The Pet Inspectors have been off on their travels again – this time to super dog-friendly Dorset hotel – 10 Castle Street.
On Saturday morning Heidi and saw our lovely personalised travel beds from Petsweekend, food and toys packed up by the door ready for another lovely dog-friendly escape.
This time it was to the super-luxe dog-friendly 10 Castle Street in Cranbourne stopping off at the Museum Inn in for lunch.
We sped along the M3 and in no time at all, we arrived at the famous Museum Inn for lunch in the rolling Dorset downlands of Farnham, near Blandford Forum. This dog-friendly Inn is a very pretty pub with rooms but we were here for a quick lunch before arriving at 10 Castle Street. The humans had the most delicious beer battered haddock but without the chips and what Rory thought was a seriously good burger. We were given little titbits and befriended a puppy on the next table.
It was raining but we still love going away whatever the weather and it just made the countryside look so green and lush. In just over 15 minutes we arrived at 10 Castle Street and received a wonderful welcome from Julie, the Head of House.
The hotel is in the village of Cranbourne but is tucked away at the back of the village – a secret address we felt privileged to know about. The house itself is quite grand, a grade II listed house set in gorgeous grounds and woodlands. We were shown around the spacious rooms downstairs with a very groovy bar and super stylish dining room and sitting room. It felt like being a guest in someone’s home and Denise said it felt like a mini Soho house but dog-friendly too. Heidi and I felt so welcomed that we felt like we were VIP doggie members of a very exclusive members club. So it was no surprise to hear that 10 Castle Street is, in fact, a members club which just made it all the more warm and friendly.
We raced up the sweeping staircase bedecked with gorgeous paintings by local artists, past the family room, up to a dog-friendly room. Super spacious and very stylish we all agreed we loved the room which had lovely views out to the gardens plus luxury doggie beds and bowls for us. Luckily the rain had stopped so we demanded to be taken out immediately to explore the grounds.
Everyone agreed the grounds were really beautiful with fabulous sculptures plus a field of black Alpacas – rather sweetly named Tom, Dick and Harry. They were in a fenced off area which was lucky as otherwise, Heidi would have rushed in to say hello. As it was they were very friendly and didn’t seem frightened of us at all. Away from the Alpacas, Rory let us off the lead for us to have a good run around.
We do love hotels where we can run off the lead and 10 Castle Street has 26 acres to explore. After an hour and a half’s run around and a quick walk around the village, we returned to the hotel for a little rest before dinner.
The bar area is pet-friendly so we joined the humans for cocktails in the bar and lapped up all the attention we got from director Jo and other guests. The humans then decided to have dinner on their own, although there is a separate area to dine with your dog. They loved the decor of the dining room and dined on Fire-Roasted Red Pepper and Goats Cheese Pithivier, Sea Bass and Lemon Sole Samphire.
After a restful night’s sleep, we had another lovely run in the grounds outside before breakfast with the humans. They thought the breakfast was beautifully displayed and enjoyed cereal plus a full English breakfast. We had a sneaky sausage as usual and played with a large Labradoodle on a nearby table. We had another quick walk around the village and then drove off to lunch with friends in Salisbury.
We all agreed that we had felt more like guests at a house party rather than hotel guests in a totally good way and would definitely be returning soon. A spa and fitness centre will be opening soon.