Our ‘Suggested’ Christmas Itinerary
Arrive at your leisure and settle into your bedroom or suite. Depending on the time, you may wish to partake in a leisurely lunch or relax and enjoy afternoon tea (served between 4.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m.) by the fire in the drawing room. Dinner, the first from our selection of special Christmas menus, is served between 7.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. Prior to dinner your are invited to a Champagne Reception between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m., with your hosts, and family members, in the bedecked Drawing Room. Throughout the evening the hotel’s resident pianist provides a gentle accompaniment to the traditional ambiance that prevails. Dinner is followed by Coffee and Petits Fours, after which you may wish to attend Midnight Communion at the Lady St Mary Church adjacent to the hotel.
“Merry Christmas.” Start the day with a traditional, hearty English breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. Or, for the less ambitious, a nice, light, Continental style breakfast! The day is now yours to do with whatever you wish. You are free to explore this beautiful part of Dorset, with its links to Thomas Hardy and Lawrence of Arabia. We will gladly provide you with information so that you can comfortably navigate your way around the area whatever you decide to do; if you let us know in advance, we are more than happy to provide you with a lovely packed lunch for the day. Dinner is served between 7.00 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., and your evening begins with pre-dinner drinks and canapés in the Drawing Room and Cloisters Bar whilst you ponder the second, and most festive, of our special Christmas menus. “Bon Appetit.”
After the indulgences of the day before, breakfast will be served from 7.30 a.m. until 9.30 a.m. Presumably, nothing need be hurried today. A walk in the grounds or a stroll around Wareham is highly recommended to build up your appetite for lunch. Your choice may be to return to the hotel for lunch or a light snack, or you may wish to wend-your-way to one of the area’s well-known local public houses for a traditional pub lunch. Later into the afternoon you may wish to spoil yourself with a delicious Dorset Cream Tea (4.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.) at the hotel, or somewhere en-route if you’re out-and-about. Dinner, the third from our selection of special Christmas menus, is served between 7.00 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., preceded by pre-dinner drinks and canapés in the Drawing Room and Cloisters Bar with a gentle accompaniment from our resident pianist.
There is plenty of time to linger over breakfast (7.30 a.m. until 9.30 a.m.), as bedrooms and suites need not be vacated until 11.00 a.m. You may wish to take a last stroll around the gardens, or even stay awhile longer for lunch or a light snack, before returning home. Until next year then? “Have a safe journey home.”