Bit of a shame to be honest.
Pros - nice room, clean, comfortable. Rooms separate from inn; âmotelâ style I guess. Spacious grounds; clearly a wedding venue. Good breakfast in terms of choice & quality.
Neutral - would suit some not others, but this venue is âout in the sticksâ. Down a narrow country lane from the east. Gillingham is 5 miles down a country lane to the west. There is Motcombe village directly to the south on the way to Shaftesbury, but there are practically no amenities for about four miles around - this is important for below.
Cons - We arrived 3pm on Sunday (earliest check in time I think). Place was clearly winding down from Sunday Lunch, a couple of stragglers remained. We got our key to the room and I asked on the way âis there any food being served on Sunday evening?â. âErr, noâ. âOh! Not even bar snacks?â. âWell, er, no. We arenât open at all on Sunday nights. Nor Mondays actually. Weâre not open again till Tuesdayâ. âWell, weâve travelled. Weâre can we get some food?â. âYouâll have to go to Shaftesbury. Or Gillingham might have something. Enjoy your stay!â.
I may have missed this âopening hoursâ information in the blurb on the Hotels.com website, but this is an Inn; it appeared to be lived in and strikes me as poor not to offer guests some sort of room service. If you want this level of service after travelling, donât stay here on Sundays or Mondays.
In the end we went to the Benett Arms 4 miles away that served pizza. Very nice!