Bankes Arms Hotel

Lovely old pub/hotel in the heart of Corfe Castle, with excellent hikes to the Jurassic coast and surrounding beautiful countryside on the doorstep. We arrived early (before check-in time) and the staff were very happy for us to leave the car in the car park and come back later after a walk. Top marks for breakfast with a wide choice (eg full English, eggs benedict, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs + the usual cereal etc). Very polite service. Pleasant terrace behind the pub to sit with a drink and book, in sight of the steam railway. The bedroom was large, pleasantly-decorated in a grey theme and comfortable (with extra soft beds). Reasonable shower. Tea and coffee provided. No audible noise from other guests or the bar/dining room downstairs.

It was my first visit to Corfe Castle - the road through the village is a bottleneck for cars and large lorries, passing inches from the Bankes Arms, right on the corner. We found it too noisy to sleep with the windows open even a little. Not the pub's fault - it was there long before cars were invented. But worth bearing in mind if you don't like being woken up very early. For such a wonderful old building, I thought inside didn't quite live up to its 'olde worlde' potential. Given this, I also found the dinner menu on the expensive side, weighted towards higher-end dishes rather than traditional home-cooked fare to enjoy with a glass of beer after a long day of walking. Overall, a lovely old pub/hotel in a picture postcard village, but - at the price paid - it didn't quite excel.

Excellent breakfast and good food and staff friendly and attentive.

Noicy plumbing in room.

Excellent breakfast with some interesting choices and very tasty

A bit pricey for what it is.

Lovely hotel, great room, excellent location, easy parking, restaurant food very good

Room was at the front and whilst it was a lovely room it was very noisy and very on view, people in the square could see into the bedroom and bathroom and when the double decker buses went past they had a great view !!! toilet system very noisy and seemed to make a noise every ten minutes or so, toilet seat very loose. Staff in the bar were excellent and it was very busy, staff at breakfast less so, only had two breakfasts but both were missing items (Toast, coffee) and on the second day we were paired with another couple one of which spent all breakfast coughing and shaking