Our review of The Ilchester Arms
We spent three nights at The Ilchester Arms in the Summer of 2018 and we enjoyed our first 2 nights so much that we stayed an extra night in a different room.
Abbotsbury is absolutely lovely. With the pub located in the centre of the village, you can walk from the front door to the Abbotsbury Children’s Farm or further to the Subtropical Gardens and Abbotsbury Swannery. There is also a bus stop outside to take you to Weymouth and other local areas. The village itself is ‘quaint’ and has a range of local stores, tea rooms and interesting things to see and do. You can walk to St Catherine’ Chapel up the hill from a little lane at the back of the hotel.
The owners were very friendly, helpful and funny and were all working hard to ‘make a go of it’. We really do hope that they are able to inject some money into the business as the potential is there.
The evening meal that we had was very nice and breakfast was freshly cooked to order although the buffet items were a little sparse.
Parking was good in a private car park at the rear of the pub. It is an old coach house though so the drive-through entrance is a little narrow.
Overall, we would recommend a stay here and would visit again ourselves. If you can appreciate that, as an old coaching house, the building is old and rickety, the decor is not so perfect and the plumbing is a bit dodgy, you’ll have a fabulous time enjoying the views and the character of the place! If you do want frills and all mod-cons, this probably isn’t the place for you but with good hosts, a fantastic location and a good old English pub with rooms, you really can’t go wrong.
Our Honest Reviews
Good Points:
- Friendly owners and staff
- Excellent location in the village for exploring the area
- Lovely ‘English pub’ feel
- Range of draft real ale
- Good pub food
- Free private parking
Maybe Not So Good:
- Breakfast could have been a bit better
- Decor and rooms needs a little TLC for the price
Local Area Maps & Books from Amazon.co.uk
The Ilchester Arms Hotel
9 Market Street
Abbotsbury
Weymouth
Dorset
DT3 4JR