The Seaside Boarding House

For those who like to be beside the seaside, this style-conscious hotel ‘has much to recommend it’. Its informal ‘charm and friendliness’ attract admirers; its ‘stunning’ position, on a cliff above Chesil Bay, mollifies even the staunchest detractors. ‘It is excellent in every way,’ a regular Guide reader tells us in 2016. Mary-Lou Sturridge and Tony Mackintosh, both formerly of London’s Groucho Club, are the owners; they have brought metropolitan gloss (and, some say, a city-slicker ‘self-consciousness’) to the beach retreat. While some guests like the ‘obliging’, laid-back atmosphere, others, visiting in cooler months, have commented on an off-season sluggishness. Still, ‘everything is done in good taste’. ‘Elegant, unfussy’ bedrooms overlook coast or countryside; the best have ‘wide sea views’; each has ‘shelves of interesting books’ (TV upon request). ‘Excellent’ meals (from a ‘limited’ menu) use freshly landed seafood; take afternoon tea, sundowners and nightcaps in the bar. At breakfast, choose from a small buffet of muesli, yogurt and juice before tucking into a locally smoked kipper and ‘good’ scrambled eggs. (John Walton, and others)