26th February 2020<\/p>\n
Bournemouth was the very first seaside town I visited when I relocated down south from Yorkshire. It was also the very first beach my son Coby<\/a> visited as a baby, along with the being the first time he dipped his tiny chubby toes in the English Channel and shovelled handfuls of sand in his mouth\u2026Why do babies do that?!<\/p>\n It seems everyone in Reading<\/a> and its surrounding towns like to flock to a couple of beaches on the South Coast when the weather is nice. Bournemouth is one of them, along with West Wittering. Hastings and Weymouth seem to be popular choices too. <\/p>\n The benefit of going to Bournemouth is that it has clean, soft, golden sands, seven miles of it to be exact. Long flat promenades, two piers (Bournemouth and Boscombe), amusement arcades and shallow waters. You have visit to truly understand when I say there\u2019s also a bit of a Mediterranean feel about it. Money has been invested in the beaches, the town is constantly going through regeneration phases and I even spotted some palm trees that had recently been planted by the side of the sands. <\/p>\n More than anything I love the Victorian, nostalgic yet cosmopolitan feel Bournemouth has. <\/p>\n Hallmark Hotels invited me to try one of their Bournemouth-based seaside hotels, The Carlton<\/a>. Located smack bang on the East side of the town you couldn\u2019t ask for a better location to explore. With a zig-zag path making its way down the cliff edge it took us exactly 5 minutes to get from our hotel room door down to the sands. Not too sure I can say the same for the walk back up, but I guess that depends on how fit you are! <\/p>\n Over 100 years old the Hallmark Hotel Bournemouth Carlton (that\u2019s a mouthful!) received a \u00a31 million investment back in 2013 and the whole clifftop hotel was given a little spruce up in an attempt to return it to its former glory of 1903, when it first opened its doors to the public. <\/p>\n There are 76 rooms altogether and I think we had one of the better ones. With pastel striped walls, a huge bathroom and plenty of storage it made for the perfect little spot for a weekend of relaxing and taking some time out\u2026 which was our main aim of the trip..eat and nap, then eat some more and then maybe nap again! <\/p>\n No dodgy old bedspreads, just big soft quilts and plenty of pillows. Don\u2019t you just hate it when you get one solitary flat pillow at a hotel? I always end up calling down for another (if there\u2019s not already a spare stashed in the wardrobe). <\/p>\n The bed was firm but soft and both Steve and I slept well. I loved having the big windows next to us. It meant we could open the door and enjoy the feel of the breeze whilst listening to the sea. <\/p>\n The Hallmark Grill is the name of the restaurant located inside the hotel on the ground floor overlooking the outdoor swimming pool and beyond that, the sea. It\u2019s pretty big and on the Saturday night we ate there, it was around half full. Big windows let in lots of light, whereas sparkly chandeliers and a dark red carpet make it feel quite formal, but at the same time quite relaxed too. <\/p>\n The outside terrace also looked pretty nice. I can imagine it being a good dining spot in the summer. <\/p>\n As part of our trip we were invited to try the brand new 2019 menu. For starters I had halloumi, my main course was the vegetarian curry and for dessert I had lemon cheesecake. All were fine, tasted fresh, hot\u2026and quite comforting. However, Steve struck gold with the sticky-toffee pudding and he very kindly let me have a taste. I was instantly transported back to my childhood and it tasted exactly like the one my Mum used to make. If I could have bottled up that memory forever, I would have. If I was to eat at The Hallmark Grill again, I\u2019d not hesitate to order it. In fact, it would probably be the first thing I\u2019d do after check-in! <\/p>\n Steve and I ended up having a conversation about all the food we\u2019d eaten on our travels and what we loved the most\u2026 one of mine was Orange cake on the top of a mountain in Madeira<\/a>, and one of his was a Tagine in Marrakesh<\/a> on my birthday about six years ago\u2026surrounded by belly-dancers and talented entertainers!<\/p>\n Apparently, according to our friends that live in Bournemouth, the weather had been atrocious for the previous weeks before we arrived so the fact that the sun shone all day for us meant we were able to wander into town for some breakfast and coffee at South Coast Roast<\/a>. Later on we wandered down the beach, played in the arcades, bought some rock for the kids and people-watched. <\/p>\n I had so many recommendations on Twitter about where to eat in Bournemouth. Turns out that the Hallmark Hotel Bournemouth Carlton is within walking distance of nearly all of them\u2026they also have Deliveroo\u2026 we may or may not have ordered a sneaky Dirty Vegan<\/a> on our first night there\u2026it had been a long week and I was exhausted OK! \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n Going to Bournemouth this weekend\u2026 <\/p>\n Any food or coffee recommendations?? We\u2019ve got DirtyVegans and South Coast Roast on the list\u2026\ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n \u2014 Natalie | Hello Cuppies \ud83c\udf31 (@Hellocuppies) January 27, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n There\u2019s lots to do for older kids here, both Coby and Lucy loved the zipline over the pier when we came last year. There\u2019s also the wheel to ride on, crazy golf or even museums. <\/p>\n
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Beaches on the South Coast<\/h2>\n
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A Bournemouth Hotel by the Beach<\/h2>\n
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The Basics<\/h2>\n
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The Hotels\u2019 history <\/h2>\n
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Our Room<\/h2>\n
![\"Sea](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/hellocuppies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Bournmouth-The-Carlton-10-min.jpg?ssl=1\"\/)
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDinner <\/h2>\n
What\u2019s nearby?<\/h2>\n
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