Bring your Valentine to the Whitehall Hotel in Bournemouth for the night of Saturday 11th February 2012. Enjoy a double room with a chilled bottle of champagne then on Sunday morning there’s a full English breakfast. The price is £99 for two people for bed & breakfast with a bottle of champagne.  There’s free parking at the hotel and it’s a great location for a romantic walk along the beach or perhaps you would like to go to the Pavilion Theatre to see West End star Lee Mead performing his ‘Love Tour’.  Book online here.

• Sunday 22 January 2012 to Friday 27 January 2012
• Sunday 4 March 2012 to Friday 9 March 2012
• Thursday 5 April 2012 to Tuesday 10 April 2012 (Easter)
• Sunday 17 June 2012 to Friday 22 June 2012
• Sunday 23 September 2012 to Friday 28 September 2012
• Sunday 28 October 2012 to Friday 2 November 2012

Contact Bridge Overseas to make a booking. See our Facebook page for more photos of the November 2011 bridge holiday.

Bridge at the Whitehall Hotel

Father Christmas relaxing on Bournemouth beach

Turkey & Tinsel holidays are well underway at The Whitehall Hotel. We are welcoming over 800 festive guests in a 6 week period. The Christmas Tree and the decorations look fabulous, the elves have wrapped the presents and made the mince pies and the carol singers are well rehearsed and in tune. We do not have many spaces left. So call us if you want to join in the fun. Ho Ho Ho!

There are still bedrooms available for the weekend of Friday 2 December to Monday 5 December 2011. The special price for this weekend is £126 pp.

• Christmas Package: 4 nights from Friday 23 December 2011 to Tuesday 27 December 2011 £389 per person.
• New Year Package: 3 nights from Friday 30 December 2011 to Monday 2 January 2012 £269 per person.

Pat & Tina Dancer's Wedding at The Whitehall Hotel

On 27 August 2011 The Whitehall Hotel hosted the wedding of Pat and Tina Dancer. The ceremony took place on the hotel terrace and afterwards the couple with their forty guests enjoyed a drinks reception followed by the wedding breakfast. Everyone was collected by an old London bus and taken to an evening party.

To see more photos of the the happy couple (and our hotel as a wedding venue) see http://on.fb.me/pNnxpl

The UK’s biggest free aviation festival takes place on Bournemouth seafront. There is a non-stop programme of events during the day and each evening. For the latest information on the programme, the aircraft and the evening events see Air Festival Update.

The Whitehall Hotel is offering a special Air Festival weekend break from Friday 19 August 2011 to Monday 22 August 2011.

You will enjoy:

• 3 nights Bed & Breakfast at the Whitehall Hotel. You will be staying overnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Free parking at the hotel. Check out our fantastic location – we’re at the heart of all the action
• A complimentary souvenir programme ready for you when you arrive
• A full day of air displays on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Evening events on Friday and Saturday – hot air balloons, fireworks and dusk air displays.

It all takes place just outside our hotel – air displays at the seafront and evening events in the lower gardens. We offer the perfect location.

The price for our special weekend is £153 per person for the 3 nights B&B package. So for a couple in a double or a twin bedded room the price will be £102 per night so £306 for the 3 nights. For a family of 2 adults & up to 2 children the price is £130 per night so £390 for the family for 3 nights. With all the entertainment completely free this weekend is tremendous value for money.

We will sell out – so book early to avoid disappointment.

Book online or call us on 01202 554682

Chris Evans - Head Gardener for Bournemouth Council. Winner of Bournemouth's Chelsea Gold Medal in 2006

The Whitehall Hotel has hosted another themed holiday this week. Cardiff’s Christchurch Garden Club enjoyed a splendid Garden Appreciation Holiday.

Situated in Bournemouth’s award winning Lower Gardens, the Whitehall is the perfect place to stay for a garden appreciation holiday. The itinerary included:

- A tour of Compton Acres in Poole the south’s finest privately owned historic gardens famous for the Italianate gardens. It has a unique series of stunning gardens and a spectacular views over Poole Harbour.

- A visit to Kingston Lacy the National Trust property in Wimborne Minster.  As well as being a fantastic 17th Century house containing lavish interiors and a fine art collection there are 43 acres of formal gardens and 250 acres of landscaped park and woodlands.

-  A presentation by Chris Evans the head gardener at Bournemouth Council. Chris gave a fascinating talk describing how he lead Bournemouth’s team to success at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006.  He talked about the design, the plants and the horticultural and logistical challenges that his team overcame to achieve a Gold and the RHS Presidents award at Chelsea.  He illustrated the talk with his photographs and he even brought the gold medal. A splendid evening enjoyed by all.

- On the way back to Cardiff the group spent the day at Bowood House in Calne, Wiltshire.  The family home of  Lord Lansdowne with grounds designed by ‘Capability’ Brown, Bowood offers a soothing retreat from the modern world. It has an extensive arboretum and pinetum, rhododendron walks and offers guided tours for groups including the private walled gardens, formal borders and the great lake and cascade.

There are so many other elements that could have been included in this itinerary – so the garden club from Cardiff are coming back again in 2012. Our suggestions include:

- a guided ‘behind the scenes’ tour at Bournemouth Council’s Kings Park Plant Nursery

- a visit to Exbury Gardens to see the world-famous Rothschild collection of rhododendrons, azalias, camelias, rare trees and shrubs in the heart of the New Forest National Park.

- a trip to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens near Weymouth. Established in 1765 as the kitchen garden of the nearby castle it now has a magnificent 20 acre garden filled with rare and exotic plants from all over the world.

Your room account will be credited with £25 to spend at the hotel during your stay.  For example you can choose to have drinks from the bar, wine with your meal, lunchtime bar snacks, afternoon tea or packed lunches – whatever treat you fancy!

If you love Bournemouth and you love our hotel...please recommend us

Gluten Free Scones

This recipe makes approximately 8 gluten free scones.

Ingredients

• 250g (8oz) gluten free self-raising flour. Doves Farm is a popular brand of self-raising flour available in most UK supermarkets. This product and most gluten free flour contains xanthan gum which does the job of binding the ingredients together in place of the gluten – so check the ingredients on the flour packet  - otherwise you will need to add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per 250g of flour.
• 1 level teaspoon of gluten-free baking powder (Supercook brand is gluten free and available in most supermarkets)
• 50g ( 1 ¾  oz) butter (or low fat margarine for the healthier option)
• 50g (1 ¾ oz) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 150 ml (1/4 pint) milk
• Beaten egg to glaze
• 1-2 tsp granulated sugar for sprinkling
• Dorset Clotted Cream
• Your favourite Strawberry Jam
• Baking sheet lined with baking parchment
• Ice-cream scoop

Method

1. Set the oven to gas mark 7 or 220° C
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar (and xanthan gum if required)
3. Lightly beat together the egg and the milk. Add this to the flour mixture and gently mix to give a smooth consistency
4. As it is tricky to roll and cut this mixture it is easier to scoop 7-9 mounds of the mixture with an ice-cream scoop on to the lined baking sheet. Brush some beaten egg over the top of each and sprinkle over some granulated sugar.
5. Bake the scones in the centre of the oven for 15-18 minutes or until they are a light golden colour. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and slide the scones on to a wire rack to cool.
6. Serve scones warm with strawberry jam and Dorset clotted cream.