The 18th-century White Horse coaching inn is located in the historic market town of Dorking. 

The White Horse has recently undergone a stylish refurbishment and is part of the "bespoke" Hotels family. 

The welcoming lounge space

The former coaching inns past has not been forgotten, and is said to be where Dicken's penned the Pickwick Papers. 

The shilling instalments tell of the humorous tales of the Pickwick club and feature Dorking within its tales.

Beautiful detail to enjoy.

Situated along the main High Street in Dorking, The White Horse hotel is very straightforward to find by car or on foot.

We arrived a little earlier than the check-in time of 3:00pm, as we wanted to discover a little more of historic Dorking.

Parked up safely in the off road car park in our allocated space

We checked in with reception and there was no problem and our reserved car parking space was clearly marked. 

Discovering Dorking's Antiques Quarter

As we were driving it was important that the hotel had car parking. Refreshingly you are able to book ahead, rather than rely on a first come, first served basis.  There was a charge of £10 a day and you were reserved a specific bay.

Our first impressions of The White Horse were style and comfort, plenty of peaceful, cosy seating areas to relax in, amongst old wooden beams, open fireplaces and comfy sofas.

Around the fireplace in the lounge

The friendliness of the staff and their willingness to help make for a charming welcome.

Traditional timbers that have seen some history

After checking in we were shown to our room, passing mysterious staircases, across creaking floorboards and through corridors that could hold secrets from centuries past.  Would weary travellers of old, have settled in, after braving the roads frequented by highwaymen?

Halls of history

Our accommodation for the night was a “Spacious” style room, and it undoubtedly was. We overlooked the historic High Street and for us it was peaceful throughout the night. 

Ready to refresh - Our room at the White Horse

The large king-size double bed was extremely comfortable, with a duck down and feather duvet and two non-allergenic pillows each. 

A large, comfortable bed

The traditional décor and the period blue walls within the room I found quite soothing and the lighting warming & subdued. 

Room to relax

Along with the two relaxing lounge chairs and a drinks table, was a roomy desk, a lamp and a lovely old-style telephone. Giving ample of space to pop out your laptop and catch up with the world. 

The desk, a good place to get some work done

The attention to detail - love the period pieces

There was plenty of storage available in the room for your clothing, the room also had a full-length mirror with a power point nearby, which I always find a nice touch, and sometimes this can be missed.

Other in-room facilities were a flat-screen TV and a combination safe for your valuables.

What we found extremely handy was the USB ports set within the plug sockets. I personally like having my phone next to me through the night, so that I can check the time. This meant I could easily charge it overnight as well.

The ever so useful USB point

Free Wi-fi was available throughout the hotel, a passcode wasn’t required, so it made access easy. Tea and coffee making facilities were in the room, along with a couple of cookies from the in-house deli.

Heading into the bathroom, the elegant chrome antique-style fittings immediately caught my eye and worked very well with the traditional theme of the bedroom. 

The shaving mirror - beautiful fittings

Love the period fittings

There’s a large walk-in rainfall shower complete with Green & Spring toiletries. These products are made with 100% natural ingredients from Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds.

Fluffy towels can be found on the heated towel rail accompanied by a couple of plush bathrobes. Oh, and another touch I like is the double-sided magnifying mirror.

We sneaked a peek in the “Pickwick Papers” themed bar and couldn’t resist sampling a tipple from a couple of local breweries.

Gary enjoyed the Pilcrow Pale Ale from the Dorking Brewery, and I went for the Pippin cider from The Crafty Brewing Co.

A beautiful local pint

The coaching inn theme was also continued through into the bar, and as a bit of fun you could saddle up at the saloon and enjoy your ale, or one of the bar’s Charles Dickens-inspired cocktails.

Saddle up at the bar

Dickensian charm

The Dozen bar also offers a wide selection of wines, and some of the sparkling wines are grown at the local vineyard Denbies Estate, just a couple of miles away.  While sitting in the lounge you may even catch a glimpse of the vineyards on the hillside.

