Portman Hotel, Boscombe, Bournemouth

will be converted into 19 flats

This is a very large, multi-room pub situated close to King's Park and therefore AFC Bournemouth's Dean Court football ground. The main entrance takes you into a big room with the bar in the back right corner. The decor is a little bland and gives the impression that anything of interest has been ripped out long ago. A few plain mirrors hang from the walls and I spotted at least one TV screen as well as a juke box. There are a few single seat leather chairs opposite the bar and further seating is available to the left hand side of the room. A room to the right has a second bar which is often closed, but the room remains popular thanks to having a pool table in it. Another room to the left is occasionally used for live music, but tends not to be open otherwise. There is a decent enough fenced-off beer patio out the back, which has ample seating for the summer months. There were three beers on when I visited recently, all from the Ringwood Brewery - Best, Boondoggle (£2.80) and Fortyniner - and my pint of Boondoggle was in pretty good shape and served in a proper glass, despite it being a match day. Marston's Smooth is also available on tap. Food is served here as well and I noted they were doing Sunday roasts for £6.00. This is one of those large pubs that now seem far too big to serve their purpose, but it does come into its own on match days when it gets packed with home fans (away fans are no longer welcome unfortunately).