The Lion Hotel - Pub & Restaurant — Restaurant in England

Advertised as a four star hotel, offering restaurant cooking evening meals and breakfasts. |No evening meal, unless you like tapas style food, and a hamper of cold (except for the milk) cereal, croissants and apples for breakfast. |En-suite toilet had not been cleaned, and was covered in someone else’s hair, the floor was dirty and covered in the same. |The carpets were stained and needed cleaning desperately. |After complaining about the state of the facilities, the ‘manager’ appeared with a bottle of bleach and a loo brush (I asked for dirty one to be removed) and was aghast at the state of the toilet, proceeding to try and clean it but failed miserably, handling the rest of the taps and chains with the same gloves she wore to clean the pan….|I asked what was the option as it was now 21:20 and I couldn’t find another hotel available, ‘well the bed is okay…” |I asked for a refund and was told she couldn’t give one only her boss would. |I had been charged £90, instead of the offer on line of £85, no response. |The next morning after ignoring the cold hamper, I left at 07:00 as I couldn’t wait to be rid of….|Having been promised a call in the same morning I rang the pub at midday and was told that a response from the ‘boss’ was pending, no response later either. |Next morning I rang again the manager wasn’t available, I rang early e I h and was informed that I could have a refund as I’d used the bed.|After further calls I was offered half the cost, I took it as I could no longer be bothered. I made reference to giving a poor review, to which the response was apathetic to say the least!|It appears that they let 2 rooms after this issue, but never offered me a clean room, if so I wouldn’t probably be writing this. |I have since tried to get a receipt for the original cost to accompany the 50% refund, I can’t claim otherwise, no joy from the pub or it’s registered address, another pub The Rose and Crown Ascot, to be told the the Minster was no concern of theirs and the General Manager was a different person, needless to say I haven’t been able to track down the Minster’s GM!!|Beware of this pub, unless of course that you enjoy staying in dirty places making out they are something they are not!|I have spent 2/3 nights a week on the road for a good too many years, and this is the first poor review I have had...

Stayed two nights. Great staff, very friendly, service was fabulous, food was amazing!

First night slight glitch as not able to lock the door in the Vermintino Room from the inside, but very quickly offered another room, the Pinot Noir until the lock could be fixed.

Rooms are comfortable, yet very tired looking, the refurbishment is in good time as other reviews about the condition of the rooms have been correct.

My only suggestions are: 1- More than one mirror in the superior/standard rooms. I imagine squabbling over just having the bathroom mirror to use when getting ready. With the poor bathroom lighting is not great to do hair, makeup and do the final dress check.

Rooms certainly need a full length mirror as standard. I had to stand beside the bed and peer over into the bathroom for a mirror to look into when drying my hair in Vermintino room and move the full length mirror closer to the plug socket in the Pinot Noir room. You can see that others have done the same due to the damage to the ceiling where the mirror usually stands and to the top of the mirror as its difficult not to knock it when moving.

2- A silent running fan to be installed under the Vermintino room as its very loud at night when there is no other noises to distract from hearing it. The divan bed acted like a sound box as it made the fan sound like it was directly under the bed. A video is attached to give an idea of the volume. My phone was on the bedside table when recording. I was grateful of staying the first night in the Pinot Noir room as two nights with the noise would have been far too much.

Pinot Noir room is close, yet could not hear the fan so much.

3-Usb charge points either via plug socket or bedside table lamps . There is no where to buy a USB plug after 5pm in Wimborne. Luckily there was one I could borrow behind the bar.

Sub note: I could not see the difference between being offered a standard room against a superior room, yet definitely could see the difference in a deluxe as there was the additional full length mirror (defo a plus when getting ready) and access to a shower or bath. I had booked a superior room yet the Vermintino was very basic against other superior hotel rooms I had stayed in the past.

Would love to revisit when rooms have been refurbished, as I could quite easily make this hotel a...

This was the first time that I had been to Wimborne and it was breathtakingly beautiful with so much to see. As I was taking photographs, I ran into two lovely and kind men who recommended various places to have a meal. One of these places was The Minster Arms.

I received an exceptionally warm welcome at The Minster Arms.

The man with whom I spoke explained that all of the furniture was available for sale. There was so much to see. It was also evident that he took pride in his surroundings.

The menu was diverse and it was difficult to select something. I chose the beef.

The members of staff were excellent. I was under the impression that I had ordered one glass of House Red, but it turned out that they thought I had ordered a bottle. I did not mind.

A concerted effort had evidently made in relation to the design and set-up of the restaurant. Every corner offered something different and unique. The attention to detail and creativity was both evident and appreciated.

The presentation of the food was excellent. The cauliflower cheese was delicious and it was clear the Chef took the time to ensure that things were perfect. The beef was lovely and tender. The parsnips had a lovely flavour to them. Furthermore, the members of staff were attentive and helpful.

If you visit, please take the time to look at how the furniture is presented and arranged. Take the time to observe the various objects which are placed around the premises. There are several candles in wine bottles which are rested on books. The books I looked at were real and high levels of dedication clearly went into making the place...