Located in Wareham (Corfe Castle Village), Bankes Arms Hotel is a 4-minute walk from Corfe Castle and within a 5-minute drive of Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum. .This inn is 14.8 mi (23.8 km) from Poole Harbour and 11.1 mi (17.9 km) from Durdle Door.
Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - 1 min walk - 0.0 km
Corfe Castle - 3 min walk - 0.3 km
Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum - 14 min walk - 1.2 km
Swanage Beach - 8 min drive - 10.1 km
Poole Harbour - 23 min drive - 26.0 km
Getting around
Corfe Castle Station - 2 min walk
Southampton (SOU) - 57 min drive
Restaurants
Coastal Crust Pizzeria - 7 min drive
Square & Compass - 5 min drive
The Old Granary - 6 min drive
Corfe Castle Tea Rooms - 1 min walk
The Kings Arms - 5 min drive
About this property
Bankes Arms Hotel
Inn with free breakfast, 4-minute walk to Corfe Castle
Bankes Arms Hotel offers 7 accommodations with complimentary newspapers and complimentary bottled water. Flat-screen televisions are featured in guestrooms.
Bathrooms include showers, complimentary toiletries, and hair dryers. This Wareham inn provides complimentary wireless Internet access. Housekeeping is offered daily and irons/ironing boards can be requested.
Stay in one of 7 guestrooms featuring flat-screen televisions. Complimentary wireless internet access is available to keep you connected. Private bathrooms with showers feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and complimentary newspapers, and housekeeping is provided daily.
Take in the views from a terrace and a garden and make use of amenities such as complimentary wireless internet access.
Enjoy a meal at the restaurant or snacks in the inn's coffee shop/cafe. Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at the bar/lounge. A complimentary full breakfast is served daily from 7:30 AM to 11 AM.
Featured amenities include complimentary newspapers in the lobby and luggage storage. Free self parking is available onsite.
A complimentary full breakfast is served each morning between 7:30 AM and 11 AM.
Bankes Arms Hotel has a restaurant on site.
Property amenities
Internet
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Parking and transport
Free uncovered self parking on site
Limited on-site self parking
Food and drink
Free full breakfast available daily 7:30 AM to 11 AM
A bar/lounge
A coffee shop/cafe
A restaurant
Family friendly
Cot (surcharge)
Conveniences
Free newspapers in lobby
Limited-hour front desk
Luggage storage
Guest services
Concierge services
Housekeeping (daily)
Business services
Meeting room
Outdoors
Garden
Terrace
Accessibility
No lift
More
Smoke-free property
Room amenities
Bedroom
Bedsheets provided
Blackout drapes
Cot (surcharge)
Bathroom
Free toiletries
Hair dryer
Private bathroom
Shower
Towels provided
Entertainment
Flat-screen TV
Food and drink
Free bottled water
More
Desk
Free daily newspapers
Heating
Iron/ironing board on request
Policies
Check-in
Check-in start time: 2:30 PM; Check-in end time: anytime
Minimum check-in age: 18
Check-out
Check-out before 10:30 AM
Contactless check-out available
Special check-in instructions
The front desk is open daily from 7:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools
Access methods
Front desk (limited hours)
Pets
Pets not allowed
Children and extra beds
Children are welcome
Cribs are available on request at the property
Payment types
Important information
Optional extras
Cribs (infant beds) are available for an additional fee
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, and a first aid kit
We should mention
This property does not have elevators
Property is also known as
Bankes Arms Hotel
Bankes Arms Hotel Wareham
Bankes Arms Wareham
Bankes Hotel
Bankes Arms Hotel Reviews
Reviews
8.6
Excellent
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travellers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.
Rating 10 - Excellent. 298 out of 618 reviews
10 - Excellent
298
Rating 8 - Good. 213 out of 618 reviews
8 - Good
213
Rating 6 - Okay. 70 out of 618 reviews
6 - Okay
70
Rating 4 - Poor. 19 out of 618 reviews
4 - Poor
19
Rating 2 - Terrible. 18 out of 618 reviews
2 - Terrible
18
8.8/10
Cleanliness
9.0/10
Staff & service
8.4/10
Amenities
8.2/10
Property conditions & facilities
7.8/10
Eco-friendliness
Reviews
8/10 Good
Marilyn
Travelled with family
19 Sept 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Great staff, food first day was very good, great location for castle and reasonable prices. Good selection behind bar. A bit tired looking, and facilities need an upgrade. New owners in place since end of August, so I’m sure improvements will be made. Would still stay again if in the area
The hotel is beautiful with lovely views. The room was also very pretty and my daughter loved that she had an adjoining room with a separate door. The food in the restaurant was also very good but took time to bring condiments. The mattress on the double bed was really thin and not the comfiest but the single bed was super comfy. As the room was hot we opened the window slightly but this did mean we got a lot of traffic noise and the sound of the church bell on the hour every hour. Regardless, I would recommend this as a lovely place to stay.
