Family hotels in Bournemouth: room sizes, kids' clubs and cots
Suncliff's largest family room sleeps 6, The Riviera's sleep 3 to 5 and THE NICI charges nothing extra for children. Room sizes, kids’ clubs and cots at 11 hotels.
Facts checked against official sources on 11 October 2026. How we research
Family room sizes and what each hotel provides for children
Capacities are the hotel's own figures. "Not stated" means its website does not say: ask before booking rather than assuming.
| Hotel | Family rooms | Kids’ club or activities | Cots and baby kit | Beach (hotel’s words) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE NICI (West Cliff) | Inland Family Room and Family Annexe Room, up to 4 (super-king plus two singles) | Coconuts Kids Club, age 4+, school holidays; cinema; games room | Cots free; no extra charge for children | 2 minute walk | NICI families |
| The Riviera (Alum Chine) | Family rooms for 3 to 5; interconnecting rooms; garden lodge rooms with patio | Scavenger hunt and arts and crafts in school holidays; games room | Cots, highchairs, limited toddler steps, bed guards and toilet seats; under-3s free when sharing | Just steps away | Riviera families |
| Suncliff (East Cliff) | Standard Family 3, 4, 5 and 6; Sea View Family 4 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Suncliff rooms |
| The Cumberland (East Cliff) | Standard Family 3 and 4; Sea View Family 3, 4 and 5 with balcony | Not stated | Not stated | Overlooks the beach; no distance given | Cumberland rooms |
| Ocean Beach (East Cliff) | Standard Family 3 (18 m²) and 4 (20 m²); Sea View Family 4 (30 m²) | Not stated | Not stated | Minutes’ walk | Ocean Beach rooms |
| The Hermitage (by the pier) | Classic Family 3, 4 and 5; Sea View Family 3; Superior Sea View Family 3 and 4 | Free children’s goody bag when booking direct | Not stated | Just steps from | Hermitage families |
| Durley Dean (West Cliff) | Double rooms with an adjoining bunk room; superior rooms with bunk beds in the main room | Not stated | Not stated | 2 minutes walk to the beach clifftop | Durley Dean families |
| Hotel Collingwood (West Cliff) | Family rooms and family suites with extra beds; capacity not stated | Seasonal games room; children’s menus | Not stated | 5 minute stroll to the pier and seafront | Collingwood families |
| Sandbanks Hotel (Poole) | 2 adults and 2 children up to 14, with an interconnecting bunk room or extra singles; top bunks for over-6s | Children’s activities in the summer holidays; pirate-themed play area; watersports | Not stated | A few steps from the terrace | Sandbanks families |
| Haven Hotel (Sandbanks) | Double with adjoining bunk room for children up to 14; Superior Family Room with Balcony (king bed, two bathrooms, sofa beds) | Not stated | Not stated | Direct beach access; tidal, not lifeguarded | Haven rooms |
| Bournemouth Beach Lodges (Boscombe) | Self-catering lodge for up to 4 adults and 2 children, with kitchen and shower room | n/a | Not stated | A few steps from the sand | Lodges website |
- Family rooms
- Inland Family Room and Family Annexe Room, up to 4 (super-king plus two singles)
- Kids’ club or activities
- Coconuts Kids Club, age 4+, school holidays; cinema; games room
- Cots and baby kit
- Cots free; no extra charge for children
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- 2 minute walk
- Source
- NICI families
- Family rooms
- Family rooms for 3 to 5; interconnecting rooms; garden lodge rooms with patio
- Kids’ club or activities
- Scavenger hunt and arts and crafts in school holidays; games room
- Cots and baby kit
- Cots, highchairs, limited toddler steps, bed guards and toilet seats; under-3s free when sharing
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Just steps away
- Source
- Riviera families
- Family rooms
- Standard Family 3, 4, 5 and 6; Sea View Family 4
- Kids’ club or activities
- Not stated
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Not stated
- Source
- Suncliff rooms
- Family rooms
- Standard Family 3 and 4; Sea View Family 3, 4 and 5 with balcony
- Kids’ club or activities
- Not stated
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Overlooks the beach; no distance given
- Source
- Cumberland rooms
- Family rooms
- Standard Family 3 (18 m²) and 4 (20 m²); Sea View Family 4 (30 m²)
- Kids’ club or activities
- Not stated
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Minutes’ walk
- Source
- Ocean Beach rooms
- Family rooms
- Classic Family 3, 4 and 5; Sea View Family 3; Superior Sea View Family 3 and 4
- Kids’ club or activities
- Free children’s goody bag when booking direct
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Just steps from
- Source
- Hermitage families
- Family rooms
- Double rooms with an adjoining bunk room; superior rooms with bunk beds in the main room
- Kids’ club or activities
- Not stated
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- 2 minutes walk to the beach clifftop
- Source
- Durley Dean families
- Family rooms
- Family rooms and family suites with extra beds; capacity not stated
- Kids’ club or activities
- Seasonal games room; children’s menus
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- 5 minute stroll to the pier and seafront
- Source
- Collingwood families
- Family rooms
- 2 adults and 2 children up to 14, with an interconnecting bunk room or extra singles; top bunks for over-6s
- Kids’ club or activities
- Children’s activities in the summer holidays; pirate-themed play area; watersports
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- A few steps from the terrace
- Source
- Sandbanks families
- Family rooms
- Double with adjoining bunk room for children up to 14; Superior Family Room with Balcony (king bed, two bathrooms, sofa beds)
- Kids’ club or activities
- Not stated
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- Direct beach access; tidal, not lifeguarded
- Source
- Haven rooms
- Family rooms
- Self-catering lodge for up to 4 adults and 2 children, with kitchen and shower room
- Kids’ club or activities
- n/a
- Cots and baby kit
- Not stated
- Beach (hotel’s words)
- A few steps from the sand
- Source
- Lodges website
The Royal Bath is left out of the table because its rooms page lists no family category, although its children's splash pool is covered on the hotels with pools page.
