A Proper Harbour Pub, With Rooms Above
You come in off the quay and the ceiling is the first thing you notice: low black beams strung with fairy lights, murals of the ships that once worked this water, a dartboard on one wall and a blackboard of cask ales on the other. The Sailors Return is not trying to be a hotel and never has been. It is the sort of pub where the barman knows the fishing crews by name, and there are eight bed-and-breakfast rooms on the two floors above the bar.
What guests come back for is the breakfast. It is cooked to order from half past six in the morning, which is why anglers and boat crews use the place, and it turns up in review after review as the thing that made the stay. There is a private entrance for guests once the pub has closed for the night.
Two Georgian Houses on the Old Harbour
The building is a pair of late-18th-century quayside houses knocked together into a public house, Grade II listed since January 1994, standing at the corner of St Nicholas Street where the Old Harbour bends. The name is painted large across the white gable in gold and black, above the hanging sign and the flower baskets.
Step out of the door and the working harbour is right there: fishing boats unloading, charter skippers taking bookings, seafood restaurants along Custom House Quay. The sand is 500 yards north, the shops are behind you, and the station is a fourteen-minute walk. Guests score the location above nine out of ten, and it is genuinely the reason to book.
Simple Rooms, Honestly Described
The rooms are plain and comfortable rather than designed. Expect a bed, a flat-screen television, a kettle with tea and coffee, a DVD player left over from an earlier era, carpet, heating and towels. Some rooms are en suite; others share one of two bathrooms on the landing, and two rooms look out over the harbour.
Be clear-eyed about the building. There is no lift and no ground-floor bedroom, the stairs to the attic rooms are steep, and several guests have said the mattresses are ready for replacement. If you want a hotel-standard bedroom this is the wrong booking. If you want to be steps from the boats at a modest price, it is exactly the right one.
Why Book The Sailors Return?
Weymouth has plenty of seafront hotels. This is what the Sailors Return does that they do not, and what it asks you to accept in exchange.
You cannot stay closer to the harbour
The Old Harbour is the property's own doorstep, the beach is 500 yards north and the town's shops sit immediately behind. Charter boats, seafood restaurants and the Town Bridge are all within a couple of minutes on foot, which is why the location is the highest-scoring thing on the listing.
Breakfast from half past six
The kitchen starts at 06:30 and cooks to order. Guests single it out constantly, and anglers heading for an early tide plan around it. The kitchen came through its most recent Food Standards Agency hygiene inspection, in February 2026, with a good result.
A real pub, not a hotel bar
Three regular cask ales, a pool table, darts, and live music and karaoke on several nights a week, up to five in peak season. That is a genuine attraction if you want an evening downstairs, and a genuine warning if you want silence by ten.
Straightforward value in a pricey town
Weymouth's seafront rates climb hard in July and August. Rooms here are basic, some share bathrooms, and the trade-off buys you the harbour on your doorstep at the budget end of the town. Payment is bankcard or cash only.
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Interesting Points About The Sailors Return
- The listing sites badge free parking, but Dorset Council has taken guest houses in the harbour permit zones off permit eligibility. Such premises can now only buy Swannery Car Park permits, with a ten-minute unloading window at the door, and a permit costs £10 a day. Plan to use a nearby council car park instead, free overnight between 18:00 and 08:00.
- One listing FAQ says there is no restaurant. It is a food-serving pub whose cooked breakfast is the single most praised thing about the place, served from 06:30.
- There is no lift and no ground-floor bedroom. Rooms sit on the two upper floors and the last flight to the attic rooms is steep enough that guests mention it by name.
- It is regularly confused with the thatched Sailor's Return at Chaldon Herring, a different pub about ten miles east. This one is the harbourside pub at 1 St Nicholas Street.
- The building is a pair of late-18th-century quayside houses, Grade II listed since January 1994, and the pub has been run by the same independent company since 2011.
Rooms & Accommodation at The Sailors Return
Family Room (3 Adults)
3 adults · Sea view · Private bathroom
Best for three adults travelling together who want the view and their own bathroom. This is one of the two rooms that look over the water, so you wake to the boats rather than the street, and it is the room to ask for if the harbour is the reason you booked.
