We run Hamilton Hall as a Spiritual Retreat style hotel which has a wonderful healing and supportive atmosphere rarely found within gay venues.

We are open all year for B&B with lovely bedrooms and the wonderful atmosphere can be felt as soon as you enter. Dinner is available from our new evening menu. Guests are welcome to chill-out, relax and enjoy our lovely surroundings and not feel 'in the way'.

With our wonderful Lounge, TV / Reading Room, Conservatory, Dining Room and Community Room there is plenty of space to relax, chill out and enjoy yourself without - like in most venues,  having to 'go to your room.'

Hamilton Hall is a spiritual urban oasis, supporting, metaphysical, spiritual, alternative, holistic, new age and complimentary lifestyle through sexual, self and spiritual development of mind body and soul.  We are not a Christian retreat and do not allow – or follow – any dogmatic rhetoric that has caused so much damnation, hatred, wars and death of the human soul.

We believe that everyone is valid – every belief structure is sound and every concept to be true but ONLY if it comes from love and does not damn and destroy another in any way.

If you want home from home comforts,  you will find it here.

We do not have tea and coffee making facilities or televisions in the rooms as we believe that this isolates people from each other in their own little prison, however comfortable. We have a small and very comfortable TV room downstairs and a large array of hot and cold drinks and refreshments in the dining room for you to help yourself from 24/7 - and who knows, if you come down in your jim-jams or the noddie in the middle of the night, you may meet another guest and have a chatter and connect as friends. It only takes a simple hello.

Many people hide behind their computer screens and do not meet or communicate face to face and we encourage a 'coming together' in friendship.

For health and safety reasons, as a venue with naked men, we cater to the individual and we must always be conscious and aware of the group setting, and to this aim, if we refuse your reservation, please try and be understanding and respectful as no offense is meant.

DISCRIMINATION & THE LAW

With a few exceptions, it is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly on grounds of sex in the provision of goods, facilities or services to the public, or a section of the community on grounds of discrimination.

The main exceptions include:

Discrimination by non profit making voluntary bodies in restricting their membership to one sex or providing benefits to one sex only in accordance with their main object. Discrimination in the provision of facilities or services to avoid serious embarrassment to users which would be caused by the presence of members of the opposite sex. Communal accommodation - residential accommodation which includes dormitories or other shared sleeping accommodation, can be restricted to one sex only for reasons of privacy and decency or because of the nature of the sanitary facilities available. [S.46 SDA]

Hamilton Hall will always remain a MEN ONLY VENUE where naked men can feel free and relaxed and not worry about women being within the building causing serious emotional and physical embarrassment and confusion. We mean absolutely no offense to women;- while gay and bisexual men often love women's company, there are times when we need our own space to be free to say and act how we please without causing innocent offense or serious embarrassment on both sides. Sometimes mixing the sexes is just not appropriate, despite what the law and some individuals claim. Sometimes women are simply not welcome.

Hamilton Hall is a 'NOT FOR PROFIT' retreat style hotel where some accommodation and bathroom facilities are shared and as a retreat style hotel, this has always been the case. This helps us keep our prices down and a great deal more offered for the price you pay than is usually available.

As usual, we have heard absolutely nothing at all from the government concerning the Equality Law and it is not easy to find information on the web sites, but the above information seems to cover what we need and states we can limit our guests to men only to stop any embarrassment and unease. If anyone can point me in the right direction for more detailed information, I would be grateful as I do not wish to cause offense or hurt to anyone.
If any womens group would like to rent the entire venue to facilitate a workshop / party / retreat or other event, we would be delighted to assist and offer as much help and assistance as we can. Some venues claim to be Gay Owned and Run, but are not gay venues and this is deceiving.

With the gay culture homogonizing with the straight world in the UK, we are close to loosing our gay identity. With more gay bars, clubs and hotels closing - partly because of the Equality Law and partly because of the Credit Crunch and lack of income, and the smoking ban, we urge you to support your local gay venue, as once they closed, our gay community will have no venues, no places to meet and while we are now supposedly more accepted in all venues, by law, we all know what a load of bollocks that is in many parts of the country. We do need gay owned and run venues, exclusively for our community, to help foster understanding and compassion in a world that is still, regardless of what the law now states, homophobic and bigoted. Just look at what the Pope recently stated about the Equality Laws of the UK ?

Yes we do and this is new for 2009. We serve dinners at around 7.15pm so that everyone can dine together at one large table which makes for conversation and friendship.

YES. We have heard your story a thousand times and have complete understanding and appreciation of what it is like - the worries, the apprehension, the uncertainty etc. and you REALLY do not need to concern yourself, as we completely 'get the point.'

You won't be alone and you won't be the first. At many of our  workshops, sometimes  between 25% - 50% of those attending are often married and trying something new for the first time.

