Moonfleet Manor - A Luxury Family Hotel

What a wonderful time we had at Moonfleet Manor. As a family we found it superb with lots of things to do, especially for our 7 year old son who had an absolute blast. The games room was very popular as was the children’s cinema time. Food was good and the room was absolutely beautiful with an amazing view of the Fleet.

My partner Booked this spa hotel purely on fact that he was booked on a boat fishing competition trip in Weymouth which coincided with my birthday (5/12/24) & so thought he better had book me into a local spa hotel for me to enjoy & pamper myself while he was on his jolly with his fishing mates! We wouldn’t normally choose a hotel specifically geared up for young families & we had not heard of the LFH chain before! I had my reservations on our way down! However loved the look of the hotel & grounds from my google search after he told me where we were staying! On arrival we were very pleasantly surprised by the exterior & interior of the main hotel The very friendly receptionist informed us that we had been upgraded! ( great start) and insisted on carrying our luggage ( all 3 holdalls) i dont pack light” ) to our deluxe double room called Lutyens in FleetHouse adjacent to hotel & overlooking the Fleet/lagoon! ( amazing) Couldn’t contain my excitement when we got in room! Massive room, inc small fridge, pod coffee maker, kettle massive bed(super king) lounge, log fire & patio doors look8ng out onto the fleet/lagoon Bathroom had Separate glass free standing shower cubicle with huge rain shower head ( so powerful) & free standing roll top bath! The birthdays have begun! We were booked in for 2 nights during Irish storm Darragh ( 90MHW) But we’re very pleased to be locked down in this cozy remote hotel! Esp as Andy had cancelled his Fishing trip! Didn’t feel a need to leave the property or go out for food As the main hotel had 3 huge open fire places with logs burning in cozy snug areas with sumptuous settees The restaurant was relatively quiet for breakfast & on the Thursday evening just a few young couples with their very well behaved children & the young waiter (dark haired tall & handsome) sorry didn’t get your name was extremely personable & very attentive & friendly we experienced this from every member of staff that we came across, breakfast & evening meals ( was never hungry for lunch as breakfast was plentiful! My only slight gripe was that the meals weren’t quite hot enough for me as I like my food pipping hot, I mentioned this to the waiter & it was relayed to the chef who delivered my request! Food was well cooked & well presented! We took advantage of the main swimming pool & sauna facilities & although pool was quite small we enjoyed a relaxing swim ( just the two of us) there was a baby class on in the adjacent toddlers pool but this did not bother us ( it was so cute to watch) & added ambience to our swim also sauna was very tiny ( maximin of 4) again we had this to ourselves ( good timing) & also like fact that we could pour the herbal flavoured water on hot stones which I much prefer for a healthier infusion experience! I pre-booked a 90 minute ISHGA massage inc facial with Katie in the lovely stunning verandah treatment rooms my massage & facial was exceptional the best I’ve ever experienced & was given a

This is a lovely property. All decked out for Christmas was special too. Our room was clean and beautifully designed and styled. The meals we had were good and the rooms in the hotel are very comfortable for lounging in. This is a Luxury Family Hotel which fits the bill for family holidays. In our opinion, you should not visit if you are not prepared to share the hotel with babies and toddlers. As there were only a handful of young families staying during our time there it was fine. In fact, we had the place to ourselves each night once the kids went to bed! Our only negative was the 12.5% service surcharge applied to our food/drinks. Although this was noted as ‘discretionary’ it was included in all final bills and would have been awkward to have it removed once applied. We would have preferred to offer our own tip.

Always try and start with a positive - rooms are nice and the views are stunning. However, for the price you pay - this hotel is a major let down. The service and food are dreadful and well below any standard in the service industry. No one wants to be surrounded, not only by unruly children, but also staff gossiping and putting out breakfast dishes etc whilst you're trying to eat (an expensive) dinner.The drinks are obscenely expensive and never stored at the appropriate temperature. The staff are chaotic and badly trained- at breakfast our plates were just taken without any word by a rather surly woman. The staff never knew who we were when we arrived for meals - constantly getting my name wrong. The rooms were never cleaned properly - the log burner wasn't cleaned and logs etc not replenished - we had to walk round to reception (phone never answered) and were given 2 small logs - ridiculous. The receptionist complained about having to do everything herself as not enough staff. Walking through the hotel - there is much need for more cleaning staff - plates from room service were piled up outside rooms and still there in the morning. Dogs & children are very welcome.e in this hotel - but if you're using this as your USP - then get cleaners to reflect the extra work that needs doing. Lovely building but overpriced- would make a complaint directly to the management and at the very least request some form of compensation - but no one ever answers the phone and the only email listed is for reservations. There is a theme amongst the dissatisfied customers that the management should acknowledge - the food is awful and the serving staff need training!

We first visited Moonfleet Manor 17 years ago with our then 2 year old daughter. What was still the same was the stunning location and the standard of the rooms but beyond that we were disappointed by the poor quality of the food, the service and lack of variety on the evening menu. In truth this is a hotel for parents and small kids and not for couples. The hotel is a 4 star family hotel not a four star in the usual sense. Although there is a good bar menu there is no bar. We regretted arranging dinner on the two nights we stayed, burger and chips and a measly sized steak frites on our second night both priced at over £30 were not good value. On our final morning we were served eggs Benedict on an untoasted muffin. Cold and disappointing. If you want a better overall experience I recommend a stay at The Pig on the Beach in Swanage.

This is a family friendly hotel, suitable for all ages, set beside the Fleet Lagoon behind Chesil Beach. It is specially for families with children and has entertainment for all including three pools of various depths to suit all abilities. There is a large games area, The Verandah Activity Hub, and the Four Bears Den offering a two-hour session per nights stay for smaller children. Very comfortable rooms, good, busy breakfasts with as much as you could eat and friendly staff. Plenty of fine public rooms to sit quietly if you want to and a terrace for outdoor food. Highly recommended.