After many years living in central Dorking and now living elsewhere, this is our ‘go to’ hotel when we visit family in the area. Since it’s refurbishment it is a nice place to stay and within easy walking of restaurants and shops on Dorking High Street.
Parking is limited on site, but both M&S and Sainsbury’s have paid car parking and the hours are 8am - 6pm Mon - Sat. We prefer Sainsbury’s - come out of the hotel, turn left and go up the first small road on the left - it is signposted. The road curves right and then you enter the car park at the back of the shop. Avoid the short stay parking around the shop entrance. If you park on a Saturday afternoon, you pay for the few hours up till 6pm and then you can park right through to 8am on Monday morning.
There are plenty of restaurants in Dorking, but our ‘go to’ ones that have been around for a very long time are Dorking Brasserie for Indian food and The New Fountain Garden for a Chinese meal. Pre drinks in the nearby the Kings Arms for both. Table reservations should be made at busy times.
A nice walk from the hotel to Denbies Vineyard is available - walk across the park and enter via a footpath which starts at Yew Tree Road.
A 15 - 20 min drive away is the lovely Friday Street village - very small, but with a good car park and with a bit of research you will find a circular walk via the Leith Hill tower where, last time we visited, there were drinks available from a small kiosk at the foot of the tower.