienced the current hell of bass line reverberating through me when I’m in bed or even sitting on the loo, which comes with Friday and weekend bookings. Earplugs barely touch it. Rang council line to make a noise complaint because there is no way it’s safe in that night club being this loud in another part of the building, and they said they can only act if a certain number of complaints are made - well if you’re reading this review having the same experience in the middle of the night call the number for Bournemouth council out of hours noise complaints. Oh and if you want a late check out - eg because you are never going to sleep until after 4am 🥶 they charge £10/hour… when they fib about making it clear when booking that you will be above a nightclub, this just feels like a cynical way to make more money. It’s SUCH a shame because this hotel would have the potential to be so lovely and it’s in such a good location.

Great staff very friendly and helpful. The room was very spacious and clean . The breakfast was excellent and plenty of it. We will always book this hotel when we go to Bournemouth it’s close to the town, the bic and the pavilion all in walking distance

Don’t expect sleep or service. The rooms are fine, but there is a very noisy night club that means no sleep until at least 3am and if, sleep deprived, you forget anything valuable, it is impossible to recover it because the hotel do not answer telephone or emails. As a result, your stay can cost way more than the room rate.