If you are attending just as a B&B guest - then we get many married / bisexual men staying and you would be amazed how many gay men are married and have families.  If you want to talk and share - if you want some help in understanding your sexuality - or you simply wish to be around other likeminded guys and make some new friends, then this is exactly the right place for you.

No pressure. No harassment. Non judgmental.  Just acceptance and understanding.

We are an 'Attitude Free Zone' where we offer a more supportive, friendly and nurturing atmosphere in which to allow your inner self to 'just be.' We specialise in providing a space where you can relax and find some inner answers as well as chat and share with others.

Please see the RESERVATIONS PAGE or you can phone (our address & phone number are on the right) through with your credit / debit card number.

We will send you the confirmation details through by email.
 

Hamilton Hall - 1 Carysfort Road - Bournemouth - Dorset - BH1 4EJ

Tel: 01202-399227

Please see the  SPECIAL OFFER PAGES

Room Prices here - TARIFF OF ROOM PRICES

Between 11am - 1pm and 6 -8pm.

If you wish to arrive outside of these times and you have notified us in advance, then we will be here with the kettle on ready to share a cuppa.  If you have not advised us in advance - we may be out walking the dog or going to Tescos.  Early or late arrival and departure are no problem, as long as you have let us know in advance.

If you especially require a single room, please phone and check that one is available.

Otherwise you will be offered shared accommodation either in a twin or in our mini dorm room for 4.

We have 6 rooms:

• 1 single
• 2 double
• 2 twin
• 1 room for 4.

Please check out on this web site. All beds are separate and all rooms have showers etc.

All accommodation is very comfortable and personal.

If we offer you shared accommodation, we put you in a twin or dorm room in separate beds ( singles )

First to make a reservation for the single room, gets it, otherwise you will be offered shared accommodation, retreat style.

If you know you snore terribly,  DO LET US KNOW and we shall do what we can to sort this out.  We cannot guarantee Brad Pitt will be your room mate and it could well be his brother - Cess.

QUESTION: If I go to a bar and bring someone home to the hotel for some fun - what are your guidelines on this concerning charges etc.

ANSWERS: If you have booked a double room for single occupancy and paid the double room rate, then you can invite who you like back.

If you have paid for single occupancy then we ask for a 50% donation towards the cocts ( shower - breakfast etc. )

and if you are in a single room and have someone stay over night then we ask for the same - 50% of the usual room rate on top.

THIS APPLIES TO SINGLE NIGHT GUESTS. 

If the same guest stays a second night then this is considered double occupancy and we will charge the full rate for the whole period.

It may not seem it to you,  but there are costs incurred with a guest in the house and we give very good value for money as it is, please be honest with us and pay what is owed. Do not spoil it for others and as we all know - there is always one who pushes their luck and spoils it for everyone else.  Please do not act in a manner that makes you look small.

Yes.

You are very welcome to bring your worry beads, herbal remedies, knitting, or even your teddy bear, if it helps you to relax and chill out.

We do not legislate against anything unless it causes harm to the group.  In accordance with the law, we are a Non Smoking Venue throughout and have an area in the garden where you can enjoy sucking on the occasional fag...  ha ha

We have a well stocked Continental Breakfast available between:

8am - 10am Monday to Saturday

9am - 11am on Sundays

We also offer a full cooked breakfast menu with very reasonable charges which you can order each morning.

SEE OUR BREAKFAST MENU HERE

We have a menu for evening meals which we serve – all together around one large dining table – at 7.15pm.

You are asked to order your meal a little earlier in the day and pay after the meal.  If attending a special event weekend – then breakfast, lunch and dinner are inclusive and the menu is not available.

SEE OUR DINNER MENU HERE

Between 10am - 8pm.

Please respect this.  Email can be 24/7 and we usually answer within 24 hours. (Telephone 01202-399227)

Yes - and parking on the street right outside the venue is easy and free.

Yes and you can come and go as you please.

Yes we do and unlike some venues, we do not charge for this service.

Yes you can, but please let us know in advance and be aware that we have our own - very friendly - Weimerana bitch ( neutered) who is very friendly.  Guide dogs for the blind are free.  Other dogs are £5 per day - bring your own food.

Any damage is to be paid for.  There are local parks just a 4 minute walk away and many wonderful long and very beautiful walks a 10 minute drive away. We have doggie bags if you forget your own.

Check out the DIARY OF EVENTS

About 105 miles or between 1½ - 2 hours by train / coach or car.

Train from Waterloo - usually 3 an hour.

Coach from Victoria / Hammersmith or Heathrow.

Car - M3 / M27 / A338 - dual carriageway / motorway ALL THE WAY from Hammersmith in West London to within a mile of Hamilton Hall.  It is really easy to find us when you get to Bournemouth, just follow the instructions on this web site and we are a 4 minute drive from the dual carriageway.

