I’m lying in my private poolside cabana, white curtains shading me from the late afternoon sun as a casually-dressed pool butler brings me my third cocktail of the day in a pink retro cool-box. Beside us, a gaggle of thirty-somethings are toasting their friend’s engagement under a candy-striped parasol while a tanned, young-looking couple are doing a photo shoot against the pool and azure-blue sea.
It’s easy to forget I’m not in Barcelona or some chic new beach club in the Med, until I remember we spent our morning driving here through leafy west London and the New Forest and not making our way through the hoardes at Heathrow.
If you haven’t seen the Insta ads yet, this is The Nici, Bournemouth’s hottest new boutique hotel and the UK’s most exotic five-star staycation destination right on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. It’s just a few steps from Bournemouth beach but once you’re inside you may as well be in Miami: think palms, flamingos, retro Playboy pinball machines and fun glitter disco balls hanging from the ceiling.
From the subterranean spa to sea-view rooms with their own jacuzzi, here’s everything you need to know.
Where?
Right on Bournemouth’s seafront, up on the cliffs and less than a five minute walk to the white sands of Bournemouth beach. It’s a 10-minute walk into the town centre and 10-minutes to Bournemouth Pier. On a good day, you can see the Isle of Wight and even Old Harry Rocks.
Style
Retro seaside posters. Disco ball chandeliers. Green velvet sofas and matte gold furnishings.
The Nici is the reincarnation of Bournemouth’s old Savoy hotel, which went into administration in 2020, and retains the same old Victorian facade but with shiny new Instagrammable interiors. Don’t come for old English charm or elegant simplicity; do come for a fun art deco style and Miami Beach vibes without having to get on a plane.
Bold and bright is the order of the day here, from the striking orange bar front and napkins to the electric green bedspread in the rooms. Outside by the pool, expect elegant white day beds, candyfloss pink umbrellas and real sand . If that wasn’t Love Island enough for you, there’s even a fire-pit area you can book out for the evenings. Pick a sunny day and you could genuinely be in the Balaerics.
Which room?
All 88 rooms are bold, bright and surprisingly spacious, featuring palm prints and electric green bedspreads against creamy neutral walls and plush bathrooms straight out of an Instagram advert: think seaside-inspired striped tiling, giant Monsoon rain showers and Malin + Goetz products. There’s a Nespresso machine and well-stocked minibar, and fun little details like free cookies and retro postcards to take home or use as a bookmark.
Pick a Sea View Suite — the biggest — for your own balcony and bathtub views over pool area and Isle of Wight, or a Poolside Garden Suite if you’re bringing a dog or fancy your own private outdoor jacuzzi. Even the smaller ‘Cosy’ rooms have high ceilings and good natural light, so you won’t feel squeezed for space, even on a grey day.
Food & drink
This isn’t fine dining, rather Instagram-ready British classics served with unbeatable seaside views. Think fish and chips, burgers, steaks, mac and cheese, chicken curries, with veggie options including a tofu pad thai or roasted aubergine. Choose the 16oz Surf and Turf for main (the first time I’ve been given the option of a black or gold steak knife), and the strawberry pavlova or rhubarb and custard sundae for dessert.
Cocktails are fun and fittingly extra, from the South Beach punch to a Hibiscus rose sangria that’s perfect for an afternoon sipping by the pool (you can order food poolside too, but don’t expect five-star dining — our £17 caesar salads were small and a little limp). Try the summer spritzer with Limoncello, Italicus, prosecco and soda water on the terrace before dinner.
Breakfast is a buffet affair, with the usual mix of cereals (in mini boxes), fruits, yoghurts and continental options. There’s a menu of hot dishes to order from, too, with all the classics from ‘eggs benny’ to pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and avocado toast. This option was only available on weekdays when I visited.
Facilities
The hotel has valet parking, so simply pull up outside the entrance and staff will take it from there.
The pool and surrounding beach area are naturally the hotel’s main attractions and while it’s more of a posers’ pool, it is 30m long so long enough to do lengths if you get down early and snatch a quiet moment before the cabanas fill up. Toby and his gang of pool butlers are attentive and relaxed, bringing cool-boxes of fresh fruit skewers with decorative pineapple tops and taking food and drink orders from the menu.
There’s also an 18m heated pool inside the spa, plus a hydro pool, sauna, steam room and gym as well as several treatment and relaxation rooms. Sunday yoga sessions are a popular staple of The Nici’s growing list of wellness classes and events, and many guests book in just for a spa day (choose from a Sunrise or Sunset option, which includes breakfast or lunch). The hotel’s signature massage can be booked for 60 or 90 minutes and uses CBD for extra relaxation, washed down with an OTO CBD seltzer drink.
Pretty retro city bikes are available for guests outside reception and there’s an activity centre with paddleboards and kayaks for hire. Other facilities include a picnic service, lawn games, children’s play room and cinema room with four screenings a day including kids films.
What to Instagram
Cocktails in a cool-box in your private poolside cabana. On a good day, you could be at Ibiza’s famous Nikki Beach. Perhaps that’s what the name’s about.
Best for?
Don’t come for a traditional British seaside break; do come for fun, Instagrammable escapism without having to get on a plane. We drove down on a Friday and treated ourselves to an afternoon WFC (working from cabana) next to everyone from girl groups celebrating baby showers to couples on a romantic beach break (beware of the Wi-Fi in the communal downstairs areas if you’ve got any calls planned — we found out the hard way). Children and dogs are welcome, too, so there were plenty of families around.
In some places, it can feel Instagram points have been prioritised over five-star quality (scruffy, unfluffy spa robes; no iron or working phone in the room; a long wait to be seated at breakfast and no water offered at the table), but what the hotel fails to deliver on in luxury it makes up for in personality — particularly the decor and charismatic pool staff.
How to get there
Jump in the car from London and you can be there in under three hours. The train takes two hours from Paddington, then it’s a five-minute cab at the other end.
When should I go?
Summer, ideally, though the fun Love Island vibe does mean summer weekends are likely to be awash with hen and stag parties and families taking a school holiday staycation, so bear that in mind if you’re looking for some R&R. That said, the whole place was sound-proofed during the refurb so you won’t struggle sleeping.
If you can, book as last-minute as you can and snap up a deal when the forecast is guaranteed for pool weather (enter the Evening Standard’s competition to win a two-night stay including dinner and a spa treatment, it closes on August 27). Those cabana cocktails won’t drink themselves.
