The Pavilion Arms
📍 1.5 miles from Vitality Stadium
About this Pub
Why it's great for Matchdays
A strong matchday option in Bournemouth: The Pavilion Arms advertises live sport on Sky Sports and BT/TNT across fixtures, so you can catch early kick-offs or the late game before/after heading to the ground. The pub serves food with published kitchen hours (including Saturdays and Sundays), making it practical for pre-match meals. It also pours cask ales from Butcombe, with regular lines including Rare Breed, Gold and Original, giving fans a reliable pint. Practically, CAMRA/WhatPub lists it as close to Bournemouth railway station (around 950m), which helps for away-day logistics if you're arriving by train and meeting up in town before travelling on to the Vitality Stadium.
Recent Fan Reviews
The Pavilion Arms is cosy, comfortable and charming. It’s a great location within walking distance into town with a car park and easy access to public transport. We were welcomed by friendly staff and shown to our room which was spacious and well equipped. There was quiet music playing in the room which smelled lovely and fresh. The bed was super comfy with tea and coffee making, a large dressing area and large bathroom. The breakfast was delicious and coffee best I’ve tasted in years. I would recommend for business or pleasure.
We were made very welcome when we arrived. Shown to our room which was clean and spacious with a comfortable bed and a decent size bathroom. We had drinks in the bar which is well appointed.Convenient location with an excellent breakfast.We were also asked on checking out,if we had enjoyed our stay. Which we did. We will return. Highly recommend.
I had a lovely stay on Monday 2nd. The room was great and I had no complaints about the accommodation itself. Unfortunately, the service let the experience down. There were no staff visible when I arrived to check in, which was a little confusing. I had also paid for bed and breakfast and ordered eggs royale at 8am. As I was the only person there, I was surprised that by 8:30am my breakfast hadn’t arrived. When I asked, I was told the chef had forgotten my ticket. I understand that mistakes happen, but it was frustrating as I had paid for breakfast and had a 9am start, so I had to leave without eating. There was also no apology, which was disappointing. A small issue, but it unfortunately took the shine off what would otherwise have been a very nice stay. 3/5
Very disappointed. We arrived 15.30, check in was at 15.00, the poor man behind the bar was on his own and said he hadn't seen the housekeeper so wasn't sure if our room was ready or not and he couldn't leave the bar to check. We said we would have a drink while we waited and were assured we would be told when our room was ready. At 16.15 my husband went to the bar to ask if it was ready ..... it was! We had a table booked at 18.30, so not late, at dinner we were told (by a waitress who obviously didn't want to be there) that there were no fish and chips, no steak and no burgers. This left very few things to chose from. We both chose king prawn and crab linguine ....... no evidence or taste of crab and you could count the prawns and one hand and, coming from a seaside town, definitely NOT king prawns! We went to bed disappointed and hoping for a better breakfast, sadly disappointed. We were greeted with the fact that there were no sausages or smoked salmon. We then asked, as we had pre paid breakfast, what we could have, having been presented with a menu with cereals, cooked breakfast and croissants and toast. We were told you could have cereal and toast or cooked breakfast and toast, but not cereal, cooked breakfast and toast. It was certainly not clear on the menu and you could easily have been caught out. Our son has just joined the University, we will be regular visitors to Bournemouth, but not The Pavilion Arms.
Our stay here was wonderful from start to finish. Plenty of good sized carpark spaces available when we arrived just after 3pm on a Saturday. Fast charging was also available if you have an EV. The staff were attentive, friendly and welcoming. I booked a cozy room which was a bargain with breakfast, however I think we got upgraded as the room was lovely and spacious with a large window and king sized bed. It has clearly been recently refurbished to a high standard. There was a fridge with real milk and free bottled water. Proper ground coffee and cafetiere, selection of tea bags etc. Plenty of towels and a large shower with good water pressure. There is a busy road outside but the curtains were blackout and the traffic overnight was minimal so we both slept well. There is a night entrance so you can enter after the pub closes at 11pm. Breakfast was delicious, coffee was fantastic and served till 10am on a Sunday. There is a great selection and table service which I much prefer. Overall we had a wonderful stay and would come back again when we're next in the area.