Just back from a 2 night stay at the Summer Lodge and can't think of a bad word to say about it. Great staff, great rooms, great grounds - can't fault any of it. The pool is lovely , a little too warm and small for any serious swimming but great for lounging around in. We stayed Sun & Mon nights, which worked out significantly cheaper that Fri/Sat and there were, I suspect, fewer guests. Would definitely return.

I have stayed here on a few occasions - one of the few hotels where I make repeat visits.

It works best when the sun is shining: the gardens are tranquil, the flowers are beautiful, service is first rate and the pool and treatments are nice. It is a great place to wind down for a few days. It is handy for Dorchester and the Dorset coast and there are no other hotels of this calibre in this part of the UK, that I am aware of.

The staff are very attentive, the beds are wonderful, all the luxurious touches are there. It is quiet and attractively furnished.

I do hope that the hotel continues to maintain it's high standards by regular upgrading and maintenance where required - regularly used facilities can soon become tired-looking. The walls are decorated with fabrics and I suspect this will make regular refurbs a major undertaking, but presumably they have the means to keep it all fresh and clean.

The only negative is that it allows dogs in some of the rooms. I find this totally unaccetable in a 5 star hotel - even in the country. Kennels should be provided away from the hotel and they should have a separate area for dogs to be walked. I have no desire to share a carpet with Fido, I'm afraid.

Overall a great little hotel

Spent long weekend with a group of friends. The place is very pretty and the surroundings as well. What makes the place special is the attention to service. They are all very professional but very friendly and very flexible. We had a great weekend. The food was a slight disapointment given we had read great reviews about it. It was nice but not excellent. Overall a very nice weekend.

Wanting a last minute get-away over the August Bank Holiday, I called the hotel and secured the last available room in the hotel; room 4, a “Classic Double”.

We arrived early and our room was not ready – without hesitation we were ushered into the lovely garden and tea was bought for us while we waited. The gardens, whilst quite small are beautiful and divided into different areas so you can always find a quiet place to sit and read amongst the flowers; there is a very relaxed vibe.

The room, on the first floor was quite small, but had everything we needed including air conditioning (a real rarity in England) and a flat screen TV/DVD with a DVD library at Reception. The main house is furnished in luxury country house style with lots of modern chintz and wood, and is very cosy. The service is amazing (thank you Ines), and wherever you choose to relax you are greeted, by name, by friendly and efficient staff who appear from nowhere just when you need them.

We had pre-dinner drinks in the courtyard behind the bar and then moved into the conservatory for supper. The food was good (but not amazing), and tried hard – lots of amuse bouches and other “Michelin wannabe” touches. The Sommelier is prize winning and we spotted many wines sold at about cost price. We loved playing scrabble by candlelight in the garden with our coffee and petit fours and took in the late evening. Breakfast was a triumph and how lovely to be able to eat outside on a sunny morning.

There is an indoor pool (weirdly very shallow) and a small, but very luxurious spa with a good range of treatments – there are only two treatment rooms so book early.

We loved Summer Lodge but it is not cheap. For a few days of indulgent pure relaxation it couldn’t be faulted, and the wine list alone makes the trip worthwhile!