South Dorset has the extraordinary Jurassic Coast, stretching from Lyme Regis in the West to Portland Bill. It includes Chesil Beach, a 40ft bank of shingle stretching for ten miles. Lyme Regis, with its famous Cobb, prominent in the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman, has the fine Alexandra Hotel, at the top end of the town and with fine gardens.It is our most westerly Hotel in Dorset.
Bridport has a high profile newly refurbished Gastro Hotel in Dorset: The Bull. Weymouth will be the Olympic Sailing
venue in 2012 and the nearby Fernhill Hotel in Charmouth has a classic/contemporary mix of styles.
Ten miles form the coast is county town Dorchester, Hardy’s Casterbridge. The County Museum houses some Hardy manuscripts and nearby Roman remains include an amphitheatre and a villa with mosaics. The Smiths Arms, in the village of Godmanstone, five miles North, is reputed to be Britain’s smallest pub.
Some of the finest Hotels in Dorset are to be found in the southeastern tip of the county, around Wareham and Swanage. Springfield Country Hotel, Leisure Club & Spa is one of the most popular Family Hotels in Dorset (along with Moonfleet Manor in Weymouth).
The Priory Hotel in Wareham dates back to 1500 and has river frontage on the Frome. A smaller Wareham hotel is Kemps, with a fine view of the hills, a conservatory for breakfast and a fine patio for al fresco dining in fair weather. Studland is an unspoiled village with a Norman church. Studland Bay has Knoll House Hotel – a resort in itself and also very popular with.families.The hotel offers Family Five or Purbeck Five five day holidays for families.
Nearby is The Manor House Hotel overlooking King Harry Rocks, one of the best views of any Hotel in Dorset. Our most southerly Hotel in Dorset is Purbeck House, situated in the heart of Swanage town. All these hotels are handy for visiting the Purbeck Hills and Corfe Castle. Mortons House Hotel is actually in Corfe Castle and its Elizabethan core is shaped in the form of an E. It has an excellent restaurant with two AA rosettes, mature gardens and grounds with a fine view of the ruins.