The Black Bear - Purbeck

Had a lovely stay at The Bear. Comfortable room, great service and food top notch. Highly recommended by us and our dog Ted, who was made very welcome. Rooms: 5 Service: 5 Location: 4 Hotel highlights: Great value

We stopped in for lunch. The Bear is a charming old building full of character and has a wonderful ambience. We were greeted promptly by the young lady, and she was friendly and polite throughout our experience. Only two things marred what was otherwise an enjoyable first visit: despite the menu indicating a broad selection of ales, only one was on the pumps when we visited, which was a little disappointing. Secondly, we unfortunately had to listen to two of her male colleagues, who had finished their shift, loudly discuss and mock visitors' regional accents. I thought this deeply unprofessional and rude, but I suppose that the challenge of finding good hospitality staff means you have to be less selective these days. Food drinks: We both ordered the ploughman's lunch and were really impressed with the presentation and the quality of the ingredients. The only minor improvement that might be made is to include butter for the bread, otherwise it was excellent.

I had a lovely lunch in the afternoon, the food was delicious.

This is a fantastic little hotel. The food was great, especially the well-cooked steak, and the staff were extremely helpful. The beds were incredibly comfortable and the room had a classic contemporary decor with a good shower. They even forwarded my left property to me for just the postage fee. Overall, this inn is excellent in every aspect. Thank you for a great stay. Rooms: 5 Service: 5 Location: 5

Went in recently for brunch. We had pancakes coffee. Really delicious, speedy service nice that we can bring the dog in as well. Could have done with an extra pancake as they were so tasty!