Where to stay for Bournemouth beach

For the shortest walk to the beach in Bournemouth, stay on the West Cliff. The Flexiestays buildings there sit on the cliff top above West Cliff Beach, and from The Tower House Hotel the sand is under two minutes on foot. The buildings on St Michael’s Road, a little further back towards the town, are six to seven minutes from the beach. Every one of them is walkable to the sea, so the real choice is between being right above the sand and being a few minutes nearer the shops.

Bournemouth’s beach runs for miles of sand in both directions, with the pier in the middle. This guide explains where the Flexiestays buildings sit along it and which suits which kind of beach trip.

The West Cliff and how you get down

The West Cliff is the stretch of cliff top west of the pier, between the town centre and Westbourne. From the top you reach the beach in two ways:

• The zig-zag paths, which wind down the cliff face to the promenade.
• The West Cliff Lift, the funicular that runs from the cliff top to the promenade, next to the paths. It is the easy way back up after a day on the sand.

At the bottom is West Cliff Beach, and the promenade runs east to the pier and west towards Durley Chine and Alum Chine.

Walking times from each building

These are the walking times published for each building, from the Flexiestays building guides.

Building	Area	To West Cliff Beach	To the pier
The Tower House Hotel	West Cliff Gardens	Under 2 minutes	10 minutes
The Shore House Hotel	West Cliff	A few minutes	Via the cliff lift
The Shore Retreat Hotel	West Cliff	A few minutes	Via the cliff lift
The Cliff Manor Hotel	West Cliff	About 600 metres	Via the cliff lift
The Pebbles Hotel	St Michael’s Road	6 to 7 minutes	15 minutes
The Coast Hotel	St Michael’s Road	6 to 7 minutes	15 minutes
The Seabreeze Hotel	St Michael’s Road	6 to 7 minutes	15 minutes

The Cliff Heights Hotel is also on West Cliff Gardens, on the cliff top with the same paths and lift down to the sand. The walking times published for it differ between pages, so check its listing on flexiestays.com for the figure that applies.

What guests say about the walk

Location is the theme that comes up most in the reviews on this site, and the beach is usually the reason:

“7 miles of beautiful beach just a stone’s throw away, parking, modern apartments, all well thought out with quality furniture and appliances, smart TV, very comfy beds - even the towels smell great!” (Christopher, Trustpilot)

“Location was great (a 5, 8 minute walk to the beach) along with the cleanliness and facilities. Free parking is a bonus.” (Mohammed, Booking.com)

Read more on the location reviews page.

Which building for which beach trip

Right above the sand. The Tower House Hotel, on the cliff top, is the closest. It has studios, one-bedroom apartments (some with a garden or balcony), sea-view apartments, two- and three-bedroom family apartments and a sea-view penthouse.

A sea view from the room. Tower House has sea-view apartments and the penthouse. Cliff Heights and Cliff Manor have two-bedroom sea-view apartments with a balcony, and The Seabreeze Hotel has sea-view rooms with a balcony. Guests who booked one mention it:

“Location was great, with impressive views from multiple rooms, and everything was spotlessly clean.” (Tom, Booking.com)

See more on the sea views reviews page.

Beach by day, town by night. Pebbles, Coast and Seabreeze on St Michael’s Road are a few minutes further from the sand but on the town side of the West Cliff. Cliff Manor, Shore House and Shore Retreat are a short, mostly level walk from the town centre.

Somewhere quieter. Durley Chine and Alum Chine, west of the pier, are calmer stretches of the same beach. From the West Cliff they are a walk along the promenade, away from the crowds around the pier.

Westbourne. The village of independent cafés, delis and boutiques is five to ten minutes from Tower House and about ten minutes from the St Michael’s Road buildings.

Practical points for a beach stay

• Parking. Most buildings have free on-site or private parking, and during the Bournemouth Air Festival in August it is one of the main reasons guests choose an apartment over a hotel. Each listing says what its apartments have. Book early for festival weekends and bank holidays.
• A kitchen. Apartments have a full kitchen, which makes packed lunches for the beach easy. Some rooms at Shore Retreat and Coast are hotel-style rooms rather than apartments, so check the listing.
• Arrival. Self check-in is from 3pm, and check-out is by 10am. If you arrive early, ask about leaving bags where the building has storage, then head to the beach.
• Wet days. The Oceanarium by the pier and the Russell-Cotes Museum on the East Cliff are the usual plans when the weather turns.

The help centre explains parking at each building, and our guide to Bournemouth with children covers a family beach trip. To compare the buildings side by side, start from the hotels page.