King John Inn

We had an amazing new year's eve dinner at the village inn. Amazing atmosphere, first class service and outstanding food. I wanted to hug the chef the food was was that fantastic! We already booked a table to go back later in the year! If you're in the area it's worth to visit then you can stroll around the charming little village. 😊

What a find! King John Inn is hidden away in what seems like the middle of nowhere. So quiet! From the moment of arrival, we were given a friendly welcome, and shown to our room. It was huge, with an incredibly large, comfortable bed. The bathroom was equally enormous with high, wooden beam ceilings. And the bath is big enough for two! The rainfall shower was great with lovely hot water. All immaculately clean, with real attention to detail in every aspect of the stay. The black out blinds are so good, at night, it is total darkness - a great night's sleep!||We'd booked dinner and this was delightful. Excellent service throughout the evening, with incredible food, a vast choice of drinks, and a comfortable setting that let the conversation flow.||Plenty of parking right next to the rooms. Breakfast had extensive choice, and it was as good quality as the excellent dinner we had the evening before. Just the right amount.||All in all a quality place to visit for a special occasion, delivered by lovely people who know good hospitality. Definitely will go again.

Absolutely lovely stay and, contrary to the previous (M.S.) review, our room was cosy and warm. I hardly ever leave reviews for stays, but felt compelled to say something after reading their rather lengthy and riveting review. A very warm welcome, delicious food, and beautiful local walks. An absolute treat - highly recommended.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch on Monday. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and the food was delicious. It was a freezing cold day but the pub was cosy with a huge open fire. Very much hope to return. Karen

Booked Sunday lunch for 4, and right from the start it was not good. 20 minutes to take a food order, and when it came, eventually, all the soup was luke warm. The roast beef main, was cold, but the best bit was the wood lice crawling across my Yorkshire pudding. We asked for it to be changed, but no apology. The whole lunch was cold and tasteless and horrible. The manager was very unapologetic, and thought the woodlice was a joke!! We will never go back!! He took 2 of the mains off the bill, and the cold cauliflower cheese. How kind. This was my worst lunch ever!!!

From the outside, this is the quintessential, classic, English country inn which is confirmed upon entry with beautifully decorated and appointed rooms. The food was also delicious, which one would expect, given the price point, but nonetheless it exceeded expectations, though I do question that the 8oz ribeye was closer to 5-6oz. Anywho, my one major gripe and the reason this review doesn't get five stars and only gets the one measly star, is that the bedroom was cold and a bit damp with the onset of autumn. After realising that the radiators were not functioning, I asked the young woman at the reception for the central heating to be put on as the radiators and towel heater were not on. She said "of course" and I was assured the central heating would be turned on so that our room would be "nice and warm" by the time we had finished dinner. It is very late September and temps dropped into the low teens overnight. During our meal, I was subsequently told that the heating wouldn't be turned on 'just yet' as it "gets too hot downstairs for the guests in the bar area." which I find strange as radiators can be adjusted and lowered individually and oh yeah heat rises and there are windows that can be opened to ensure optimum comfort for thirsty patrons. Anyway, we finished our meal and went to our room and lo and behold the room was still about 14-15C and dropping and still the radiators were as cold as the blue stones at Stonehenge. Completely unacceptable. Why not provide a space heater then if you don't want to spend the money on heating the room for your paying guests? We went straight to bed wearing our clothes to keep try and keep warm. It completely ruined the evening and our experience. My wife now has a sore throat and I am sure the cold damp air contributed. I really wanted to give this inn a five star review, but that meant their advertisement should have read: "The rooms are lovely and we make every effort to help you enjoy your stay with us, but we keep the heating off because we don't want the bar/restaurant area (punters) to get too warm." That would have been honest. While the UK doesn't have laws regarding hotel room temps (shocking, I know) the UK.gov guideline says 20c or 68F in old money, is the expected room temperature norm. This unfortunate experience was a good five degrees short of that comfort threshold. What I really didn't appreciate is being lied to by the staff, not once but twice. The staff and no doubt, the miserly owner, knew there was no way in hell that they were going to turn the central heating on for us, or anyone else for that matter. We found a thermostat in the stairwell it was set to 16.5C — this was in an area where the heat from kitchen and bar are would keep it significantly warmer. It was locked. So despite the inherent aesthetic lure and charm we strongly suggest that other travelers stay elsewhere. We definitely won't be coming back. Revised Update: Thank you Millie for your reply and action regarding our unfortunate experience during our stay. We won't get that time back, but we appreciate your gesture actions after learning of our experience, especially dealing with Bookin.com. We learned our lesson, we'll never book with them again.

We enjoyed our 2-day stay at the King John Inn. They had obviously gone to considerable trouble to make our room comfortable. with a sofa and chair. The food was good although the service was rather slow. The lighting in the room was very dim so a challenge if you arrive at 4pm on a winter's evening with two hours to kill before dinner (no lounge as it's a pub). The staff rallied round and found us two brighter lights but we suggest they invest in a 2-lamp uplighter which would be more welcoming. The bathroom was modern but MORE hooks please. One twin hook is not enough as there was no shelf to put bags on. It was a pleasant stay.

Just returned from a wonderful lunch with great friends. What a fabulous experience we had at the King John. Upon our arrival we were greeted with a smile & a warm welcome from Millie & Jules. We were able to enjoy pre-lunch drinks in the sunshine enjoying great company. Our dining table easily accommodated the nine of us, the service was excellent & the food was beautifully prepared & very tasty, thanks to Chef Chris…… the setting of this wonderful pub compliments the staff & service. It was great to see the car park was full & clearly the 8 rooms which have been refurbished within the past year are proving extremely popular. We wish the King John team continued success….. we will definitely return soon!!

How do you entertain yourself between the work day's end and a late supper when you live in the sleepy country villages around Dorset? You come to the familiar red-brick, vine-laced local pub for a craft ale or standard on-tap cider, of course. The picturesque King Johns Inn appears to be a sort of upscale "Cheers-where-everybody-knows-your-name" evening hangout for couples who seem to have known each other forever. No one is left to trail up the walkway without an affectionate nickname or insult being shouted at him or her. The interior is exceptionally decorated with nothing extra and everything in its sensible place, giving it a tidy and *almost* too clean feeling. Black and white photographs adorn the dim-lit rooms. The light wood furniture, warm fire, and leather couches give it a smart country home feel. The ales are good, though don't look for lots of variety. The prices are high but this reflects the well-to-do clientèle and the affluent area. There is an informal restaurant with a menu which looks very well thought out, but I cannot attest to it as I haven't had the pleasure of trying it out myself. There is a wine shop adjoining, in case you need to pick something up to go along with dinner. And the red our hosts kindly treated us to was rather nice as well. A great pub in a great location.