Had the most enjoyable 3 day break and everything about our stay was perfect. Our room was excellent with. 6ft wide bed . We has a balcony with a sea view which was a bonus as we didn't expect one.the food was first class and the staff were always helpful if needed.rhe bar and lounges made every visitor feel at home with the comfort the hotel offers.we she return in the summer .
On christmas day we realised that our new year away was going to be an issue due to work commitments and therefore giving no option other than to cancel our night of 1/1/14, we had paid in full non refundable and booked a suite so quite expensive; on christmas night i rang the hotel and explained our dilemma, within 30 minutes we had a call back to say we could go a night earlier and have dinner as paid for; what a service!!! the staff here are a credit to their employer and are on a parr with any 5 star hotel anywhere in the world;
we duly arived and were greeted with a great sense of humour and cammraderie regarding our "problem" we had a fabulous two nights and a great new years eve.
Thank you to every one at The Haven, we love staying with you and every stay gets better and more friendly, the food is wonderful and the location cannot be beaten even during the horrific gales that tried but failed to dampen our spirits xxx
Have been to The Haven about 4 times now, twixt Xmas and New Year. Why ?
Firstly, location:- Haven is at the entrance to Poole Harbour, one of the most beautiful estuaries in Britain, and fronts onto Sandbanks beach - a sandy beach walk all the way round to Bournemouth (or ferry to Studland on the other side).
Secondly:- we like swimming in the heated outdoor pool. Be warned that this involves (in winter) sort of freezing temporarily until you get into the water ... or you can wimp out and lounge around in the indoor pool.
At full rate the hotel is quite pricey, and attracts the 'Made in Chelsea' set who are best ignored. Look out for out of season bargains - this improves the value ratio !
We have been in various rooms over the years, this time in the more expensive sea view room which I found small-ish but modern. Great view though, and terrace; it is nice to hear the sound of the sea, and it was flooded with sunlight in the morning. In previous years we have overlooked the ferry (noisy), or had a family room over the Tennis court (spacious but boring).
Breakfast is a 'good hotel' buffet with fruits, ham, cheese and pastries in addition to cooked breakfast. One tip I can give you is to try the eggs benedict or florentine, which are delicious, but have to be ordered. This time we did not eat dinner in the hotel (other than light lunch at the bar) so can't comment on that, but in previous years the brasserie has been pretty good, and again the highlight of dining at the Haven is the view, including passing ferries at 'touching distance'. For a change this time we tried the nearby Cafe Shore, which is special, but pricey.
The way I look at it - a few days at the Haven makes a nice treat without the hassle and cost of flying somewhere - so why not ?
It was dirty, I ordered food and was relaxing ( that's the idea of a spa day) I was asked 5 times by 5 different staff had I paid for my food? We're those your plates did you pay for your food!!!!! Even though i offered to pay for the food when it was delivered, they said its ok you can pay when you leave. One of the waiting staff came over, this was the 5th person and I said " I hope you are not going to ask me if I've paid for my food too because I will be really cross , she scowled at me and shook her head just glaring at me, now if looks could kill she would have!!!! Discussing behavior. I had a treatment of a massage and during the massage she asked me if I had paid for my treatment upfront!!! And said during the treatment I will check on the payment... Not what you want to blimin hear while trying to relax for heavens sake!!!! After
I got very cross and and told them, I'm still in my towel, I am not running out the door, all my stuff is still here, I'm going to leave now as I'm more stressed now than when I came in.....
They made me walk into the restaurant in my towel In front of all the lovely dressed customers having their teas And coffee And afternoon snaks. They then told me the pay machine did not work in there and told me I would have to come into the bar where I would have had to stand a foot away from the guests. I was not happy. I left letting them know how unhappy I was. It was for my 50 th birthday surprise from my husband. He was so cross they ruined what was supposed to be a great day. I have pictures of how disgusting. The changing rooms were and the pat testing was out of date too!!!!!!
You really managed to ruin what was supposed to be a great day. I am going to put pictures on trip advisor and I have put them on Facebook too. It was absolutely discussing. See for yourself on my face book. Sarah Beaumont!!!!!!!
We went there for a couple of nights as a pre-Christmas break. Arrived on Saturday afternoon to be warned that there was a function in the hotel that night so to expect noise. We certainly did not hear any noise from our room. The only disruption from the party was the length of time it took to get dinner.
The food for dinner was excellent, very good menu and good value for the quality. The waitress offered us the coffees as we had been waiting long, which was a nice gesture.
Breakfast was great too.
We used the spa with my son in the time that children are allowed but it seems that not everybody follows the same rules so why have rules?
We always had the feeling that staff could not do enough for you, which is brilliant.
The only issue and the reason why I can't give the hotel an excellent rating is the noise generated by the aircon unit (used for heating) in the room. We did complain after the first night and apparently something was done about it but it still made enough noise during the second night to wake us up.
had a fabulous 3 day voucher offer in the summer, so wish I had bought more! stayed an extra night at full rack price and still loved every minute.
nothing to fault.
all staff were helpful and freindly.
liesure facilities second to none. and easy to make friends on the sun terraces. plus great staff
a few steps and you can join the beach and sea outside, very safe swimming area.
everywhere very clean inside and ouside the hotel
loved the fact that the kitchen had huge windows on 3 sides so you could tell eveything was clean and ship shape, nothing hidden in dark basements!
when in the restaurant it's like being on a cruise liner, the ferries and boats pass by, only a few meters away, you can see the sea lapping on the terrace walls,
fantastic breakfast.
eating outside on the terrace is just like being abroad
