The White Horse, Dorking

Now, I’ll be honest… Dorking was never a place that was on my bucket list of destinations to visit, mainly because until last month, I’d never even heard of it; but after staying there and exploring the county of Surrey, I can’t wait to book another trip back!

I very kindly got offered the chance to stay at The White Horse in the centre of Dorking, so off we went for a little autumnal road trip to one of the most beautiful counties I’ve been to in the UK. The hotel has been converted from a coaching inn and consists of 56 bedrooms: There is also a restaurant for food throughout the day and evening and a lovely bar as well as a deli and a breakfast offering.

Before we checked in, we spent a bit of time in the local area which was full of antique shops, cute pubs and lovely restaurants: we actually stumbled across the hotel by chance whilst walking down the high street, which shows what a great location it has.

The thing that struck me when we first walked in was how cosy the place was. The lounge area had ample seating, which was a mixture of chesterfield sofas, tucked away alcoves and comfy armchairs that lead onto the dining room: There was even a log fire which was very popular with the guests (and this ice queen!)

We were very kindly allowed to park around the back of the hotel, but if you cannot reserve your space (for £10 a night) there is a car park opposite and one just around the corner. After checking in, we went up to our room on the first floor and made ourselves at home. We had a view that looked onto the road, which was great for people watching and flooded the room with natural light.

The decor of the room was gorgeous: The walls were painted in a teal-blue shade, which gave me all the house inspiration, as well as putting a king-size bed on the top of my list for Father Christmas. There were two armchairs, a desk with a mirror and tea making facilities (and homemade shortbread biscuits which were welcomed after a couple of gin and tonics) and a huge wardrobe.

The one thing I loved most about the whole room was the bathroom which was as big as my first flat! It had a free-standing bath and a huge walk-in shower, and beautiful white tiles and now I’m desperate to rip ours apart and redecorate as soon as I get a free weekend!

Whilst we were there, we visited Denbies Wine Estate and did a tasting which I would highly recommend. We had to do the indoor one as it was raining at the time, but if you can get a clear day, I would say do the outside one which looked like a lot of fun! They tell you about the history of the vineyards and why they chose to make wine over everything else they could have done with the space. It ends with being able to try some of their most popular wines, as well as having cheese and chocolate truffles – dreamy situation!

The White Horse is in a perfect location to visit and took less than 10 minutes to get there in a taxi, which the receptionist very kindly booked for us. On a nice day, it would take around 25 minutes to walk there, which I would love to go back and do because the scenery is so gorgeous.

After we got back, we had a drink in the bar area by the log fire, and went to our dinner reservation in the restaurant, The Dozen. There was a menu in the room so we both had an idea of what we wanted, but there was so much choice I think we changed our minds about 4 times. We started with three little plates of calamari, mini sausages and bourbon pork belly bites.

Afterwards, I went for the pan-fried chicken breast which came with bacon and cabbage in a cream sauce, shallot puree and thyme gravy and Jordan got the fish and chips which in his words was ‘the biggest portion you’ve ever seen’. I’ve eaten at hotel restaurants before and never had a bad meal as such, but the food here was incredible and the waiters were so helpful and attentive.

For dessert, we shared the chocolate trio which consisted of a brownie, chocolate mousse and white chocolate pot and just writing this is making my mouth water – I could eat that every day and be a happy woman! After dessert, we finished our drinks in the bar and then headed back up to the room. As we were leaving, the bar area was getting busy and the atmosphere was great.

On our second day, we used the extra hour (thank you daylight saving) to go for a walk around the Surrey Hills, which ended with a coffee. We were out for just over an hour so when we got back I couldn’t wait to tuck into breakfast. If you book a room for the night, I would highly recommend booking in for both dinner and breakfast as both were lovely.

There was a fruit, cereal and yoghurt offering, as well as a hot breakfast menu, which consisted of eggs, pancakes and a full English, amongst others. I went for the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on sourdough (because I am a basic Millennial) and Jordan had the eggs benedict. I went for a bowl of granola first with yoghurt and dried fruit because I’m not the kind of girl to say no to a sweet breakfast.

After breakfast, I took the opportunity to have a bar that wasn’t covered in cat hair and had a lovely soak whilst watching YouTube videos on my phone. It was a really lovely way to finish off the morning before we checked out.

We decided to have another coffee before heading out to discover more of the area. We drove to Shere and Guildford before heading for a Sunday roast in Cobham. All of the villages were adorable and the houses were amazing – definite goals right there! The weather was glorious too for our village-hopping session.

If you’re looking for somewhere different to go for the weekend, I would highly recommend going to The White Horse as it was the perfect base to discover the surrounding area. The hotel was so cosy and was a great place to spend the night. The restaurant served delicious food too so if you happen to be in Dorking, then give them a visit!

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Our stay at The White Horse was complimentary in exchange for an honest review.