After a freshen-up in our room, we then head down to The Dozen, The White Horse’s in-house restaurant. The Dozen not only caters for its hotel guests, but it also serves local cuisine to Dorking’s residents.

The White Horse in The Dozen Restaurant

The Dozen is a light modern, relaxed restaurant and bustling with diners, from couples to larger family groups.  The menu is quite varied from traditional British to modern European dishes and ranging from lite-bites to hearty winter warmers. The ingredients are fresh, seasonal and sourced from local producers, in particular, the Dorking Butchers just along the High Street.

The Dorking Butcher - Suppliers to The Dozen Restaurant

After a bit of pondering over the menu, which has quite a wide variety including, fish, steaks, and vegetarian options, I decided on the lemon chicken & kale soup to start. It had a lovely zingy taste, plenty of shredded chicken and really refreshing flavours.

Lemon Chicken & Kale soup - The Dozen Restaurant

Gary chose the small portion of Lobster macaroni cheese, a refined dish, of subtle flavours that just made him smile.  It is a firm favourite in the winter months in our household, although without the extravagance of the lobster.

The Lobster macaroni cheese

For the main course, I actually went for chicken again (it’s a bit of a favourite of mine), and chose herb roast chicken, French-style peas and thyme gravy. The dish was served in a large bowl which made it easier to enjoy the tender chicken and the pea, lardon and cabbage medley. You can also opt for additional sides, which I chose a creamy mash.

Herb roast chicken, French style peas and thyme gravy

Now Gary was a little disappointed, but it's his own fault really because he'd sneaked a peek at the menu in mid-January and the local sausage and mash had grabbed him.  However, the menu had changed, but his disappointment disappeared when he spied the pan fried calves liver with smoked streaky bacon.  A classic, seasonal, British dish, elevated with a rich colcannon mash, served with a sage gravy. 

Liver & Bacon - A favourite of Gary's

The generous portions had left us both feeling a little full after our meal, so opted to share a dessert.  We agreed upon the Lemon posset and shortbread. Which was a good move as it was lovely, very creamy and tangy and a delightful way to end the meal.

Lemon posset and shortbread

The next morning after a good nights sleep, we headed back down to The Dozen restaurant for breakfast. This time we were at the front of the hotel and enjoyed the sunlight peeping through the clouds across the Surrey Hills.

The Dozen for breakfast

Gary and I were both amazed at the number of breakfast choices. You could, of course, select the continental buffet option, including juices, cereals and toast. However, we couldn’t resist one of the cooked to order creations from “The Kitchen” menu.

Fresh Juices & smoothies for breakfast

I went for the Scottish smoked salmon, scrambled egg on multigrain sourdough, which I struggled to eat all the Salmon, as there was so much (so Gary helped me).

Smoked Salmon & scrambled egg for breakfast

Gary decided on the crushed chilli & lime avocado, poached hen eggs, tomato salsa and watercress, on multigrain sourdough. Which looked and tasted amazing.

The chilli avocado & poached egg

To give you other examples, they offered a full English breakfast with all the trimmings, smoked haddock kedgeree, buttermilk pancakes and a few twists on eggs benedict (to name just a few).

All washed down with fresh tea and coffee.

Coffee for breakfast,

The White Horse, Dorking is in an incredibly central location. We feel that when the beautifully restored Coaching Inn was refurbished, that care, and detail was critical when the restoration was carried out on this historic building.

The Traditional White Horse pub sign

Our overall experience was one of enjoyment from the peaceful surroundings to the locally produced restaurant cuisine.

Our only noticeable comment was that our room was not available to check-in from the specified time. However, this wasn’t a great inconvenience to us, and we were offered a complimentary hot drink, while we waited.

Why not check out one of their mini-break offers and book direct online?

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We were given a complimentary night at The White Horse, Dorking in exchange for an honest review and an account of our personal experiences.