Just returned from a quick stay at Plumber Manor to celebrate mother's birthday. As ever, we had a wonderful time. From management to cleaners to waiting staff, everyone working at Plumber Manor makes it a very special. The food never fails and we can't wait for our next visit. Thank you all.

Here is a family house and estate deep in central Dorset. Three brothers decided to keep the family home going by running the show as a lovely country hotel with an excellent cuisine which has to be experienced.
We were there to play bridge (an excellent small room housed a couple of dozen of us). Rooms in the main house are classic (we were in the original grandparents room). A lovely development gives extra rooms of a high quality. The hall and bar are welcoming and the service was impeccable.
A good centre for visits to Shaftesbury, Sherbourne (some may enjoy golf), Sandford Orcas (Manor House), and Cerne Abbas. Weymouth (Olympic Sailing venue) is not far. We enjoyed walks to Fiddleford and over Melbury Hill, but there are many more routes available.
The tennis court on site proved a great attraction.
You should get this gem in your radar.

You will gather from the reviews below that if you are over fifty, read the Telegraph over breakfast and enjoy straightforward cuisine cooked and served to the highest standard over stiff white table clothes then you are probably going to love Plumber. And so you will.

We stopped for one night last year and the place was sold to us with the opening line for dinner which was to offer our Gin and Tonic's in 'Normal' or 'Family' size. We felt it was our kind of place from then on.

Yes, the place has it's faults, and Yes, there is the odd cobweb lurking about, but in all the respects that matter the rooms are clean, well furnished and comfortable. The thing with Plumber is not to treat it as a competing four star country hotel. You are primarily guests of a very old established family seeking to preserve their magnificent home. I note with interest that the hotels own marketing material now classes it as a 'Restaurant with rooms' and that is probably the best way to look at it.

On this trip we elected to bring our two Labradors with us and occupied a superior room in the courtyard block. The dogs loved it, the hotel supported our needs without question and the area supports many walks and tourist attractions and is of course set in the most glorious countryside. We would recommend Plumber whole heartedly to anyone seeking to bring their dog to Dorset. One thing to note though is that some of the courtyard rooms are split level. Our older arthritic dog struggled a little with the three steps involved but this in no way spoilt our enjoyment and having the extra door adjacent the car park made loading very easy.

Our thanks go to Richard, Tim and all the team that made our stay enjoyable. We will no doubt return but first we have to recover from the 'Family sized' drinks!

Richard and his family and numerous helpers made our most recent stay a pure delight. If you depend on your IPod, Sky Sports, computer games and all that is wrong with modern England this isn’t for you. If you enjoy courteous understated service and comfort, beautiful food, great wines and the great Dorset countryside you must stay at Plumber Manor. This hotel represents all that is good about our country and i urge you to sample its delights at any time of year. The bedrooms offer great comfort; the grounds are beautiful, afternoon tea in the lounge or outside with homemade fruit cake and shortbread are essential. Well behaved, polite and respectful children who can quietely entertain themsleves are welcome and the evening restaurant menu has something for everyone. Breakfast is traditional English with gorgeous muesli, blood red grapefruit and exquisite homemade marmalade. Life doesn’t get any better than at Plumber Manor.