Yalbury Cottage
Surrounded by woodland and fields in the heart of Hardy’s Wessex, Jamie and Ariane Jones’s ‘olde-worlde’ thatched hotel, once home to the local shepherd, offers ‘a charming and very comfortable stay’. More
Special offers
Contact details
Hotel information
Bedrooms
8. 6 on ground floor.
Open
all year except 23 Dec–18 Jan.
Facilities
lounge, restaurant, free Wi-Fi, in-room TV (Freeview), garden with outdoor seating.
Background music
‘easy listening’ in lounge in evening..
Children
all ages welcomed, no under-12s in restaurant after 8 pm.
Dogs
allowed in bedrooms, lounge, not in restaurant.
Credit cards
MasterCard, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B £75–£99, D,B&B £99–£165. A la carte £39.50.
Good Hotel Guide Review
Surrounded by woodland and fields in the heart of Hardy’s Wessex, Jamie and Ariane Jones’s ‘olde-worlde’ thatched hotel offers ‘a charming and very comfortable stay’. On a visit this year, Guide regulars found the hosts ‘warm and welcoming’, their service ‘personal and friendly’. Jamie Jones’s ‘quite outstanding’ classical French dinners, perhaps mustard- and herb-crusted cannon of Tolpuddle lamb, almond potato, spring cabbage, tarragon sauce; pan-fried fillet of Dorset sea bass, crushed new potato, fresh peas, lemon butter sauce, are served amid stone walls, inglenooks and oak-beamed ceilings. Breakfast included fresh croissants, home-made lemon curd and a ‘good range of cooked options including Bridport kippers’. Some might find the decor ‘a little folksy’, and in 2018 readers reported a night-storage heater left their room ‘like an oven’ in late afternoon, while a fan heater made for a ‘very chilly’ bathroom in the morning. Overall, however, praise for the ‘clean and tidy country-style’ bedroom with ‘lots of spare bedding, still and sparkling water, a long shoehorn (bliss), excellent coffee and home-made brownies’. ‘We would certainly return.’ (Lindsay Hunt and John Fisher, Peter Anderson, SR, and others)
- Conde Nast Traveler: Historic Buildings that are Hotels
Special offers
10% discount voucher
This hotel accepts discount vouchers which entitle readers to a 10% discount off their normal B&B rate for a single night’s stay. To take advantage of this offer, you must present the voucher at the time of booking.
Guide Book Vouchers
This hotel accepts discount vouchers which entitle readers to a 25% discount off their normal B&B rate for a single night’s stay. Each printed copy of the Guide contains six vouchers worth in total about £150.
Buy the guideTourist attractions
Bockhampton
The inspiration for the village of Mellstock in Thomas Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.
Zorbing
Roll down Dorset hills at high speed in clear plastic balls.
Dorchester
The county town of Dorset.
Guest comments