Lovely large spacious room, Very comfortable large clean bed. Everything was very clean and the room felt cosy and warm. Loved the free hot drinks machine in the main area downstairs. The hot chocolate and lattè was delicious! All the staff i spoke to was very friendly and attentive.

It is an old building so the floor boards in the hallways and around the room are very loud and creaky. I know that can't be helped but if you are a light sleeper like my self people walking past the room late at night and early In the mornings woke me up unfortunately. Breakfast offerings would be a nice touch. Even just a continental option possibly. Bath was very small. Would advise Maybe a couple of coasters in the room for hot drinks.

Charming hotel with friendly staff. The availability of coffee and tea in the lobby was very helpful. We had a short stay and used this as our place while visiting places of interest in Dorset. While there is no parking on the street in front of the hotel, there is parking lot very close to the hotel (which is also cheaper to park in than the hotel) and it was not inconvenient to walk to even with luggage. The staff were kind enough to help us carry our luggage up the stairs as there is no lift (which was informed in the fine print when we booked)

Nothing not to like

Good quality produce good choice on the menu ,very friendly staff. Lovely decor, throughout the hotel. Our suite was perfect , sitting room bedroom & bathroom all excellent spotlessly clean. Everything worked in the bathroom with lots of space. A very nice small village feel With some lovely restaurants close by. Great location for travelling to other interesting towns.

It would have been good to have had the same illy coffee they supplied us with in our suite also in the breakfast room. We didn't care for this. Just a small point as we do like a good coffee .

Loved the location so very near the very pleasant town centre, with a great choice of shops, pubs, restaurants, main road links very near and easy to get at in all directions, plus museums. (Dorchester has a GREAT range of museums!) It was only about 8 miles from the beautiful sandy beach of Weymouth, too. The room was on the ground floor and right next to the parking. The shower was DOUBLE, so great space and no bumped elbows, plus had a lower shower fitment for washing yer bits, as well as the normal overhead power shower head. The staff were extremely welcoming, pleasant and obliging, the room immaculate with nice complimentary toiletries & refreshments and the beds were able to be configured as a large double or twin singles, as preferred, before arrival.

It was a bit of a shock to book and then find that parking at the hotel was extra - £15 a day extra! Parking is run by an outside provider, Just Park, and has to be booked separately. Breakfast wasn't included with the room booking, which is a normal trend these days in locations like this, where there is a great choice of outside food businesses very willing to fill the gap. The local Wetherspoons, with brekkie service from 8am, was literally only a few steps away with very reasonable charges and there were several others nearby.

The staff were so polite, friendly and helpful. I loved the shared seating areas which had a little bar too and the prices were more than reasonable. You could also use the microwave, cutlery and plates in the communal dining area so that's ideal when you're getting takeaways and don't fancy eating in your room. The room itself was quite spacious, the size of the bath and bathroom overall was more than adequate. The TV in the room worked and there was plenty of bedding too. The bed was comfy, I slept great! The location is great, 30 seconds from a Wetherspoons and plenty other restaurants too in addition to calm, peaceful walking locations. Overall, I really loved my stay and would certainly come back if I ever plan to stay in Dorchester again!

The only, minor compliant with the room is the lighting, I felt the room was quite bright, even the lamps were a bit too bright for my taste especially when it gets late and you just want a dim light too see the night off.

Really lovely and welcoming little place. Room lovely, if small, with a great refreshment tray I was pleased to see had local things on it (biscuits, Dorset tea etc). There was also a handy coffee station free of charge by Reception offering fresh milk as well as good coffee machine (place doesn’t do food/breakfast so this at least allowed a decent coffee first thing - nice touch!) Lovely good sized lounge area in which you could eat any food you wanted to bring in, with bar attached, so you could grab a drink of an evening or after you come in/before you head out. Staff were without exception lovely! Very comfortable and welcoming place indeed.

Oh…I so wish I could give 9/10 out of 10 but it was let down by zero sound proofing. In my bedroom, I might as well have had the couple next door in my room with me. They weren’t being loud at all, just going about their business, but I could hear every word, every giggle, every spoon against a cup…and later EVERYTHING! This was such a welcoming and warm place that I hate criticising but this was not a small issue - it was at best distracting and at worst really uncomfortable. I don’t think there’s much they can do about it so it’s hard to say it’s their fault but it was a significant issue.

We had the Superior room which was lovely plenty of room and the bathroom was a dream...very clean..staff very friendly...complimentary coffee tea etc which was very good thou u have tea coffee in your room. Location very good on high street and near places to walk...we had breakfast few doors down at the Weatherspoon pub which was good.

The only downside was I love too have had breakfast in the hotel....its a lovely hotel maybe not big enough to host breakfast downstairs but that's the only down side but I would still definitely return one day.

Amazing 5 star experience! The decor looked amazing and sophisticated. The receptionist greeted me with a lovely smile, and provided me with the best service. The room looked absolutely beautiful, and the bed was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. The bathroom was spacious, and there was a closet with an iron and an ironing board in it. Excellent! £64 for the night was an absolute bargain! I strongly believe that it should be worth more than that. The room and service felt like it was worth £105-£110 per night at least. Thank you to the fabulous receptionist and the Sleeping Bear Hotel for my amazing stay. I will most definitely come back, and will most definitely be more than just one night. Excellent! 10/10

The hotel was in a wonderful position to explore the town. The staff were more than helpful and friendly from the minute we walked in. They worked as a team and were obviously all supportive of each other. The breakfast was very good and served with a smile. Our rooms were clean and comfortable and had all the added necessary comforts. A lovely place to stay but not from now on.

Our breakfast was the last one that was going to be served. There is a new owner and he is cutting out breakfast all together and sacking 10 staff. That means that no matter how convenient the position of the hotel I will never stay there again and neither will my friend. What a totally stupid thing to do.

A lovely find. The hotel is beautifully done to keep the period features to the fore whilst making sure all the mod cons are there. The staff were lovely and very helpful. There's no evening meals available (at the moment?) but there's plenty of restaurants around and you were fine to bring in a takeaway if you want. The room and bathroom were spotless and the bed extremely comfortable. A delicious breakfast topped off the stay. Parking is obviously an issue, but there's nothing the hotel can do about that due to the nature of the building. We found overnight parking for £1.50 (obviously depending on your arrival and departure times) a 5 minute walk away at Fairfield Car Park. A well run, obviously cared for place.