Check out DIRECTIONS

About 5 minutes in a car or a 15 - 20 minute walk.

Hamilton Hall is completely up to date with all its Insurance - Fire - & Health & Safety.  It costs a fortune to be a legal business, with insurance etc. these days.  Not all venues can afford the expense and so do not bother - putting you at risk and many smaller venues are not licensed with the council and so do not need fire precautions etc.

Hamilton Hall has all its fire equipment checked annually and is constantly upgrading the venue.  Our maintenance programme is on-going and always has been.

We have a smoking area in the garden.

No it is not.

You know the joke.  God gave man a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to run one at a time.

Our workshops, which may be teaching sexuality and sensuous touch,  have guidelines in place which  no-one has ever abused.   These workshops are professionally facilitated and we have many years experience.  If someone cannot respect others attending and the work being taught, and they make a nuisance of themselves sexually,  they will discretely be asked to curb their inappropriate behaviour and if this is not forthcoming,  they will not be welcome and may be asked to leave - although this has never happened.   Irresponsible and childish sexual behaviour usually belongs to teenagers and not sexually mature adults.

A workshop is a training.

A hard on is just a hard on, what you chose to do with it separates the sexually mature from the adolescent.  Please be a responsible adult.

All of our theme weekends are aimed at adults and have a serious adult content and we do not curtail our language and we give it to you straight, honest and bluntly... we find no use dressing things up to look pretty when the simple truths - plainly given,  is so much more refreshing these days, considering how much spin is placed on the truth by the government.

We occasionally facilitate weekends which are more obviously sexual, and even these weekends have guidelines which need to be respected.  If you want a tacky sex den then there are many other venues  to choose from and Hamilton Hall is not for you.

Hamilton Hall is a self - spiritual and sexual development retreat for mind, body and soul and offers a mixture of events and - remember guys - naked does not mean sexual, at least, not to a sexually mature adult it doesn't.  It just means you are naked.   As an hotel, we do not police what our guests do in the privacy of their rooms with other guests and it is not our concern.

Good luck to you...

Obviously - during  a workshop,  while we openly encourage practice, we mean this also to be within your own room and not during the workshop itself or in our public rooms.  Only through practice can you ever facilitate a change for yourself sexually, and only through practice with others who  understand where you are at -  can you learn.  You  may wish to visit other guests in their rooms, and this is not our concern.

You are welcome to enjoy your 'free time' any way you wish,  with our blessing,  naked or not.  People are all different and if you wish to be just 'one of the crowd' then that is your choice,  but if - like me - you would rather be an individual,  a 'one of' and stand up for yourself and be counted,  then welcome to my world.  - John Bellamy

I have never attended these other groups so I cannot comment on what they have to offer. Mind you, many of them have attended our weekends here and have learned a lot of what they know, from us so why not learn from the Master...?

Also:

Hamilton Hall is the only venue, owned and operated by a gay man and his staff in Europe,  specialising in events of this kind for gay and bisexual men in a beautiful and private residential setting.

Privately owned and operated with no funding from anyone or anything except from the long 12 - 18 hour days that John Bellamy works - 7 days a week. There are few within our community as dedicated and committed to bettering the human soul of gay and bisexual men, as Hamilton Hall and its owner / Director - John Bellamy.

No other organisation or group has been brave enough to invest their own money in a project such as this, and everyone concerned expects to earn a living.  No other organisation or group offers such a varied, full time and varied programme of events as Hamilton Hall and no one is as dedicated and passionate about what is on offer – or runs their organisation or group as a NOT FOR PROFIT VENUE.

Charities have funding – Businesses have paid facilitators – Hamilton hall has one paid staff member who helps with the everyday work of cleaning, management, bedrooms etc.  Otherwise it is through the dedication and long hard work of John bellamy, who has invested all his life’s savings as well as blood sweat and tears – and who DOES NOT GET PAID A WAGE  while working between 12 and 18 hours a day – 7 days a week.

No-one else offers as much as HAMILTON HALL.

At an ALL INCLUSIVE PRICE – our residential workshops/ seminars etc. offer a full package where you need pay for only your travel plans.  Many groups expect you to pay a similar price to ours while expecting you to pay  extra for accommodation – often in a local non gay hotel / guesthouse – and to ‘bring your own food to eat.’  This is unacceptable to us and adds extra costs and stress on you and we do not work in this manner.

Most people attend alone so there is no need to worry about that.  We all sit and eat at one large table, with John - your host -  encouraging conversation and friendships to blossom.

It's all VERY informal and relaxed and you need have no worries about being the odd one out.

Yes you do.

Your best bet is to phone 01202-399227  or e mail gaymen@hamiltonhall.info  and ask if there are vacancies and room type requested,  and have your debit / credit card handy to make the booking.

Please see our Cancellation Policy below concerning charges made.

If the workshop fills, then the venue will be reserved only for those attending the workshop.