Which hotels take a family of five or more?
Among the 11 hotels checked, most family rooms sleep four. Suncliff is the only hotel here with a room for six, its Standard Family 6. Rooms for five are sold by Suncliff (Standard Family 5), The Cumberland (Sea View Family 5 with balcony), The Hermitage (Classic Family 5) and The Riviera, which says its family rooms sleep 3 to 5.
At Sandbanks Hotel and the Haven Hotel, the family rooms are built around two adults and children up to 14, using a bunk room next to the main bedroom. Sandbanks Hotel says top bunks are for children over 6, which matters with two young children. Larger families who want two connected rooms can ask about The Riviera's interconnecting rooms or Durley Dean's double rooms with an adjoining bunk room.
Which hotel has a kids' club?
THE NICI is the only one of the 11 with a named club. Coconuts Kids Club takes children aged 4 and over during school holidays. Children aged 5 and over can be left with the team once registration forms are done, but a parent must stay on the hotel premises and be contactable, and under-5s need a parent with them at the club.
The Riviera runs a scavenger hunt and arts and crafts in school holidays, and Sandbanks Hotel publishes a schedule of children's activities for the summer holidays, plus an outdoor pirate-themed play area by its beach terrace.
Cots, highchairs and charges for children
Only two hotels publish what they provide for babies and toddlers. THE NICI lends cots at no extra cost and says there are no extra charges for children to stay. The Riviera provides cots and highchairs, plus a limited number of toddler steps, bed guards and toilet seats, and children under 3 stay free when sharing their parents' room.
The other hotels in the table do not mention cots on their family or room pages. Ask when booking, and get the cot added to the reservation rather than requested on arrival.
Meals and things to do near the hotel
THE NICI serves a children's menu in both its restaurants, South Beach and Old Harry Rocks, and Hotel Collingwood links a children's menu from its families page. The other hotels in the table do not mention one on the pages checked, so look at the restaurant menu before relying on it.
For wet-weather plans close by, The Hermitage says the Oceanarium and the Pavilion are both within a 5-minute walk, and Hotel Collingwood gives its distance to the pier and seafront as a 5-minute stroll. Both are town-centre hotels without a long climb from the beach.
How far is the beach with small children?
The distances above are the hotels' own and are measured to different points. Durley Dean's "2 minutes walk" is to the clifftop, not the sand. THE NICI says the beach is a 2-minute walk. On the East Cliff, Suncliff, The Cumberland and Ocean Beach sit on the clifftop above the promenade, and with the East Cliff lift shut since the 2016 landslip, a pushchair goes down by path or slope. Cliff access is set out on the sea-view hotels page.
For no cliff at all, Sandbanks Hotel and the Haven Hotel are at beach level on the Sandbanks peninsula, and the Bournemouth Beach Lodges sit on the promenade at Boscombe. The Haven's own site warns that its beach is tidal and not lifeguarded. Families arriving by car can compare beach parking costs or Sandbanks parking for day trips.
Frequently asked questions
Do any family rooms have a sea view?
Yes, at The Cumberland (Sea View Family 3, 4 and 5, all with a balcony), Suncliff (Sea View Family 4), Ocean Beach (Sea View Family 4) and The Hermitage (Sea View Family 3 and Superior Sea View Family 3 and 4). THE NICI's family rooms are inland.
Which hotels have a pool children can use?
Most hotels in the table have a pool, but children's hours differ: THE NICI has two one-hour splash sessions a day, and Durley Dean gives conflicting cut-offs on its own pages. The swim times, pool seasons and day-pass prices are compared in Bournemouth hotels with pools.
What if no hotel room fits our family?
Two connected rooms are the usual answer: The Riviera offers interconnecting rooms, Durley Dean sells doubles with an adjoining bunk room, and Hotel Miramar's two Sea View with Shared Balcony rooms can be booked with an interconnecting door. For self-catering, a Bournemouth Beach Lodge sleeps 4 adults and 2 children, and caravans and lodges are compared in holiday parks near Bournemouth and Poole and camping near Bournemouth.