Our Pet Inspectors, Rufus and Heidi, have recently spent a wonderful weekend in Dorset celebrating Rufus’s 11th birthday and staying at super pet-friendly hotels The Grosvenor Arms in Shaftesbury and the Eastbury Hotel in Sherbourne.
Pet Inspector’s report
As usual, we were very excited to see our PetsWeekend bags being packed up with our favourite toys, food and treats for our next adventure! After whizzing along on the A303 and A30, we finally arrived in the charming hilltop market town of Shaftesbury famous for Gold Hill, the cobbled street in the Hovis ad.
Our first stop was The Grosvenor Arms, a stylishly refurbished hotel dating back to medieval time…
We were greeted by General Manager Kirsty, who showed us up to our fabulous balcony suite which was lovely. The room was complete with a kingsize bed, super large TV and a lovely terrace. We were given a woof box with the most delicious bone shaped treats and Lily’s Kitchen food. After arriving at the hotel, we had a lovely walk along Park Walk just at the side of the hotel, which has stunning views across Blackmore Vale.
Later that day we were due to meet up with Rory’s university friend who lives close by. They have three boys and a rescue Jack Russell so we had great fun and games before heading off to dinner at a pet-friendly pub. The next morning we joined Denise and Rory for breakfast (and our usual sneaky sausage under the table) before heading off for another walk along Park Walk as well a stroll along Gold Hill and a visit to the dog-friendly Gold Hill museum and The Abbey Museum and gardens.
On Saturday afternoon it was so sunny and because Rufus loves splashing in the sea we decided to take a trip to the beach at Studland before heading to Sherborne, which was just half an hour’s drive away.
In Sherborne we stayed in the beautiful Eastbury Hotel, owned by top hotelier Peter de Savary who knows a thing or two about running a good hotel and is also a great dog lover himself! The hotel is a Georgian style country townhouse right in the centre of town…
Jessica gave us a warm welcome at reception and then we were shown around the hotel, which has a lovely pet-friendly sitting room! We then headed to our deluxe garden room, which was in their very pretty garden – very convenient for morning and night time strolls! We were also thrilled to discover our doggie welcome pack which included bed, bowl, toy and doggie treats!
The humans then brought out my birthday presents – a lovely new blanket with my name on, some Pawsecco and a squeaky toy! Heidi and I posed for photos with my presents in the garden…
After a stroll around the town we were delighted to be invited to dinner with the humans. They had the delicious seven course tasting menu, prepared by Head Chef Matt Street who has appeared on Masterchef and has quite a local following! Everyone made a great fuss of us and we were even offered a little treat at the table! After a late night stroll around the gardens we had a lovely snooze in our comfy beds.
We joined the humans for breakfast the next day, before meeting up for coffee in the hotel’s pet-friendly sitting room with Denise’s old friend Vivien and her husband Graham. Following that we went for another walk around the town, which is full of beautiful medieval buildings, and coffee at pet-friendly Olivers. We visited Sherborne Castle and gardens, followed by a walk along a wild trail close by.
It was a lovely birthday weekend, where we had been included in everything! Can’t wait for our next trip.