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Large Double Room
2 guests · Sea view · Private bathroom
The pick for a couple who want space and an en suite rather than a landing bathroom. It is the largest of the doubles and the second of the two rooms with a view over the water, which makes it the one that goes first on a summer weekend.
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Triple Room 2 Shared Bathroom
3 guests · 2 shared bathrooms · Flat-screen TV
Works well for friends or a small crew sharing costs, so long as everyone is relaxed about walking to a bathroom on the landing. Two bathrooms serve the shared rooms. Bring the group that wants to be near the boats and the bar, not the one that wants an en suite each.
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Twin Room with Shared Bathroom
2 guests · Shared bathroom · Flat-screen TV
Suits two travellers who want separate beds and are here for the town rather than the room. It is plain, warm and central, with a television, a kettle and heating, and sharing a bathroom on the landing keeps it at the cheaper end of a Weymouth summer.
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Family Room with Shared Bathroom
Family · Shared bathroom · Under the eaves
Right for a family who value the position over the polish. It sits up in the attic storey, so weigh the steep final flight before you book it with small children or heavy bags. Children of any age are welcome and those aged six and over are charged as adults.
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Single Room with Bathroom
1 guest · Private bathroom · About 9 m²
The obvious choice for a solo traveller who would rather not share a bathroom. About nine square metres, so it is compact, but it has everything a working night or a walking stopover needs and solo guests make up much of the pub's trade.
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Single Room with Shared Bathroom
1 guest · Shared bathroom · Flat-screen TV
The cheapest way to sleep this close to the water, and a sensible pick for one night after a late one in town. Choose this if the bathroom arrangement matters less to you than being able to walk everywhere in Weymouth in ten minutes.
Check PricesIs The Sailors Return Right for You?
Best Suited For
- Solo travellers and couples who want to be central and are happy in a pub
- Anglers and boat crews, thanks to the 06:30 breakfast and packed lunches on request
- Groups sharing costs, with triple and family rooms and two bathrooms between them
- Anyone arriving by train, with the station a fourteen-minute walk away
Worth Considering Alternatives If
- Anyone who needs step-free access, because there is no lift and no ground-floor bedroom
- Light sleepers, with live music several nights a week and traffic on St Nicholas Street
- Guests who need a guaranteed en suite, since several rooms share bathrooms
- Dog owners, as pets are no longer accepted in the rooms even though the bar is dog-friendly
Amenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Flat-screen TV
- DVD player
- Electric kettle with tea and coffee
- Heating and carpeting
- Ironing facilities
- Towels provided
- Free Wi-Fi
- Private bathroom in some rooms, shared bathrooms in others
The Pub Downstairs
- Three regular cask ales
- Pub food and a cooked breakfast from 06:30
- Live music and karaoke several nights a week
- Pool table and darts
- Outside seating
- Special diet menus on request
- Dog-friendly bar area
Services
- Daily housekeeping
- Wake-up service
- Packed lunches for early starts
- Ironing service
- Invoice provided
- Private guest entrance after the pub closes
Policies
- No pets in the rooms
- Non-smoking throughout, with an outdoor smoking area
- Children of any age welcome, those aged 6 and over charged as adults
- No cots or extra beds
- Bankcard and cash only
- No lift and no ground-floor bedrooms
Location and Getting Around
The pub stands at 1 St Nicholas Street on the south-west side of Weymouth's inner harbour, one street back from Custom House Quay. Everything a visitor wants is walkable from the door: the beach and Georgian Esplanade north, the shops behind, Nothe Fort and its gardens around the harbour to the south, and the station a fourteen-minute walk inland.
Two local quirks worth planning around. The Town Bridge is a lifting bascule bridge that stops road and foot traffic on a published schedule, roughly every two hours through the day with extra lifts on summer evenings, so allow a few minutes if you are crossing between the harbour's two sides. And do not count on free parking: see the note below.
- Weymouth Old Harbour and Custom House Quay: On the doorstep
- Weymouth Beach: About 500 yards, a 7-minute walk
- Brewers Quay and Hope Square: About 0.4 miles, an 8-minute walk
- Nothe Fort and Nothe Gardens: Just over half a mile, a 15-minute walk
- Weymouth railway station: 0.7 miles, a 14-minute walk
- RSPB Radipole Lake: About 0.9 miles, an 18-minute walk
- Sandsfoot Castle: 1.5 miles by the Rodwell Trail, about 30 minutes on foot
- Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park: 1.7 miles north, a short bus ride
- Portland Bill and Chesil Beach: 20-25 minutes by car
- Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door: 30-40 minutes by car, or the X54 bus
Getting to Key Locations
Within a 15-minute walk: all 3 places below.
Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0
Weymouth Beach
7 min walk
About 500 yards from the front door, a seven-minute walk around the harbour, Weymouth Beach is the three-mile arc of fine golden sand that made the town. The water shelves gently and stays shallow a long way out, which is why it keeps turning up in national best-beach lists, and the seasonal sand sculptures are a fixture of the summer. Deckchairs, donkeys and a Georgian esplanade behind.
View on Map
Photo: Mr Eugene Birchall, CC BY-SA 2.0
Brewers Quay and Hope Square
8 min walk
About 0.4 miles south, an eight-minute walk across the harbour, Hope Square and the old Brewers Quay brewery buildings hold the quieter half of the town's eating and drinking. Independent pubs and cafés sit around a Victorian courtyard on the water's south side, and the square is the natural stop on the way back from the fort.
View on Map
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0
Nothe Fort
15 min walk
Just over half a mile around the harbour, a fifteen-minute walk past the boats, Nothe Fort is the Victorian coastal fortress on the headland and the town's leading heritage attraction. Underground tunnels, a gun deck and 360-degree views along the Jurassic Coast. It opens daily from late March to early November, and the surrounding Nothe Gardens are free to wander.
View on MapHow to Get to The Sailors Return
- From the station on foot: Leave Weymouth station onto King Street and head south towards the harbour, about fourteen minutes and 0.7 miles. Cross to the harbourside and follow the quay round to St Nicholas Street on the south-west side of the inner harbour.
- By car: Approach on the A354 from Dorchester and the A35. Do not rely on parking at the door: use a nearby council car park, which are free overnight between 18:00 and 08:00 and charged by day, or the free Mount Pleasant Park & Ride with the Service 2 bus into town.
- By bus: The Kings Statue interchange and the Town Bridge stops are both a few minutes' walk. The Jurassic Coaster X53 runs west towards Bridport and Lyme Regis and the X54 east towards Lulworth, Wareham and Poole.
- Crossing the Town Bridge: The bridge lifts on a fixed schedule, roughly every two hours from 08:00 with extra lifts on summer evenings, and pedestrians wait a few minutes while it does. Build it into your timings if you are walking from the north side of the harbour.
- Arriving after the pub closes: There is a private guest entrance so you can reach your room once the bar has shut. Check-in runs from 13:00 to 19:00, so tell the pub if you will be later than that.
Weymouth for First-Time Visitors
Weymouth pairs one of the finest sandy bays on the south coast with a genuine working harbour, which is a rarer combination than it sounds. King George III's visits from the 1780s turned it into a fashionable bathing resort, and the Georgian Esplanade curving behind the sand is what that money built. The harbour side is the older, saltier half: fishing boats, charter skippers, seafood on the quay and a bascule bridge that stops the traffic several times a day.
It is also the most practical base for the Jurassic Coast. Portland Bill, Chesil Beach and the Fleet lagoon are twenty minutes away, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door around forty, and the X53 and X54 buses run the coast in both directions. July brings the Dorset Seafood Festival to the harbour on the property's doorstep, and Monday-night fireworks light the seafront through August.
Watch: Ten Things to Do in Weymouth
A local runs through the town's best: the golden beach and Georgian seafront, the gardens, Bowleaze Cove and the family favourites, so you can picture what is on the doorstep before you book.
Is The Sailors Return worth it?
Yes, if you book it for what it is. You get a Grade II-listed pub on the Old Harbour, a breakfast cooked from half past six that guests rave about, warm staff and the whole of Weymouth within a short walk, at the budget end of a town that is not cheap in August. In exchange you accept steep stairs and no lift, some shared bathrooms, tired mattresses and a lively bar below. Book it for the location and the welcome.
What Guests Say About The Sailors Return
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Good
The pattern is consistent and easy to read. Guests love the position, the staff and the breakfast, and say so in almost every review. What pulls the scores down is the rooms themselves: dated furnishings, thin mattresses, the steep climb to the top floor and noise from the bar or the street. Nobody seems to leave surprised, which suggests the listing sets expectations about right.
