Name: The Anvil Inn
Address: Salisbury Road Pimperne, Blandford Forum, DT11 8UQ, GB

6/10

Pleasant

28 Jul 2026

Sanjay

We stayed at The Anvil Inn for two nights and found it to be a hotel with plenty of character and a welcoming atmosphere. The building is charming, the dining area is attractive, and the staff we met during our stay were friendly.

Unfortunately, our room let the experience down. There was mould around the shower seal, peeling paint in the bathroom, and even the plant in the room had several dead and yellowing leaves. Individually these are minor issues, but together they suggested that routine maintenance and attention to detail had been overlooked.

The biggest disappointment came at check-out. We had paid in full through Hotels.com before arriving, but the owner insisted that payment was still outstanding and attempted to charge us again. Resolving the issue took over an hour. I appreciate that Hotels.com payments may not always appear immediately in the hotel’s system, but the payment had already been processed by the hotel’s own staff at check-in. Had I not kept my booking confirmation and challenged the request, I could easily have paid twice.

It’s a shame because the hotel has real charm and potential. With better maintenance and a more reliable process for confirming prepaid bookings before requesting payment again, it would provide a much better guest experience.

8/10

Excellent

24 Jul 2026

Keith Rhys

Good place to stay when visiting Dorset. Good breakfast each morning. Good bedroom but in need of freshening up.
Pub meals were of limited choice but tasty.
Staff were helpful and welcoming.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jul 2026

Paul

Staff very friendly and helpful.
Room had all the amenities expected. With comfortable bed and thick towels.
Only problem encountered were the very steep and curved stairs but in such a lovely place this is to be expected

8/10

Excellent

19 Jun 2026

Andy

Check in was easy, room was ok. Everything you needed, everything worked. My only comment would be how hot the room (3) was. Absolutely stifling, quite possibly above the kitchen. Could feel the heat coming through the floor. It was only around 20C during the previous afternoon. I can only imagine how it would be on a hotter day.
Breakfast was nice and the staff were great. It's a lovely hotel in a lovely village.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Jun 2026

Bridget

Nice old inn, but in need of a bit of TLC. However understand their situation in this current economic climate. Very friendly staff & local clientele. Reasonable food.

Family

8/10

Excellent

24 May 2026

Paul

Great find, in a great location to explore the local area, staff, room / breakfast very good.
Only thing to improve is the bar pricing, thought £6.70 a little excessive for a pint of local lager.

Family

8/10

Excellent

05 May 2026

Abi

Lovely stay at a great place. Excellent staff.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 Apr 2026

Kay

The room needed a deep clean - this is an old property so it’s always going to be a challenge to keep things looking at their best, but there were areas that looked as if they hadn’t been touched in months (towel rail, tiles, pictures etc). The staff at check in were great, but I was a bit concerned (as a woman travelling on my own) that a side door at the bottom of the stairs would always be kept open, but after they all gone home, everywhere else is locked. I got the impression that there were no staff in the pub overnight. Dinner was a reasonable price (2 courses for £20) but the burger bun had been microwaved so was inedible. Breakfast was absolutely delicious though - I had eggs royale with lovely smoked salmon and perfectly poached eggs. All in all, an OK stay with a great breakfast.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Apr 2026

Lynne

I love this place! The staff is so friendly and both the beer and the food are great! The atmosphere is unique due to the age of the building and I appreciate its quirkiness. Highly recommend!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Mar 2026

Chelsea

The owners were lovely and welcoming. Nothing was a problem and the entire vibe was just lush and wholesome. ❤️

8/10

Excellent

20 Mar 2026

Robert

Very nice place to stay, adequate parking, staff very friendly and helpful, food is very nice with a good choice.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Mar 2026

ANDREW

My stay has been very positive. Check‑in was friendly, welcoming, and informative, which set a great tone from the start. My room is cosy, clean, and comfortable, and I’ve had a peaceful night’s sleep. The Wi‑Fi works well, and the free parking is really convenient. The location is good too, making everything easy and stress‑free. Overall, I’m very happy with my experience.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2026

Nick

Our room was comfortable, clean and cosy. The Staff couldn’t do enough to make our stay a pleasant experience. Food was great and varied. We would definitely stay here again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jan 2026

