Top 10 The Old Dispensary Hotels

The hotel is situated just off the main Dorchester to Swanage road and has a good sized car park. Despite the road being busy in the day time it was quiet a night and there wasn't much road noise in the bedroom even with the window open. It has lovely village location within an easy walk to other pubs, Corfe Castle and a bus stop a couple of hundred yards away. We used the bus to travel to Swanage then walked the coastal path via Old Harry Rocks to Shell Beach and then took the ferry to Sandbanks, walked along the beach then boarded the bus back to Swanage on Sandbanks. Travelling then back to Corfe Castle on the Steam Train. A great day out. The buses are currently operating a £2 fare. We travelled by car in the other direction to do a circular walk around the Durdle Door area and White Nothe- parking is pricey here £12 for the day. Check-in at the hotel was welcoming and we were shown to our room and assisted with luggage. The room (a Terrace View) was quite cosy. Very clean and well presented . The two chairs in the room were not very comfortable - they were very upright and basic. Towels were good quality. The bathroom had a shower/sink and toilet. It could have done with a shelf in addition to the wall mounted narrow depth mirror/cupboard. to put a make up bag etc on. The mattress was not to our liking at all despite it having a topper on it. It was extremely soft and 'saggy'. If you laid close to the edge you rolled off onto the wooden bedframe and there is a hollow in the mattress in the middle - your legs were higher than the rest of your body and we aren't oversize people. For the price of the room rate we expected a larger room with a better quality bed and chairs. The terrace is lovely although the wasps are very troublesome. We enjoyed a few drinks late afternoon here. The lounges and public areas of the the hotel are very clean and well presented. Mortons Manor has a lovely history to it too. Dinner in the hotel was great- for a small hotel it offered a good choice but the menu didn't appear to change throughout the three nights we were there. We ate there once. Service was excellent - they describe it as fine dining - the food is excellent and well presented however the glassware for the wine was poor quality - the glass was quite thick and not 'fine' quality glasses . The red and white were served in the same style of glass. Breakfasts offered a reasonable choice - not vast but was fine. The toast however was very dry. The Pork and Leek sausages were quite spicy. Service again was excellent. On check-out we were not asked if everything had been to our satisfaction or had we enjoyed our stay...are they becoming complacent?

I definitely want to stay here again. Upon arrival at the hotel, the staff was waiting and greeted me carefully. Excellent location.

Fabulous stay! My husband and I had such a delightful stay at The Nici and can’t recommend it enough! The rooms are super comfortable, the nicest pillows and the beds are plenty big enough for tall customers to sleep like babies! Room service quick and in room products gorgeous! The food was fabulous and vegan options plentiful- the gnocchi delicious and the kale and pecan salad frankly the best salad I’ve ever had! Staff are cheerful, accommodating, super efficient yet still warm and relaxed - I didn’t get everyone’s names but Hattie, Jonny and Gabriel stood out to make our stay a real delight! Thank you! We can’t wait to come back to stay longer to make more use of the wonderful facilities. Book a visit! You won’t be disappointed!! :)

We had a 3 day stay at the Harbour Hotel in Christchurch. We ate dinner there twice - once at ”The Upper Deck” and once at ”The Jetty”. Both meals were excellent: we had lovely tables, the food was great and the service made us feel special. The experience at breakfast was the same, with attentive service from all the staff and great food served on the open veranda. Although we were using the hotel as a base for our walks around the area, we also used the spa which was well maintained and had all the facilities you could want. We did have an issue with our assigned room which was not as ordered from Trip.com. Although the reception team reconfirmed they had allocated the room accurately based on what Trip.com had ordered for us, the Cherry the reception manager took it on herself to compensate us for the mismatch. From start to finish the service at The Harbour was outstanding. All the staff that served us in reception, the bar, the restaurants and the spa were helpful, efficient and friendly. Although our room was smaller than we'd ordered, it was well appointed and the bed was very comfortable. All in all, this was one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in, this in no small part due to the professionalism and caring attitude of the staff team. We will return !

We stayed on my wife birthday on 8th May 2023. I had booked the gold cup room and was super excited for my wife. I booked though booking.com and had a great price. We arrived at 3pm and I was greeted by a very polite lady who walked me to the room and gave me the keys. Just wow! The room was fabulous! I then brought the wife up and her eyes nearly popped out with happiness. The bath takes central stage next to the lovely bed. Lots of mirrors and the peacock decor is just perfect. The furniture is nice and the shower is powerfull. The lovely spot lights that surround the bed and bath are a really nice touch! Breakfast was also very nice with booking times provided. Overall this was a most excellent stay albiet for only one night and we cant wait to visit again! Thank-you Tereza

Just returned from a lovely four night stay at the Hampton Inn after normally staying at the Hilton next door. Have to say the rooms here were much nicer, more comfortable with better air conditioning. All of the staff gave a really genuine warm welcome without the attitude that sadly Hilton Bournemouth had given us in the past. The real surprise was the breakfast in the morning, plentiful and catered for everyone’s tastes, waffles, omelettes, piping hot buffet breakfasts, lovely continental options, fresh fruit, cereals and gluten free options. Thank you for a great stay, can’t wait to return!

We stay at the Hilton Bournemouth in September. We arrived at reception but there was no-one to help us unload the luggage from our car. I asked for the luggage trolley and when the reception realized that I was intent on using the trolley for my luggage, they immediately helped out. We booked a King Guest room, but we were upgraded to a King One Bedroom Suite with sea view. Reception took our luggage up to our room which was a nice touch. The room itself was very nice - there was a balcony with lovely sea views, a toilet, a large bathroom (with shower, toilet and bathtub) seating area and dining area. We stayed in a suite before (one the first floor), but this was much better. We had use of the small Executive Lounge which was nice because we could get soft drinks and coffee anytime. There is a happy hour 6-8pm serving wine, beer and snacks. I was impressed by the cheeseboard laid out every evening. Breakfasts were nice. There was a huge selection to choose from and they could cater to every need. The staff every morning was very welcoming, friendly and very accommodating. They were very nice people. My wife and mother-in-law had massages in the spa, and they loved them - very, very good service. I wish I had booked one myself. I only have some minor gripes; the minibar only contained two complimentary bottles of water. At night, we could hear the people in the room below us chatting. There was a strange pump sound coming from the bedroom door. These things are probably structural so there's no way of getting around them. Also, from our room we could hear the music from the nearby club, but it did not stop us from falling asleep. We bought our own drinks and the hotel barman was kind enough to give us glasses. I think the glassware could do with replacing because they looked very dull. Overall, another lovely stay at the hotel. The staff are very, very good - you can tell that they have been well trained. We look forward to our next stay at the hotel. It's a real gem. It's one of those hotels which makes so much sense.