However - Hamilton Hall is also a very popular and busy venue for B&B guests and there may be times when during a workshop we will also have B&B guests staying.  These guests are asked to respect and value the space reserved for the workshop and will keep out of the way when we have meals etc.  Sometimes having a different and fun energy from those not attending a workshop can keep the energies from getting too heavy.

Please see WORKSHOP TIMES

After 4pm and before 6.30pm.  Other times are available as long as you have notified us in advance, then we can be here with the kettle on - otherwise you may arrive and find us out walking the dog.

Not at all

EVERYONE has issues around their bodies -  EVERYONE. Underneath the clothes we are all the same  and who cares what someone else may think if I am not as big,  or as slim, or as muscular... that's THEIR conception of what is acceptable - and we most certainly do not see it that way at all.

What you chose to do with an erection is what is either appropriate or inappropriate.

An erection is a very natural thing and we ask all those attending to be respectful towards others attending and to the work being undertaken.  What you care to do in the privacy of your room, is your business.

These workshops are facilitated with a great deal of humour and laughter  and when someone gets a hard-on, it's no big deal as it happens often.  There's no need to be embarrassed or worried, we are all men together and we all have a willy, and as we all know, willies have a habit of going up and down all on their own,  and sometimes not as intended. We all appreciate and understand this.

After dinner on the first evening, we open with a  Shamanic Circle of introduction, and this includes a meditation.

With just candle light, gentle music, a meditative state of mind  and a gentle atmosphere, we invite everyone to slowly disrobe together, and we then continue the meditation.  It is facilitated with great style and caring, for most people are a bit worried and apprehensive about this part of the weekend,  and we are very aware of this. Doing it this gentle way,  has proven to be easy, relaxing and 'no big deal'.

Anywhere between 24 and 84.

Yes you can, for B&B only.

We charge from £35per person, per night depending on what room you are in.

No you cannot, unless it is a specific weekend for lovers to work together.

We ensure that everyone gets to work on each other so that different techniques, styles and body types can be understood and appreciated.  We have special ways of pairing people up so that no-one is made to feel left out. Regardless of age, body type or anything, everyone is welcome.

We do ask lovers attending our Man-2-Man and Massage weekends to ensure that this is okay with them as a couple, before attending the event. If you have issues at watching your lover giving a 'hands on' massage to someone else, we do not need to be a part of a lovers tiff.   Please sort this before attending.

Boundaries and limitations are always to be respected.  Some of our workshop trainings are 'hands on' weekends,  and if you have issues around nakedness or being touched then these weekends are not for you.

On the Sensuous Massage Weekends - we also expect everyone attending to offer, in return, the massage they have received while working with their partner. We do not permit one sided massage where people just take without returning.

( If you chicken out after receiving a massage, and your partner is left 'high and dry' - your facilitator is then forced to take your place and give your partner the massage that you are suppose to, or if we feel you are not giving a massage in return, that is in any way similar, as thorough, and as meaningful as you have received - and that your heart is not in it,- then you will be charged £75 extra for his services.)
 

Yes we offer vegetarian meals if you tell us beforehand.

However:  vegan and gluten free meals we charge an extra £20 per day as this is costly and time consuming. You need to inform us at the time of reservation if you require a special meal.  Once the weekend starts, we cannot go shopping or cater individually if we have not been notified in advance.

Please open WORKSHOP TIMES.

Absolutely not.  In 9 years ( 2009 ) and hundreds of workshops and thousands of visitors, we have had - maybe 6 guys who brought their shit with them and threw it into the group and I'm glad to say, on each occasion, the other guys just ignored them.

We also have strict guidelines in place to deal with the odd badly behaved person and - believe me - I am not afraid to speak up and try and get them to see the error of their behaviour and if a change is not forthcoming,  then I am not afraid to ask ( tell ) them to leave.

Glad to say,  it has never happened.

Yes. But not religious.

We can only ask that you PLEASE READ ALL THE MATERIAL RELEVANT TO YOUR WORKSHOP / TRAINING PERIOD - CLEARLY, as any mistake made in your interpretation of our written word is your responsibility and is not the responsibility of Hamilton Hall

If in doubt, ask when you make the booking.

If for any reason you decide the workshop you are attending is not what you thought, we ask that you either join in the workshop - as we have planned and as we facilitate it, and we welcome you accordingly, or you have the choice to leave. We cater to those who wish to be a part of what we are offering. We appreciate that some parts of a workshop may be too much for some people and with advance notice, they can sit one section out, but only one section. If more than one section is missed, we may ask you to leave the workshop and you are welcome to remain, peacefully, within Hamilton Hall until the end of the weekend.

You cannot pick and choose what parts of the workshop you wish or wish not, to partake in. These weekend workshops are well planned and facilitated and rely strongly on the group dynamic throughout the entire weekend.