Steve

Great pub, excellent food

Business

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jun 2025

Stuart

Great

8/10

Excellent

27 Oct 2024

Joy

Pleasant homely pub

Lovely old pub which was a good stop over for the night. Breakfast nice and hot with limited selection but filling. Friendly welcome at check in.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Sep 2024

Tracy

Nice and clean, comfortable with friendly staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2023

Geoffrey

Great stay at an excellent Inn

Great people and a perfect room. Good location for visiting many places in Dorset. The inn is an old thatched building with a decent beer garden and covered outdoor eating. The food is very good pub fayre and there are interesting specials. On Friday and Saturday delicious pizzas are also served, cooked in the outdoor wood fired pizza oven Breakfast is included with the room and there are a good variety of choices with quality ingredients. A great find that we will revisit if ever on holiday in the area again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

17 May 2023

Robert

A need for the owner to spend a night in the room

The room was slightly on the small side , the bed being a standard double it would have been difficult to have put a bigger bed in. The bathroom again was a bit cramped, the loo holder was broken and the doors were out of line and provided no privacy. There appeared to be no soundproofing as it was quite evident that the adjacent rooms occupants could be clearly heard. The Monday morning breakfast was cooked badly, however the staff were very pleasant and helpful

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Feb 2023

Laura

Me and my partner stayed here over the weekend.
We absolutely loved the stay, so clean and comfortable.
Shower was a bonus! So powerful.

Unfortunately my partner was taken into hospital during our last night staying there.

But the very kind bartender/floor manager?
Accommodated to our needs.
So kind and thoughtful.
He brought our breakfast up to our rooms.
I would highly recommend staying here ☺️

Breakfast was lovely too!

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Jan 2023

Stephen

Great value out of season.

Business_and_leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Jan 2023

Stephen

Excellent out of season value

Business_and_leisure

10/10

Exceptional

20 Sep 2022

Donna

We loved it here

What a little gem The Anvil Inn turned out to be! It's a beautiful old thatched building, and as you would expect with an old building, the stairs could prove a little steep for some peoole but we didn't have any trouble bounding up them; there is one spot where the door to the guest floor is a little low, but it's been thoughtfully padded, so no banged noggins here.

We stayed in Room No.5 which was really cosy and had a little en-suite with a decent shower and very fluffy towels. Tea and Coffee making facilities were provided, a decent hairdryer and a TV, so everything that we needed. The room was absolutely spotless!

We stayed two nights as visiting family and friends in Dorset and we had them visit both nights for dinner in the pub. The food we had was really good, very tasty and cooked to perfection... And very reasonably priced.

Now that we have found (and stayed at) The Anvil Inn, it'll be our place of choice whenever we're visiting.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Aug 2022

Paul

Very nice old coaching in less than 2 miles away from GDSF.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2022

Sadie

Lovely 17th century Hotel/pub

Very clean 17th Century Hotel. Staff very welcoming

Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 May 2022

Verified traveler

Pleasant Stay whilst on Business

Small but lovely room with everything needed for a one night stay. It felt as though it had been recently refurbished and the cleaning was to a high standard. Check in was good and I was shown to my room although I did have to wait a short while as there is no front desk. The menu was impressive and my evening meal was very good.
On the downside, it was quite noisy with the quiz night in the pub during the evening but this did end at 10pm to my relief. The breakfast was average and service was poor. The rain shower was non existent and the attachment was very slow and squealed whilst in use which made me conscious of disturbing other guests due to the lack of soundproofing as the building is very old.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

20 Apr 2022

feni

Lovely place to stop for the night.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

29 Mar 2022

A

Anvil In Stay

loverly quiet pub to stay at food was was good as well

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2022

Finley

5* could not fault!

Honestly can not fault this place. Absolutely beautiful inside and out. Staff were lovely and very friendly. Food was great. Room was clean and cosy. Nice quiet pub. Great value for money and definitely got our money's worth. Thanks for a great couple of days!

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

27 Jan 2022

Daniel

Stay here but eat out

Hotel was fine given Covid restrictions. Room was basic but clean. The bathroom was clean and well supplied but the extractor fan seemed not to work. I would recommend the hotel but the food in the restaurant was relatively expensive and not up to much

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jan 2022

C

Great

Clean, relaxed, great hosts

Partner

4/10

Poor

28 Nov 2021

Verified traveler

Find somewhere else

Heating in the room broken not working

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Nov 2021

Chris

A hidden gem! Simply great in every way!

