The Connaught

Fairly grim.
The reception area looks very promising, with smart plush décor. Unfortunately the rooms don’t live up to this.
My room was small and cheaply furnished. I stay in hotels a lot, and I like the ones where the furnishings are better quality than I have at home, and dislike the ones with poorer quality furnishings than home. This is definitely in the latter group. Cheap wardrobes (think MFI), cheap bathrooms (B&Q), cheap curtains, cheap desk.
No sea view here (in fact I have fire escape and courtyard).
Glad I only have to stay here one night.
To be fair — it beats a Travelodge or Jury’s Inn. And it does have free wifi. But if you’re in Bournemouth go to the Marriott if you possibly can.

The West Cliff area is packed with hotels, most of them are very bog standard. On the outside the hotel appears smart, but nothing really special. Inside, the rooms are a good size, and although, not that modern, they weren’t outdated and they were comfortable. I can’t remember the price, but I think the room rates for this hotel weren’t too expensive considering it is one of the better hotels in the area.
The breakfast is very good here, a full English breakfast with toast and Tea/​Coffee, or a Continental Breakfast. The hotel has also got a very nice swimming pool and spa facility, which is also private membership to local residents, although I got the feeling it was mostly used by the hotel residents. When we were there, there was only one other person in the centre. Its all very well maintained.
The hotel is very close to the beach, and the centre of Bournemouth, although there are no sea views. Overall, if you want to be assured of a decent standard but have a fixed budget, this is a good pick. There is a better hotel nearby with Sea Views, I believe its a Marriott.