My stay at The Old Manor was a late Christmas present to me and I somehow managed to choose the coldest weekend of the year so far.
Friendly welcome. Lovely soup for lunch and excellent evening meals in the cellar bar; it isn't often that there are two vegetarian options on the menu. And (so I'm told) good beer too.
Cosy room, nice decoration however there was a glass door to the bathroom. Worth checking - depending on how coy you are!
Currently lots of room renovations of the rooms going on which are due to complete in March.
The Old Manor is in an excellent location for walking from the front door along the Coast Path or onto the Dorset Ridgeway. An easy walk to Abbotsbury for the swannery, wander around the village etc (though the swannery isn't open until mid March).
The Old Manor has lots of outside space. The gardens and view (the room had a sea view) from the Old Manor were pretty good in February, I'm sure it will be even better when the weather warms up!
There is no signage from the beach so the potential passing trade don't know about the Old Manor as a candidate lunch or overnight stop.
There is very, very limited wi-fi access. It would be a great improvement if this could be set up, perhaps just in the residents' lounge, as I appreciate connectivity is a bit difficult when the walls are that thick.
- Manor Hotel Dorchester