A real gem! Stayed at the Anvil Inn for 2 nights while attending a funeral locally. The pub exceeded my expectations on every level. The staff were amazing and really went the extra mile. The food was lovely with great choice on the menu. The bar was friendly and had everything we needed. Rooms were warm and had a nice walk in wardrobe. Breakfast was simply amazing. Would recommend, would stay again (hopefully under more enjoyable circumstances next time). really lovely place.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Nov 2021

Elliot

Dorset Delight!

A wonderful Inn in Pimperne, with fantastic customer service and outstanding cleanliness. A beautiful part of the country with so much to do. I will definitely return!

Business

10/10

Exceptional

08 Nov 2021

Emma

Lovely

Lovely stay at the Anvil, good food in the evening and at breakfast, would stay again if in the area

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2021

Patricia

Very friendly and welcoming staff. Helpful and attentive! Room was very comfortaable and cozy and nicely decorated in a way that gave a small room an airy light feeling.
Having a nice restaurant on the premises was a bonus.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

22 Sep 2021

Jayne

Beautiful old pub but not great en-suite.

Beautiful looking old pub. Our room was a bit noisy in the morning as it overlooked a side road. It was bedroom no 1. The bathroom looked damp with black mould on the ceiling and around the shower. I couldn’t hear the extractor fan working at all. There was no window in the bathroom as it was an internal room. The water pressure was great in the shower.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Sep 2021

Alan

Good clean and friendly

Business

8/10

Excellent

11 Jul 2021

A

Overnight stay

Service good though bath cramped and not easy to get out of. Food good.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2021

John

A fantastic place to stay

We stayed for four nights, from the moment we walked through the door the staff made us very welcome and looked after us so well. Breakfast was fantastic and we had an evening meal every evening which were all delicious. All the staff and customers did follow COVID rules. The room was really clean and serviced every morning. This is a wonderful character pub with a great team of people working there from the owner and all the staff . We will definitely be back

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2021

Paul

Great place to stay

I stay here on a regular basis when I am working in the area. Clean rooms, great food and always a friendly welcome.
I will continue to stay at The Anvil Inn in the future, I thoroughly recommend it.

Business

8/10

Excellent

10 Dec 2020

Paul

Lovely stay

Warm welcome, attentive staff and lovely food.
Comfortable room, exactly what I wanted.
Area is quiet so I got a lovely nights sleep.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

28 Oct 2020

Verified traveler

Great service, really nice staff and wonderful foo

Great service, really nice staff and wonderful food.
I have stayed at The Anvil before...…..and I will be staying again.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

27 Sep 2020

William

Staff great , room done daily,breakfast cooked as you like it , bed very comfortable room very clean , great atmosphere in the evening for dinner , Covid rules perfect , great stay good food great wines , ideal location for walks ,lovely towns nearby

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

25 Sep 2020

Rowland

Hidden gem

Great old pub with a welcoming atmosphere and very good food too.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

22 Aug 2020

Gary

Service was excellent. Accommodation was clean and pleasant.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Feb 2020

Ryan

low cost basic and out dated rooms

property is old and small, very basic, bt expected for the price. room is very small and uncomfortable, and very noisy with connecting rooms, no noise insulation, difficult to sleep

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Oct 2019

Mrs Glynis

Good value for money

A warm and friendly welcome from the young man behind the bar, we were in room 6 which overlooked the car park and garden but still very quiet. One small complaint would be that the mattress was very soft and offered little support making for an uncomfortable nights sleep.
The bar/restaurant had a lovely atmosphere with a good menu. Food was nicely cooked but overpriced for where we are used to.
Breakfast was very good, usual buffet style and the full English arrived quickly and freshly cooked so nice and hot. The morning waitress was very friendly and accommodating to those with special requests. Overall very good value for money.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2019

susan

Very friendly staff. Rooms clean and great size bath towels! Breakfast good variety only down side only had white bread on Sunday no brown and no granary on either days . Great location. Had lovely lunch in the gardens.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Sep 2019

David

Stop off whilst travelling !!

Great food, great people, great place to stay - relaxed and easy atmosphere where nothing is a problem ! - will stay again next time !!! -

Partner