Dunster Castle Hotel, Minehead

A prominent pub and hotel in the heart of Dunster’s very attractive High Street, it consists of two good sized rooms across the front as well as a smaller snug at the rear. The two front rooms were both quite contemporary in style with wood strip flooring and pale grey paintwork on the walls. It definitely had more of the feel of a hotel bar than your traditional pub, and in some ways almost felt a bit bland and corporate, with little in the way of any character. The right hand room did have an old tiled fireplace, but the bar counter was to the left and I suspect that this room was more intended for dining, although many of the tables in both rooms were laid up for food. The snug at the rear was a little more traditional with a low beamed ceiling, some old leather sofas and pale grey wood panelling on the walls, although is still felt rather open and not particularly cosy. We were directed to the front bar though, so perhaps this area is for hotel residents only. There was a beer garden at the rear, although this looked a little tatty and was in reality no more than a patch of grass at the end of the car park. Quite a contrast with the well-manicured lawns, attractive flower beds and views of the castle that you get from the beer garden of the Luttrell Arms just up the road. The solitary beer on tap was Tribute whilst the only cider was Thatcher’s Gold, and even that seemed slightly past it’s best. Overall, I can see little reason to visit here with much better options nearby, and it is perhaps rather telling that it was almost deserted on our recent bank holiday weekend visit.