Pool, spa and grounds
There’s a wild time awaiting you out among the 14 acres. Wild, but fun. Camp in the grounds in the tipi by the river, leap off the jetty into the dipping pond, or picnic by the Mangerton River, rich with trout and otters.
Play croquet, cricket or badminton on the lawn, eat out on the sun terrace with pizza from the canopied campfire kitchen, pick produce from the kitchen garden, follow the walkways through the grounds. Recharge in the hidden spa area with wood-fired hot tub, sauna and plunge pool.
Living spaces
We could discuss the delicious living spaces all day long – the huge sitting room, the specially commissioned wallpaper, the unique lighting and the bespoke wallpaper. It all adds up to an oasis of supreme comfort, a sumptuous, hotel-like beauty with guests handpicked by you wiggling their toes in front of three roaring fires.
But we don’t want to ignore the elephant in the room, and that would be the barn in the grounds. It’s as loaded as a little leisure centre. Lounge around in the heated infinity pool with views over the hills. Sweat it out in the sauna and gym with cardio and multigym. Catch Netflix and Sky on the cinema room’s 3D TV. Chill in the sun room.
Back in the main house, load up the logs on any of three open fires, break out the books and games or just binge a box set on Sky or Netflix in the main sitting room. Itching for more action? The games room comes with full-sized pool table and football table. Or just plonk the piano and sort out a singalong.
Cooking and dining
Looking for catering that lines up with the luxury on offer throughout? Take a dip in the hot tub while our pro chefs prepare anything from a drop-off dish to a celebratory, scrumptious, sumptuous meal served by waitresses, to a fully catered break. Eat around the 20-seat table or out on the terrace in the summer sunshine.
Stock up on fizz from Palmers Wine Store, on meat from Frampton’s Butchers, cheese from Town Mill, fish from Davy’s Fish Locaker, and everything else from Washingpool Farm Shop. Treat yourself to takeaways from a wide selection of local coastal eateries.
Enjoy Dorset seafood washed down with one of the best views in England looking out over The Cobb and the Jurassic Coast, at Hix Oyster and Fish House. Head to The Three Horseshoes for pan-fried Dorset lamb liver or mushroom panzerotti pasta. Or try slow-roasted belly pork or grilled fillet of sea bass at The Marquis of Lorne.
If you’re down on Chesil Beach, call in at the Hive Beach Café with its fabulous fish and fine wines. Or get down to River Cottage HQ for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s cookery school or ambitious, delicious menus.
Bedrooms
Silence comes as standard here, amid Mangerton House’s 14 acres, close by the wild shingle of Chesil Beach. There’s room here for 20 guests in ten bedrooms, nine of which come with en-suite shower rooms. Pick from six Lefroy Brookes-fitted bedrooms in the main house and two each in the barn and apartment annexes.
Bedroom one is a superking with bath en-suite, while bedroom two is a kingsize en-suite. Bedroom three offers twin beds with en-suite bathroom, and bedroom four and five are both kingsize with en-suites. Bedroom six provides a kingsize bed and private bathroom.
In the apartment, bedroom seven is a kingsize en-suite, while bedroom eight offers twin beds. In the pool house, bedroom nine offers a kingsize en-suite and bedroom ten is a twin en-suite.
Children welcome
Are children welcome here? Where to begin? Well, missing family, friends and dogs won’t be an issue. With accommodation here across the main house, barn and apartment annex, Mangerton House does numbers rather well.
It serves up fun with a fair bit of skill, too. Let’s begin in the barn. Splash away some time in the heated indoor infinity pool, then towel off and catch Netflix and Sky in the 3D media room. Older kids can work up a sweat in the gym and sauna, then cool off in the plunge pool.
Out among the wild, dog-friendly, 14-acre, hide-and-seek garden, there’s a bridge to cross. On the other side, you’ve an entire kids’ camp, with tipi, swings and kayaks. Pack a picnic for adventures on the banks of the Mangerton River. Dive into the spring-water dipping pond from the jetty.
Help mum and dad pick supper ingredients from the kitchen garden. Wolf down homemade pizza from the wood-fired oven by the canopied campfire. Hit the hot tub with the grown-ups. Walk the woodlands. Inside, there are crackling flames, board games, a piano and books, or pool and table football in the games room.
What people say
Bay trips and historic discoveries
Visit iconic Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. Take a stroll around Elizabethan Mapperton House and Gardens. Play golf at West Dorset and sip wine at Furleigh Estate. Hunt down fossils on Chesil or learn about them at Bridport Museum and there's fresh air and fun at Farmer Palmer’s Farm Park.
