The Knoll House

We stayed one night at this hotel (2 adults, 2 children and 1 dog). This is an honest review of what the hotel does well and what they can improve on. What we liked; - The hotel and staff were very dog friendly, the lovely lady manning the pool and spa area would always bring our dog a water bowl with ice. There is a separate dining area if you'd like to bring your dog to lunch or dinner. - Plenty of parking which was very handy and beach was right opposite the hotel (8 min walk). - Hotel had good facilities for children including a play area, outdoor swimming pool, smaller indoor pool, jacuzzi, games room. It felt safe enough to let the kids have a wonder. - Breakfast included was good. Improvements; - The rooms were clearly old and need a good refurb. - The beds were uncomfortable, as a side sleeper, I could feel my ribs rubbing against the springs at night (thankfully we only stayed one night). - Cleaning was not up to standard, there were spider webs in the rooms, we found a dirty sock under the chair in our room upon arrival, along with a pill/tablet on the bathroom floor. Thankfully I got to it before the dog found it. - We were not informed or provided with any information about anything when we checked in, such as facilities available, timing of breakfast and location etc. - Wifi was terrible, which is ok as we didn't particularly want to be online whilst here but when trying to search things like local shops/restaurants, it was a little annoying.

Vry family oriented property a feeling of home from home and the location near a national trust beach and property.

This is an incredibly unique property with a lot to offer its customers. It sits in the most beautiful part of Dorset and offers fabulous walks direct from the hotel. We booked half board for a family of 5 (2 adults & 3 children) inc a dog. We booked the 3 bedroom suite which had a shower room and a bathroom - perfect! On arrival, we learnt that the half board was for 2x adults ONLY! This was a surprise especially after we were told that the hotel simply credits your account with £27.50 per adult, so £55 each night of our stay. This is relatively convenient as a 2 course meal (minimum order when dining in the evening) is £27.50 from the set menu. However, booking HB simply ties you in to dining in this restaurant each night. This was particularly frustrating as my two elder children had to have at least the 2 course dinner, often opting for the 3 courses (£35pp) (hungry teens) and my younger child from the children’s set menu which consisted of 3 different meal choices (fish & chips, chicken goujons & pasta) non of which came with vegetables. Extra greens were £5 and on the night we asked, the greens were peas! We politely declined. On a more positive note, the adult set menu did change each evening and the food was always very nice but sometimes substituted with an item similar to the suggested item on the menu - tomatoes on the vine, substituted for sliced tomatoes when we ordered 2 starters of buffalo mozzarella cheese. Book B&B but do try the restaurant.

The property is very interesting from a historical perspective as it was once a family home. The food is excellent, however they need to offer alternative milk.

We love this hotel. It is close to home for us but also next to a great beach (Knoll Beach) and allows dogs to stay. If you like ultra modern and minimalist it would not be for you. And if you can’t live without your phone, also maybe not for you. There is WiFi only in the bar and reception areas, and this is deliberate so people don’t sit with their heads buried - the scenery is too nice to do that! You are also requested not to use phones in the dining room. Which is brilliant as far as we are concerned! Hate people bellowing! It is as it was in the 1940s and 1950s, with lots of wood, patterned wool carpets, big soft sofas and Enid Blyton exhibitions around and about. There is a TV room, and a games room, and a library. Plus a sauna and pool in an annexe, and a pitch and putt golf course and tennis courts across the road. Sports equipment can be borrowed. There are also plenty of board games that you can borrow. The hotel dining room is large and can accommodate lots of people. There are even different parts of it where you can eat if you have children with you..or not! There is a guest bar where you can relax with a drink, and it also has an outside area. Importantly for us, the bedroom facilities have been updated. All rooms are en-suite now. The staff are lovely and friendly, and so helpful. Would we stay again? Absolutely!

If you wish to avoid the usual sterile and corporate hotel chains, Knoll House hotel might fit the bill. Full of character with plenty of comfortable lounge rooms, a library, bar and open fire, Knoll House offers real homely comforts. A slight downside for non dog owners is the hotel’s welcoming approach to dogs which encourages many to bring their family pouches, as a consequence, there is much talk of dogs to be heard about the place. Food was good and service excellent, we really enjoyed our stay.

Hotel needs updating, we stay only for one night and that was alright but definitely I wouldn’t stay there for longer. Staff at the reception was lovely but young staff at the restaurant needed to pay attention to the way they present themselves for breakfast ( they uniform was not up to the standards, shirts was grey and not iron)also when I mentioned discreet to one young lady who was serving breakfast that they have rooted apple there instead of removing straight away she walks away with like smiley on her face , a bit unprofessional. If you talk about facility in the swimming and spa …well is very old and needs good cleaning and renovations, jacuzzi was not working and pool was very cold also people was taking babies to the jacuzzi! Room was alright, tv a bit too small for the size of the room. Would I stay there again? No

Had a lovely stay with family here, great location, close to beach, Swanage and sandbanks ferry point. Rooms were clean and facilities were good, outdoor pool was a lovely sun spot. Great breakfast with variety of food. Would highly recommend

Great position on Studland, able to walk to all the beaches and other amenities in the village. Friendly, family feel to the hotel. Fantastic buffet breakfast to set you up for the day. Dinner really expensive so did not opt for dinner, bed and breakfast package. Lovely outdoor pool although indoor pool was closed. Main part of hotel a bit 'open' with doors open all the time meaning it can get chilly. Overall, Hotel is a little tired and showing its age. Rumours swirl about its impending re-development.

This 1930s quirky hotel is conveniently located close to Knoll beach and on a great bus route to Swanage.The grounds are well kept with plenty of outdoor seating to appreciate the sea view.The restaurant serves a great hot and cold buffet style breakfast and an a la carte dinner to suit all tastes.The staff are polite,attentive and professional. Unfortunately,my room-12 was located at the top of the stairs.We were constantly disturbed by other noisy guests slamming doors,kids running up and down the corridor.It also faces the children's play area,this was also another source of noise from early in the day.The room was extremely hot.Not helped with the towel rail being on scalding,with no way of turning it off in the room.There is no air con and the fan was inadequate.The sun shines in for most of the day.Despite having all the windows open.Our request to move rooms was denied.Dogs are not allowed in the restaurant,so you have to eat off coffee tables in a seated area near reception or outside.They are not allowed in the pool area,so we were unable to use those facilities.I received an email suggesting putting my dogs in the car if we wanted to use the facilities,which is illegal and dangerous.The room was too hot.There was also conflicting answers with regards to leaving them in the room too.You are charged £15 per dog per day which I feel is excessively expensive. I would expect a £30 charge per stay for a deeper clean. Many dog friendly hotels don't usually charge.