Maximum respect to the entrepreneurial skill & care of the management team for serving others during the peak of the Covid crisis, then carefully & ultra-safely managing the re-opening for their guests. Furthermore consideration for the well-being of their staff means that the hotel will close during some some holiday periods & why not? In view of the guest profile/demographic that will be no big deal, insofar that going away during holiday times can be deeply unpleasant on many levels.
Our visit was therapeutic, as it always is in this part of Dorset, a sort of return to the past & an England as it once was & remembered with joy tinged with sadness. That said the room fittings, the service, the cleanliness & the food was well up to & beyond the high standards expected in the 21st C. I'd drive a million miles for the spicy ginger pudding with Dorset clotted cream yum yum.
We were lucky to chill out in the small lounge area immediately after an early evening meal but I wonder if there was enough space should all guests have decided to do so later in the evening. I seem to recall two large sofas adjacent to the garden doors currently in the function room which I assume will replace the extra dining tables when the hotel is less busy. Of course guests spending afternoons & evenings in lounges spend less than when dining so I totally respect the possible commercial reasoning.
The Grange at Oborne deserves success & thus your support but avoid booking when WE want to visit!!!! less