PERCHED on Bournemouth’s West Cliff sits new lodge The Nici, placing the cat among the many seagulls with its Miami South Seaside model.
It’s the start of November and I’ve pushed down in a storm. However as I stroll into the lobby of the lodge, I’m immediately transported to a lot sunnier climes.
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Handsome workers (absolutely poached from First Dates Lodge?) are there to park my automotive, seize my baggage and supply me a cocktail.
I spot palms (each fake and actual), Andy Warhol-style pop artwork, and in a nod to Miami’s Cuban connections, on the wall there’s a formidable collage of freedom fighter Che Guevara constructed from cigar holders.
In my sea-view suite, I discover a retro cocktail cupboard with a decanter of complimentary Cuban rum, and a free-standing tub during which to drink it.
Usually voted considered one of Britain’s best-loved seaside cities, Bournemouth’s huge golden sands rank within the high 5 in Europe, however the city itself was due just a little shake-up.
I head down a zig-zag path that cuts a swathe from clifftop to seaside, the place huts (first in style when the Victorians flocked right here within the mid-Nineteenth century) line the seaside.
Those that want to descend sedately can hop on the West Cliff Railway (a cliff-hugging funicular), in-built 1908.
Among the many seaside huts, wanting extra Californian than Dorset, is The Seaside Environmental Hub, a £2.4million growth constructed utilizing recycled supplies, which is able to open within the spring of 2023 and features a café and occasions area.
Bournemouth’s 229-metre-long iron pier, rebuilt in 1979, is considerably uninspiring.
Nevertheless it does have nice views to the Isle of Wight to the left and to Outdated Harry Rocks (three immense chalk formations) to the suitable, and is a superb spot to look at the surfers in motion.
From right here, I additionally spy the ostentatious Russell-Cotes villa sitting on the East Cliff, in-built 1901 for Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes, Victorian hoteliers, and world travellers.
It’s a mishmash of design (suppose Scottish baronial pad with Japanese/Moorish/French twists) and is stuffed with the treasures the couple amassed on their travels, plus Merton’s spectacular artwork assortment, together with a portray by Rossetti.
Alum Chine — a chine is a steep-sided dry river valley — is a sub-tropical enclave that leads into the city.
It’s brimming with crops introduced again from faraway locations together with the Canary Islands and Himalayas within the Nineteen Twenties.
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FERAL GOATS
The fashionable division retailer Bobby & Co is the spotlight right here.
It reopened final yr after a restoration taking it again to its 1915 glory and is now a champion of native artisans.
I uncover skincare model L’Organiq (it could sound French, however it’s made down the highway — strive its grapefruit and ginger vary), coastal-inspired prints from Bournemouth artist Yaz Baxter and New Forest rhubarb gin from Wyrd Spirits.
Don’t miss the retro ice-cream parlour on the bottom flooring or the gallery GIANT on the high.
Nice impartial eating places on the town embody West Seaside (a beachside favorite for seafood — strive its blended grill platter), and the inexperienced secret that’s City Backyard, tucked away by the facet of Bournemouth’s pleasure gardens.
For a spin out of city, head to The Noisy Lobster at Mudeford Bay, with its solar decks, regionally sourced fish, seaside hut rent and posh Lobster Hatch takeaway.
To succeed in The Saltwater Sauna, which sits on the seaside of close by Sandbanks, I reap the benefits of The Nici’s complimentary inexperienced bicycles and pedal alongside the seaside path, recognizing Bournemouth’s well-known feral goats that had been placed on the cliffs by the council to curb unruly vegetation.
Pretty Branksome Seaside Café is a superb cease for a cuppa earlier than you strip off to steam within the sauna — which is finest described as an elegant shed with sea views.
In true Finnish model, I take pleasure in dry warmth earlier than having fun with a bracing dip within the sea.
When one other storm kicks off, it’s time to gap up at The Nici, order a Candyfloss (Plymouth gin, grapefruit and champagne) and slip into the lodge’s tiny although opulent velvet-clad 13-seat cinema to catch a movie.
Overlook tea dances and bingo as a result of the British seaside has by no means regarded extra glam.
GO: Bournemouth
STAYING THERE: Double rooms at The Nici begin at £175 together with breakfast however try the web site as there are sometimes particular presents.
Household rooms and dog-friendly rooms can be found. See thenici.com.
OUT & ABOUT: Bournemouth’s Christmas Tree Wonderland, together with festive market, ice rink and illuminations, is on now till January 2.
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