Planning a Group Stay for Blind and Partially Sighted Guests in Bournemouth

In September, the Braille Chess Association held its 2026 International Autumn Tournament with us at Marsham Court, a weekend of over-the-board chess on Bournemouth’s East Cliff. The BCA is one of the groups that comes back to us a couple of times a year, and the letter their organiser sent afterwards reads a lot like a checklist for anyone planning a stay for a group with sight loss. The setting got a mention, but most of it was about practical things: a room that suited the way they play, help at the breakfast buffet, and staff who were quick to help with directions.

So rather than describe a good group weekend in general terms, this post works through what made that one go well, and what’s worth sorting with our team before your own group arrives.

Who the BCA are, and why that shapes the booking

The Braille Chess Association is the UK’s national association for blind and partially sighted chess players. Braille is in the name because of its roots in the 1930s, but members don’t need to use it, and the association supports more than 150 visually impaired players and learners alongside more than 70 members without a visual impairment who help in different ways.

For a hotel, that mix is the useful part to understand. A group like this doesn’t bring one set of needs but a range of them, from members who’d like a hand finding their way around to sighted members who need very little at all, so the support has to work person by person rather than as a single arrangement for everyone.

A playing room with space for two boards per game

Chess for visually impaired players uses adapted sets. The black squares sit slightly higher than the white ones, the black pieces carry a small pin on top, and the pieces peg or magnet into place so a position can be checked by touch. Each player has their own board and calls out each move, and the BCA explains how it all works on its How We Play page. In practice, that means a tournament needs two boards for every game, which takes noticeably more table space than a sighted event of the same size.

For their weekend, the BCA had The Plantation, our largest function room. It measures 21.3 metres by 14.3 metres, takes up to 120 people in a classroom layout and up to 280 for theatre or reception, and when we refurbished it we removed two central columns, which leaves the floor clear and easier to move around. Their organiser described it as perfect for the group’s activities, which is about as good as feedback on a function room gets.

The breakfast buffet, and the help that goes with it

Breakfast in The Plantation Restaurant is a full buffet, which is easy for most guests and a good deal harder if you can’t see what’s been laid out. It’s also one of the things the BCA particularly appreciated. They thanked the team for the sensitive, friendly help serving members who couldn’t manage the buffet on their own, and that kind of support is easiest to get right when we know roughly how many people will want it before the first morning.

Dinner is a set menu that changes daily, served between 6pm and 8pm, with vegan and vegetarian dishes always on it. With notice, the kitchen can also cater for needs such as gluten-free, dairy-free, diabetic and blended diets. The BCA found plenty of choice across the weekend, and sending dietary details through ahead of time keeps that choice open to everyone in your group.

Getting around a building that’s over 100 years old

Marsham Court is an Edwardian building, and like most hotels of its age it has a mix of room layouts and routes rather than one uniform floor plan. We’d rather say that plainly than have a group find it out on arrival. What makes the difference is people, and the BCA wrote that our staff were extremely well trained and alert to any help members needed with directions and navigation. We were very glad to read that.

The practical side backs that up. The hotel has two lifts and porters on hand to help with luggage, so a group arriving together isn’t juggling cases and corridors at the same time. Before travelling, members can use Welco-Me, an app we’ve partnered with, to share their access needs with our team privately, then tap “Arrive” when they reach the hotel so we know to come and meet them. For organisers who want detail on layout and access points in advance, the independent Detailed Access Guide from AccessAble is linked from our accessibility page.

What to tell us before your group arrives

Most of what the BCA thanked us for is easier to get right with a bit of notice. If you’re organising a stay for blind and partially sighted guests, these are the details worth sharing with us before you arrive:

• How many members are blind or partially sighted, and how many sighted helpers or companions are coming.
• Roughly how many people would like help at the breakfast buffet.
• The table space and layout you need for your activity, and the times you’ll need the room.
• Any dietary requirements, sent through ahead of time.
• Anyone travelling with an assistance dog, so we can prepare.
• Anyone who needs one of our five accessible bedrooms, which have wet rooms and, on request, profiling beds.

Planning your group’s visit

Many of the groups who stay with us come back year after year, and plenty book their next visit before they leave. The BCA is already planning to return in July 2027. If you’d like to talk through a weekend for your own group, our Group Co-ordinators are on 01202 446644, and you can see what we offer groups on our private groups page.