Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester

3.0 star property

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Photo gallery for Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester

Staircase leads to an upper level with a bar, restaurant, and reception area nearby.
Enjoy a comfortable stay in this well-appointed room featuring a plush bed, desk, and chair.
Welcome to our reception area, where a fireplace and book-lined shelves create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Classic two-story building with a symmetrical facade and central entrance.
Relax in a serene space with a plush sofa, armchair, and natural touches.

Popular amenities

  • Bar
  • Free WiFi
  • Business services

Explore the area

Map
32 High West Street, 32, Dorchester, England, DT1 1UP
  • Tutankhamun: The Exhibition
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Kingston Maurward Park and Gardens
    ‪4 min drive‬
  • Weymouth Beach
    ‪15 min drive‬
  • Bournemouth (BOH-Bournemouth Intl.)
    ‪46 min drive‬

Room options

Standard Double Room

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional
(9 reviews)
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

Standard Single Room

  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Large Single Bed

Superior Double Room

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(2 reviews)
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Queen Bed

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About this property

Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester

Georgian hotel in Dorchester with a bar
Along with a bar/lounge, this smoke-free hotel has coffee/tea in a common area and conference space. WiFi in public areas is free. Other amenities include self parking and a front desk safe. Housekeeping is available on request.
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester offers 27 accommodations with a hairdryer and an iron/ironing board. Each accommodation is individually furnished and decorated. Pillowtop beds feature premium bedding. 32-inch flat-screen televisions come with digital channels. Bathrooms include baths or showers and complimentary toiletries.

Guests can surf the web using complimentary wireless Internet access. Business-friendly amenities include desks and telephones. Additionally, rooms include portable fans and blackout curtains. Housekeeping is offered on request and hypo-allergenic bedding can be requested.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on-site or nearby; fees may apply.
Our customers tell us that they can't get enough of the helpful staff at Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester. During your stay, you're just a quick walk from Tutankhamun: The Exhibition. You'll find features such as free WiFi in public areas, plus a bar and a meeting room.
  • Free WiFi
  • Enjoy drinks at the bar/lounge
  • Self-parking available for a fee
  • Amenities include a front desk safe, a meeting room and conference space
  • Steps from Tutankhamun: The Exhibition and Borough Gardens
As a guest of Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester, you'll find coffee/tea in common area and a front desk safe. Event space at this hotel measures 818 square feet (76 square metres) and includes conference space. WiFi is free in public spaces. You can enjoy a drink at the bar/lounge. Limited parking is available for a fee and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

This Georgian Dorchester hotel is smoke free.

Languages

English, French

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transport

  • Parking on site (GBP 15 per day)
  • Limited on-site parking

Food and drink

  • A bar/lounge
  • Coffee and tea in common areas

Conveniences

  • Limited-hour front desk
  • Luggage storage
  • Safe at front desk

Guest services

  • Housekeeping (on request)

Business services

  • 818 square feet of conference space
  • Meeting room

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • Handrails in stairways (80 centimetre high)
  • No lift
  • Wheelchair accessible (may have limitations)
  • Wheelchair-accessible lounge
  • Wheelchair-accessible registration desk (180 centimetre high)

More

  • 1 building
  • 3 floors
  • Built in 1756
  • Georgian architecture
  • Smoke-free property

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Blackout drapes
  • Hypo-allergenic bedding
  • Pillowtop mattress
  • Premium bedding

Bathroom

  • Bathtub or shower
  • Free toiletries
  • Hair dryer
  • Private bathroom
  • Towels provided

Entertainment

  • 32-inch flat-screen TV with digital channels

More

  • Desk
  • Heating
  • Individual decor
  • Individual furnishings
  • Iron/ironing board
  • Laptop workspace
  • Phone
  • Portable fan

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; check-in end time: 11:00 PM
Contactless check-in and check-out are available
Minimum check-in age - 18

Check-out

Check-out before 11 AM
Contactless check-out

Special check-in instructions

The front desk is open daily from 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours

Access methods

Front desk (limited hours)

Pets

  • No pets allowed, but service animals are welcome

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.
  • Kids stay free! Children stay free when using existing bedding.
  • Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
  • Cots (infant beds) are not available.

Payment types at the property

Important information

Optional extras

The fees and deposits listed below will be charged at the time of service, check-in, or check-out.

  • Self-parking fee: GBP 15 per day

This may not be a comprehensive list. Fees and deposits are subject to change and might not include tax.

