With a stay at Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester, you'll be centrally located in Dorchester, within a 15-minute drive of Weymouth Beach and Tutankhamun: The Exhibition. .This hotel is 12.8 mi (20.5 km) from Durdle Door Beach and 13.3 mi (21.4 km) from Lulworth Cove.
What's nearby
Tutankhamun: The Exhibition - 2 min walk - 0.2 km
Dorset Teddy Bear Museum - 8 min walk - 0.7 km
Kingston Maurward Park and Gardens - 4 min drive - 3.0 km
Maiden Castle - 11 min drive - 5.4 km
Weymouth Beach - 15 min drive - 15.6 km
Getting around
Dorchester West Station - 8 min walk
Bristol International Airport (BRS) - 103 min drive
Restaurants
The Royal Oak (Wetherspoon) - 1 min walk
Costa Coffee - 5 min walk
Kings Arms - 4 min walk
The Old Ship Inn - 1 min walk
Greggs - 4 min walk
About this property
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester
Georgian hotel in Dorchester with a bar
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester offers 27 accommodations with hair dryers and irons/ironing boards. Each accommodation is individually furnished and decorated. Pillowtop beds feature premium bedding. 32-inch flat-screen televisions come with digital channels. Bathrooms include bathtubs or showers and complimentary toiletries.
Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wireless Internet access. Business-friendly amenities include desks and phones. Additionally, rooms include portable fans and blackout drapes/curtains. Housekeeping is offered daily and hypo-allergenic bedding can be requested.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
Stay in one of 27 guestrooms featuring flat-screen televisions. Your pillowtop bed comes with premium bedding. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and digital programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with bathtubs or showers feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers.
This smoke-free hotel features hiking/biking trails nearby.
Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at the bar/lounge.
Featured amenities include luggage storage, a safe deposit box at the front desk, and coffee/tea in a common area. Planning an event in Dorchester? This hotel has 818 square feet (76 square meters) of space consisting of conference space and a meeting room. Self parking (subject to charges) is available onsite.
Property amenities
Internet
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Parking and transport
Parking on site (GBP 10 per day)
Limited on-site parking
Food and drink
A bar/lounge
Coffee and tea in common areas
Conveniences
Limited-hour front desk
Luggage storage
Safe at front desk
Guest services
Housekeeping (daily)
Business services
818 square feet of conference space
Meeting room
Accessibility
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: 11:00 PM
Contactless check-in available
Minimum check-in age: 18
Check-out
Check-out before 11 AM
Contactless check-out available
Special check-in instructions
The front desk is open daily from 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours
Access methods
Front desk (limited hours)
Pets
Pets not allowed (service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees)
Children and extra beds
Children are welcome
Children can stay for free if using existing beds when occupying the parent or guardian's room
Rollaway/extra beds are not available
Cribs (infant beds) are not available
Payment types
Important information
Optional extras
Self parking fee: GBP 10 per day
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash
This property reserves the right to pre-authorize the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Cashless transactions are available
Noise-free guestrooms cannot be guaranteed
We should mention
This property does not have elevators
Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms
National rating
This establishment has received its official star rating from VisitEngland, the National Tourist Board for England.
Property is also known as
Wessex Royale
Wessex Royale Dorchester
Sleeping Bear Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Dorchester Minotel
Minotel Dorchester
Minotel Hotel Wessex Royale
Minotel Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester, Dorset
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Hotel
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Dorchester
Best Western Wessex Royale Hotel Dorchester
Wessex Royale Hotel
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Hotel Dorchester
Sleeping Bear Hotel Dorchester Reviews
Reviews
8.8
Excellent
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travellers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.
The Sleeping Bear was an extremely comfortable place to stay. It had recently been decorated to a high standard and everything was well cared for. The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful.
Chris
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2025
4/10 Poor
Traci
18 July 2025
Disliked: Amenities
I was disappointed that you were charged £15 for parking. You could not get breakfast in the hotel?
Stayed at the sleeping bear as we were visiting lulworth cove for my birthday. Pre paid and booked a parking space at the hotel. Very comfortable bed and unlimited tea and coffee at all hours. Nicely decorated and felt homely and comfortable. A random sock from the previous guest left in our room, although hard to see in the cleaners defence! Good shower and tv in room. Would stay again.
Hayley
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2025
10/10 Excellent
Rose
6 July 2025
Quiet, clean, safe & friendly staff. Would 100% stay here again.
A lovely hotel in Dorchester located on the high street. No restaurant but so many around us that this was absolutely no issue whatsoever! Very friendly staff, hot drinks available for free, cmfortable room, free overnight car park nearby...we had a lovely stay in this hotel and will definitely stay there next time we are in the area!
Great arrived late and keys were left buzzer to get in. All very well organised. Room lovely and fan was on when we arrived as extremely hot. This was a lovely gesture thankyou. 🙂
We booked this stay through hotels.com and communications were good, especially the option to pre book parking as spaces were limited in the parking area behind the hotel.
Check in was pleasant and we were shown to our 3 nice rooms, all a good size, nicely decorated and with modern bathrooms (although I do loathe shower curtains!) and a nice desk to work at. There were kettles in each room with plenty of tea and coffee options.
Although the hotel does not do food there are plenty of options within a few minutes walk and we ate dinner at Kao San Thai, just opposite. There were a couple of guest lounge areas with free tea/coffee facilities and also a bar for the evening. Prices on the Saturday night were expensive but the Sunday night was far more reasonable. Wi-Fi was very good and the rooms were quiet, other than seagulls! The hotel was a good location, both for walking to Dorchester's attractions and exploring the wider area.
Staff are very friendly and helpful. We were staying there for a live action role playing event and the staff were impressed with our costumes. Second time staying here in Dorchester, fully recommend.