Harbour Heights Hotel

Tired hotel. Needs an update. Dirty carpets in room and manky looking balcony. Good breakfast and comfy bed but that’s about it.

Recently had a one night stay.

We booked a harbour view room, which was very nice and modern.

However, due to an issue with this room, we were re-allocated an upgraded room, harbour view with balcony.

Unfortunately this room also had issues, this time with the electrics.

As we were only staying for one night, we decided not to move rooms again.

However, the reception staff we spoke to about the room issues were very friendly and professional.

Overall, despite the room issues, we will stay again given how great the reception staff were in dealing with the issues.

Stayed here for work in Poole.
Wonderful hotel location, stayed in room 211, fantastic views of Poole Harbour.
Short walk to the sea, at least a couple pubs within 10 minutes walk.
Very well equipped, clean room.
Slept very well both nights.
Used the bar and restaurant on both nights, excellent lamb shank meal on the 2nd night
Special mention to "Amy" behind the bar, a pleasure to eat and drink there thanks.

This is a lovely hotel with the most gorgeous view from the terrace. I had a sea view room which did not disappoint. It was clean in our room and around the hotel. Quick walk down to the sea and beach.
The downfall of this place is the staff service. Reception were very helpful and positive. The bar and breakfast area was awful. On a Sunday night I was told that there was no bread for any of the dishes. I had to ask repeatedly and go to the bar as there is no-one around. A bartender had no idea what was available on the menu and when I kept asking about dishes I had to ask, 'so basically you have no bread'. He appeared to shrug his shoulders and say yes with very little care. The general attitude was very poor. At breakfast one of the young women did very little and just spent the morning flirting with the chef. I believe it was Simi(?) who was running around looking after everyone on her own. This was a Monday morning. On Monday evening we had the same attitude in the bar so went somewhere else. Very very poor service with no food available. Such a shame as it lets down a very nice hotel.

I have a severe walnut allergy (I have EpiPens).

I informed Harbour Heights of my walnut allergy on the online booking form I completed on 16th July. I then called them on 16th July and informed them again about my allergy to walnuts and asked if they could definitely provide an afternoon tea for me/ my group, given my allergy to walnuts. They assured me that of course they could and it would be no problem.

The booking was yesterday (22nd August) for afternoon tea, and when I arrived with my husband, my mum and my sister, I told the waitress that I have an allergy to walnuts and that that should be on the booking. She said that's no problem and that they know that.

The waitress brought out afternoon tea but didn't explain what any of the cakes were, so I asked if she could go to the kitchen to ensure that the cakes were definitely walnut-free.

The waitress came back and said the kitchen could not confirm but there might be traces of nut in one of the cakes. She said that also might be one nut within the cakes but she wasn't sure which one. I explained that I needed to know which one because I am allergic to walnut but I am not allergic to other nuts. She apologised and said she would check again with the kitchen. I didn't eat anything from the afternoon tea whilst I waited because it wouldn't have been safe to until I knew for sure.

As the waitress came back, she started explaining that the kitchen didn't know and it was "inconclusive" which nut was in the cake. I started saying that's not ok and that means I can't eat any of this.

Just as I was saying that, my husband bit into one of the small cakes and it was entirely filled with pieces of walnut on the inside of the cake. He showed the waitress the pieces of walnut and said, "this is unacceptable; my wife is severely allergic to walnut and would have eaten this". She apologised again and a man, who we think was the kitchen manager, came out to say that the waitress had made the mistake and she hadn't passed on the information to the kitchen.

However, I said he shouldn't blame the waitress because it's everyone in the chain's fault, and the kitchen should know which ingredients (especially allergens) are in their food, but he was keen to pin it on the young waitress rather than take any accountability. He was also rude because when my sister spoke to add some detail to what had happened, he put his hand up in front of her face so that she could not continue.

The Harbour Heights kitchen does not know what is in their food and the members of staff do not have appropriate training regarding allergies. This was a serious near-miss and the most risk I have ever been in, to do with my walnut allergy.

Had I not insisted that the waitress checked two more times after reporting my allergy four times, had my husband not suspected something was wrong and tried the cake himself, then I would have eaten that cake! I would have had to use my EpiPen, would have had to call 999, would have had to go to A&E. I potentially could have lost my life, worst case scenario.

I feel very concerned about how the restaurant let me down and put me at such serious risk.

A temporary manager of the hotel came to talk to us. He was very apologetic but we explained we could not eat here as it would not be safe so we would be leaving.

Despite the young waitress and the temporary manager of the hotel being polite, Harbour Heights do not understand how to handle a kitchen and take allergies seriously and I feel I have to leave this review, because if I did not report this, someone else could be in the situation in which they trusted the first time they asked about their allergy and they could literally eat the allergen that they are allergic to.

The hotel is in a stunning location with fantastic views overlooking the beautiful bay

I’ve been coming to Harbour Heights for several years now and it remains one of my favourite places in the Poole area. The location is fantastic, with exceptional views across Poole Harbour – quite possibly the best I know of locally.

I visit regularly and often eat in the restaurant, and I particularly wanted to mention Sol, who has looked after us on many occasions over the years. His service is exceptional. He remembers what I like and don’t like, how I like things served and even the timing of when I want things. He is always extremely professional, attentive and completely on the ball, without ever being overbearing. He is genuinely one of the best waiters I have come across and is a real credit to Harbour Heights.

The only small suggestion I would make, particularly as a regular visitor, would be to change the restaurant menu a little more frequently and introduce some more variety. It would be great to see a few new dishes appearing more regularly.

Overall, though, a fantastic location, wonderful views and consistently excellent service – with a special mention again to Sol for making every visit feel so well looked after.

View

The location is very good and the food was best in town. View is stunning

The air conditioned room. The gentleman on the front desk was excellent, extremely helpful. He helped us find an evening meal when the restaurant could not accommodate a gluten and dairy intolerant guest (despite being informed prior to arrival). This gentleman was great, very helpful.

Beautiful setting and views are incredible. The hotel must have been very luxurious 10-20 years ago but feels a bit dated now. There was sufficient parking.

The main issue was the staff. The staff for the bar/breakfast/dinner were universally poor. There was a lot of staff on duty but they mostly seemed to be standing around and talking to their colleagues. We had to go up to the staff to request they took our breakfast orders and I noticed others did similarly. The bar staff were also very slow - one night there was three staff one duty but only one actually doing any work despite a queue. I had heard from others locally that the staff weren’t very good but I wasn’t expecting to be this bad.

Breakfast was ok, nice choices , tables very clean
Tables spaced out nicely, lovely view. No long waits
Bedroom was spacious. Light and airy. Very clean
Bed very comfortable. Staff friendly and helpful.
First night

Very comfortable bed, great view over the harbour. Great location for the beach. Very helpful and friendly staff. Casual atmosphere. AIRCON!!!!

Great location with a beautiful terrace and amazing views. We booked dinner on the terrace, and everything was outstanding — the food, the view and the service were all excellent.
The bar, restaurant and reception staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The room was comfortable and, most importantly, had air conditioning!

The view