You need to know

This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business or profession.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards and cash
This property reserves the right to pre-authorise the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Cashless transactions are available
The front desk at this property is open daily from 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM.
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property.
If you cancel your booking, you'll be subject to the host's cancellation policy. In accordance with EU regulations about consumer rights, property booking services are not subject to the right of withdrawal.

We should mention

  • Children stay free in the same room as the parent or guardian when using existing bedding.
  • Registered guests are the only ones allowed to be in guestrooms.

National rating

This establishment has received its official star rating from VisitEngland, the National Tourist Board for England.

Property is also known as

Wessex Royale
Wessex Royale Dorchester
Sleeping Bear Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Dorchester Minotel
Minotel Dorchester
Minotel Hotel Wessex Royale
Minotel Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester, Dorset
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Hotel
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Dorchester
Best Western Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Hotel Dorchester

Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Reviews

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 285 out of 530 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 186 out of 530 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 38 out of 530 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 14 out of 530 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 7 out of 530 reviews

9.2/10

Cleanliness

9.2/10

Staff & service

7.8/10

Amenities

8.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Alan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The lady on reception was very helpful. I parked at the pay and park at the top of the road and this was only a short walk to the hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Claire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A delightful place to stay in Dorchester

Having booked our parking through Just Park, we received excellent directions to the limited spaces at the rear of the hotel. (The satnav wanted to send us elsewhere!) We were welcomed, offered assistance with our baggage and directed to our room. We had selected a Superior Room as we were celebrating an anniversary and found ourselves (after a long and winding walk along a corridor whose floor was a little uneven in places - showing the history of the building) in a suite! Very nice (although the sofa is not particularly comfortable to sit on). The bedroom was large, with a very comfortable bed, a desk a chair and plenty of drawers to store your clothes. The ‘wardrobe’ is off the sitting area. 2 very large TVs and a lovely, large, well appointed bathroom. It suited us very well. No breakfast, but plenty of advice on options nearby. On checkout, I discovered that, although the message I had received from Hotels.com had stated (as per my selection on booking) that I would pay at the hotel, payment had been taken 2 days previously. It was explained that this was the policy of the hotel. I have no problem with this - but I do think that Hotels.com should reflect this in their booking confirmation. All in all, it suited us very well.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Robert

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Gary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great location, Clean and great rooms

Loved the hotel, but do prebook parking behind the hotel, as only 10 spaces
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Terence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Excellent Room

Excellent Room. Very clean and comfortable. Not happy about price of parking in hotel car park, nor the fact that it is stated as £15 per night but when it comes to paying, another £1.49 is billed. This practice should be outlawed. The total fee should always be made clear before committing to payment!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Mike

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Lovely stay

Lovely hotel - just a shame that breakfast is no longer provided.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Steve

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Good location

Very reasonable price for a hotel in such a central location. It’s clean, comfortable & the staff are very friendly helpful.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Claudenicia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent hotel
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

gillian

Travelled with pets
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Only problem was the big rubbish bin was wheeled past my room in the courtyard at 7.30am! Lisa the receptionist was wonderful xx
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Derek

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Gabriella, reading

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A wonderful stay in a spacious room with excellent in room facilites. The wonderful surprise was the upgrade to our room, and the free access to complimentary teas and coffees in the lounge. If you wanted food from outside you could use the lounge for that take away. The staff were super friendly and helpful. Parking needs to be booked on site prior to arrival but there is a local parking only 5 minutes walk away that is convenient.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

8/10 Good

PHILIPPA

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sue

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

8/10 Good

Andrew, Northampton

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hotel itself was nice and in a good location for an event we were going to. There isn't much sound proofing between rooms so can be a little noisy at times.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 9 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Litesha Chatfield

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

8/10 Good

Giles

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A conveniently located clean hotel.

The hotel was clean tidy, and only the occasional noise from other guests moving around the hotel. We had a room at the back, away from the busy main road, so it was very quiet. Situated in the centre of Dorchester, about a 10 minute walk from the train station. A good choice of places to eat nearby.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Margaret

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 10 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Dave

Brilliant
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Val

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Robert

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Samantha

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location, friendly reception staff, decent price.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025

8/10 Good

Paul

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Relaxing in Dorchester.

On arrival we were greeted with a warm a friendly welcome. The hotel was very well presented with wonderful decor and charm. Our rooms were lovely very clean and organised with amazing comfortable beds. Thank you to Lisa and the rest of the team.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Claire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Phil

Travelled with family, Travelled with pets
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very friendly greeting at reception. We brought our dog and the hotel is truly pet friendly. Very clean and comfortable accommodation.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025