Bournemouth is a seaside town built along the foot of two cliffs, with the beach running the whole length of it. The pier and the gardens sit in the middle, the West Cliff climbs above them towards the town and the Bournemouth International Centre, and the East Cliff runs quieter towards Boscombe and the sand at Southbourne. Almost every hotel worth booking stands on one of those two clifftops, which makes the real choice not which street but which cliff, and how far you are willing to walk down to the sand. Below are six hotels in Bournemouth, grouped that way, with the star rating, guest score, address and station walk for each.

Where to stay in Bournemouth: the two cliffs

The hotels in Bournemouth below are grouped by these two cliffs, cheapest first within each. They are twenty minutes apart along the promenade, so the cliff you choose decides where you spend your evenings. Coming for the pier, the gardens and the town, book the West Cliff; for a quieter beach and Boscombe, the East Cliff.

West Cliff hotels: the pier and the gardens

The West Cliff is where Bournemouth does its seaside properly: the pier below, the Lower Gardens running up to the square, the BIC for concerts, and the cliff lift for the climb back. All four are within a few minutes of the pier approach, and the Hampton is the pick on score and position. The Highcliff is the one for a sea view and a bit of occasion; the Applewood is the budget bed at the quieter western end. Two details make the West Cliff work: the cliff lift saves the climb back from the sand, and the Lower Gardens run from the pier up to the square with an aviary and a stream through the middle. The pier itself has a zip wire out over the water, and the promenade west towards Alum Chine is the quieter walk, with the crowds thinning out past the pier approach.

East Cliff hotels: towards Boscombe

The East Cliff is the quiet side: the beach runs east to Boscombe and its own pier, the chine is a wooded valley down to the sand, and the cliff path east is level once you are up on it, and the hotels sit on a street of trees, set back from the front. The Green House is the better room of the two and the closest to the station; the Cumberland is the one with the clifftop position and the sea air, on a terrace of hotels that all face the water. Both are a steep walk back up from the beach, which is worth knowing with a pushchair or a buggy. The Russell-Cotes museum sits on the cliff above them in its own Victorian villa, and the path east past Boscombe Pier carries on towards Hengistbury Head for a longer walk.

Before you book: five practical checks

1. Expect peak rates in high summer. The late-summer air show fills the seafront and the cliffs for its weekend, and July and August sell out the sea-view rooms months ahead.
2. Read what the price includes. A sea view, breakfast and parking are all priced separately at most of these hotels, and clifftop parking is limited even where the hotel has a car park.
3. Choose the cliff before the hotel. The West Cliff puts the pier, the gardens and the town on your doorstep; the East Cliff is quieter and closer to Boscombe, with a steeper climb back from the sand.
4. Check the map pin. "Bournemouth" listings include Boscombe, Southbourne and Poole, some of them several miles along the coast.
5. Know your station. Bournemouth station is a mile inland from the beach, and Pokesdown is the stop for Boscombe; no station sits near the sand, so plan a taxi or a bus for the last leg. A sea view is worth asking for by name: the rooms at the back of the cliff hotels look inland, and the two are priced differently. The same goes for the beach: the sand is wide and shallow at low tide, so a hotel near a lift or a slope is worth more than one at the top of a long flight of steps.

Arriving in Bournemouth: by train, coach or car

The thing that catches people out is the hill: the hotels all sit on top of a cliff, so the walk down to the beach is easy and the walk back is not. Both lifts run in season, not all year, which is worth checking if the climb matters to you. If you are arriving by train with a case, take a taxi from the station rather than walking it, and if you are driving, check the parking before you book.

※ Prices, scores and availability change. Check the linked hotel pages for your dates before booking.