Michelle
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025
10/10 Excellent
Wahid
28 Aug 2025
Wahid
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025
4/10 Poor
Nigel
Travelled with family
22 Aug 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The room was very hot. There was no fan or AC. The room was on the front of hotel and there was a busy road outside which was noisy and so it wasn't an option to open the windows. However the food was very good.
Nigel
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025
6/10 Okay
David
Travelled with partner
18 Aug 2025
Liked: Staff & service
First impressions were good. It's an old property in a unique location.
The property has only just changed hands and I appreciate that there's always loads of stuff to sort out..
BUT..
we did not have any hot water or shower on the first day ( it was a very hot day too) I think the new owner was just a little bit stressed.
The rooms are a bit tired but I'm sure they'll sort this, Comfy bed. Breakfast was good but we would have appreciated some more choice and fresh fruit. Good coffee though. Friendly staff too.
David
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2025
2/10 Terrible
Annalisa Menini
17 Aug 2025
Annalisa Menini
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025
8/10 Good
Melanie
16 Aug 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
One night stay at Bankes Arms Hotel
The room itself was clean and spacious but the floor was very much on a slope. Staff were really helpful making sure we could have breakfast at 7:30 as advertised on Hotels.com as this is earlier than the actual website for the Hotel. A couple of issues though with some of the features. The show was hanging off the wall and I had to connect it back up to its fixings. Towels were on the small side, bath towels not bath sheets and the location of the mirror, the only one was in the bathroom a significant distance away from the nearest plug socket so the only way I could judge how drying my hair was after washing was using the reflection in the TV screen. Another mirror needs to be provided on the chest of drawers and close to a socket.
Excellent 2 night stay. For a grade 2 listed building the room was very clean, comfortable and quiet. The staff were very friendly and food was excellent.
Jane
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025
6/10 Okay
Julie
Travelled with group
10 Aug 2025
Disappointing
Perfect location and staff very friendly and helpful. Room a bit tired looking and no working fan on a hot day. Werent informed about lack of hot water and only realised after having a cold shower. Advised we had arrived at 10.30 but room was still not available when we returned at 5.30.
Vegetarian breakfast was brilliant! But equipment in room didn’t work well! WiFi didn’t work on 2nd floor where we were. Kettle kept turning on and off on its own! Great views from our 2nd floor room! Easy parking.
The property was fine, on a busy corner but well sound not a problem inside the room which. was of good size, breakfast was good and parking was easy, with plenty to see around the village, all in all a very good few days
We stayed at Bankes Arms Hotel in Corfe near Bournemouth for three nights. The room was very basic. The table next to the bed didn’t have a flat surface which was not noticeable until I placed a cup of hot coffee on the table which spilt everywhere.
The flimsy curtains let in too much light every morning.
The bathroom was disgusting - a broken dish held toiletries for our use. The towel rail fell off the wall on first use! The finish was rough to say the least!
The table next to the bed badly needed a paint job, both headboards were loose and we had to put pillows between the headboard and the wall to stop them rattling.
We stayed there for the convenience of being near Corfe castle and surrounding area which had a lot to offer.
And to top it all when water started coming through the ceiling in the breakfast room this morning, the owner/manager casually placed ice buckets on the floor to catch the dripping water!
Corfe is a fabulous place to visit but avoid Bankes Arms Hotel at all costs!
For what we paid for 3 nights was totally outrageous. It’s day light robbery! Avoid it like the plague.
This place has excellent friendly staff, the food is very good allbeit a limited menu if you are looking for something healthy! The room was large clean and comfortable, the only criticism was the tired looking shower room, where a lick of paint on yhe walls would clean it up and removecthe mould around the outside of the shower tray, just a replacement of silicone would change everything in that room. But overall a lovely place in an excellent location and will be vising again
I was aware there was at least a 50% chance of a room overlooking the main road (Wareham to Swanage). But sadly I was also overlooking the sharp corner. Meaning HGVs and Chiller units were directly under my window. The key could not be found that night for my room. However when shown to it, the door was open. I didn’t question the lack of key. I asked for a fan as it was very humid. No one ever came back to me. There was a dubious stain in the toilet (not cleaned properly). My bed was on a metal frame. It creaked with every movement. Thankfully I did not take my boyfriend. The noise would have been horrendous. It creaked with each time I moved a little. Due to the heat I kept the windows open. So then I had the church clock every hour on the hour ringing in each hour. I chose the hotel for closeness to a sporting event. It sufficed. Next day I was chased as the staff thought I’d ’accidentally’ taken the key. The key I never had.
Miss T K
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025
4/10 Poor
IAN
10 Jun 2025
IAN
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025
8/10 Good
Pauline
Travelled with group
8 Jun 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Check in staff member was extremely helpful as we had a problem which she sorted quickly.
Rooms are a good size with very efficient showers.