Sandbanks Hotel by Cynny Sharp

Light and airy, this family hotel nestles in an enviable position on the peninsula between Poole Bay and the open sea. Almost all the 109 bedrooms have balconies and sea views and the hotel has direct access onto a superb three-mile Blue Flag beach. The views from the seaward bedrooms are best.

The hotel décor is restful and understated, with pretty colour-schemes, beautiful seascape photographs, paintings and mirrors. The staff are young and keen, and there are excellent facilities for children, who have their own restaurant, entertainment programme and an Ofsted registered nursery. Many families return year on year, bringing Granny along too, as there is much to enjoy watching from the shore and lots of corners in which to read and relax.

The food in the restaurants is excellent, imaginative without being fussy, and all enjoyed with uninterrupted sea views. The service is quick and efficient.

Windsurfers believe that this is Britain's best beach for windsurfing, yet the sands slope seawards very gradually, affording safe paddling and swimming for the smallest of children.

If family cycling is your bag, the flat roads beside the Bay are fun to explore and the trip across to Brownsea Island by chain ferry makes a great day out. A short car journey or taxi into Poole will enable you to book one of the many boat trips round the harbour or down the Jurassic coast.