The Castle Inn, West Lulworth — Restaurant in England

We had a 2 night stay here with our dog, it was said to be a very dog friendly place and indeed it was. Our room number 5 at the back was clean and well presented although found a little small and very warm (to be expected really in such an old Inn). Floor was wood floorboarded being one of the dog friendly rooms. A stand fan was present but difficult to place in a useful and unobstructive position due to the locations of the power sockets. Bed was very comfortable. The full length mirror is on the wall with no power sockets so make sure your hair dryer lead is long enough. The bathroom had shower, toilet and basin (no bath) and had enough room, although there was no shaver point. Upon checking in we noticed noise from the extractor in the kitchen below and behind was quite loud and standing near the centre of the room the floor was vibrating and felt like being on a cruise ship as it powered up to leave port. The chap checking us in assured us that it would not be on at night, and it wasn't, everything was perfectly quiet. It came back on around breakfast time but must have been variable speed as it never again sounded as bad as that first day. We ate in the restaurant both evenings and food was good quality, the Fish and Chips was excellent, if prices were a little high but that seems to be a trend in the UK these days. We were allowed to tie our dog under the table as were other diners. Breakfast was also good (but we weren't offered cereal and fruit, a buffet bar would be good) and prices on the menu looked even higher but of course as were staying there it was inclusive. We chose this venue as it was our 30th anniversary and we had stayed there on our honeymoon, sorry I can't provide a then and now comparison as the only part I can remember is the exterior! It's a shame the rear gardens had fallen into disuse as it used to be a wonderful area to sit and look over the roof of the pub but there appear to have been some safety issues in the past. We booked as a 'Muddy Paws' package and had £25 per head included towards our meals - however, reading later through the details on the Butcombe loyalty app (which I had downloaded in order to check in) I see the package should include a Sausage breakfast for our dog. He was never offered a...

WASN'T GOING TO PUT THIS ON HERE BUT AFTER WAITING 2 DAYS FOR AN EMAIL RESPONSE FROM MY EMAIL WHICH I DIDN'T RECEIVE.........

Overall our stay was very pleasant. The room and venue are beautiful and the small touches in the room like welcome drinks very welcome. However, our meal on the Friday 15th April in the evening was a complete shambles, if I am honest from start to finish.

Despite pre-booking our table upon check-in for supper we were placed in the corner of the bar area and not the restaurant. We weren't served and waited 20 minutes so my sister went up to the bar to order then told to sit down and the lady with dark bobbed hair came over and took the order. Food came in good time but my sister got a curry as a main course and not the linguine like she ordered. The young girl just dropped the plates off to our table and ran away at speed so my sister didn't get a chance to tell her it was wrong. Rather than go to the bar, alert staff to the wrong meal and wait for the right food we just put up with it as it was almost 9pm by then and we had to get up at 4am for a sunrise photography course. We finished our food and no one came over to ask if we wanted desserts, how it was, more drinks, etc etc. There was basically no service levels what so ever so we just got up and walked off to our room really pretty fad up. This is why we didn't eat at the venue on our second night as we we found it all very frantic, disorganised and not very relaxing at all. The staff seemed to have no communication or flow in the order of service despite the lady with the black bobbed hair telling us she had been working there for 23 years?!

I come from hospitality management myself and know that bank holidays/peak times are stressful and hard work on staff but with the prices you are charging for your rooms we expected more if...

The Castle Inn, West Lulworth, was quite possibly the biggest and nicest surprise for my husband and myself on our South West coastal path walking experience. Just a short distance up from Lulworth cove, by all accounts this attractive little pub and b&b looks deceivingly quaint but normal from the outside. We had booked the castle inn as a stop over on our weeks walking along the final path of the south west coast to finish at Studland, our stop overs to date had been welcome, and nice, but The Castle was the biggest surprise. A great welcome at check in. The inside is clean welcoming, warm , and very nicely decorated and designed

Shown to our room up on the first floor. All rooms were named by the local coves along the coastal path. Wow, beautiful. Small but exceptionally clean, light, modern, well thought out in its layout, attention to detail, with ear plugs 🤫 pillow spray, complimentary water, selection of teas and filter coffee, and chocolate biscuits in a jar. A mini bar, hair dryer, and beautiful smelling complimentary toiletries to use, not just you usual bathroom stuff. We ate dinner in the restaurant in the pub downstairs, the food was excellent, there was a lovely atmosphere in the pub, very warm and relaxing, the staff were attentive and friendly, lovely smiles from everyone. Breakfast next morning was again exceptional, best porridge, said my husband, I'm still searching for the tasty granola they served, I really wish I had asked 🤔 the breakfast menu doesn't stop at cereals it caters for l you english breakfast lovers as wel. Time to leave, we wish we were staying longer. What else can I say, we will definitely return to The Castle inn, thank you amazing staff and management of this fantastic...