Rated the stay very good and loved being within reach of everything, though the stairs were a downside.
Praised the lovely, friendly team and a great central spot where you can do your own thing. A little traffic noise, but manageable.
A warm, welcoming stay with a clean room, excellent breakfast and cheerful staff. The only gripe was the very steep final flight to a top-floor room.
Rated the location excellent and found the old mattress uncomfortable.
Summed it up as getting what you pay for: friendly staff and a decent breakfast in a very central spot, with basic rooms and the usual downsides of being in the middle of town.
Booked in as a group of eight bikers and rated the harbour location excellent and the breakfast very good.
Friendly staff, a fabulous breakfast and a brilliant location, but felt the mattresses badly need replacing for a proper night's sleep.
Friendly, helpful staff and a good included breakfast in a great location. Rooms are basic but fine for a short stay after a night out.
Good to Know Before You Book
Do not count on free parking
Listing sites badge this as free parking and that is out of date. Dorset Council removed guest houses in the harbour permit zones from permit eligibility, so the pub can only buy Swannery Car Park permits, at £10 a day, with a ten-minute window at the door to unload. Ring the pub before you travel, and otherwise use a nearby council car park, free overnight from 18:00 to 08:00 and charged by day.
Stairs, and no lift
Every bedroom is on the two upper floors and there is no lift or ground-floor room. The last flight to the attic rooms is steep enough that guests mention it in reviews. Ask for a lower-floor room if stairs are difficult, and think twice with heavy luggage.
Live music several nights a week
Expect entertainment downstairs, including folk nights and weekends and up to five nights a week in peak season, sometimes running to around midnight. If you are a light sleeper, ask for a room away from the bar when you book.
Cash or card, and an early breakfast
The pub takes bankcard and cash only, with no other payment methods. Breakfast starts at 06:30, packed lunches can be arranged for early starts, and cancellation terms depend on the rate you choose, so check the conditions before you confirm.
Photos of The Sailors Return
Frequently Asked Questions
Not in the way the listing sites suggest. Dorset Council has removed guest houses in the harbour permit zones from permit eligibility, so the pub can only obtain permits for the Swannery Car Park, at £10 a day, with a ten-minute unloading window at the door. Contact the pub before you arrive. Otherwise use a nearby council car park, which are free overnight from 18:00 to 08:00 and charged during the day.
Breakfast is cooked to order from 06:30 and guests report it as included in their rate. It is the most praised single thing about the property, and packed lunches can be arranged if you are heading out early.
Yes, it is a working pub with the rooms above it. There is live music and karaoke on several nights a week, up to five in peak season, sometimes until around midnight. Ask for a room away from the bar if you sleep lightly.
Some rooms have private bathrooms and others share one of two bathrooms on the landing, so check the room type carefully. Two rooms look out over the harbour: the Large Double Room and the Family Room for three adults.
No. All eight bedrooms are on the two upper floors, there is no lift and no ground-floor bedroom, and the final flight to the attic rooms is steep. The accommodation is not step-free.
No. That is a different, thatched country pub about ten miles east near Lulworth. This one is the harbourside pub at 1 St Nicholas Street in Weymouth, and the two are frequently confused online.
Not in the rooms. Dogs were accepted in the accommodation in the past and some directory listings still say dog friendly, but that now applies only to the bar.
Check-in is from 13:00 to 19:00 and check-out is by 10:00. A private guest entrance means you can get to your room after the pub closes for the night.
Weymouth Beach is about 500 yards away, a seven-minute walk, and the railway station is 0.7 miles, roughly fourteen minutes on foot. Nothe Fort is a fifteen-minute walk around the harbour.
Cancellation and prepayment terms depend on the rate you choose and the exact conditions show before you confirm. Payment at the property is by bankcard or cash only.
Other Stays on the Dorset Coast
The Norfolk Hotel, Weymouth
The calmer alternative in the same town: a seafront hotel on the Georgian Esplanade directly opposite the sand, with a wide spread of family and sea-view rooms.
Britmead Guesthouse, West Bay
Fifteen miles west along the Jurassic Coast, an adults-only guest house above West Bay harbour with its own parking and a big garden.
The York Hotel, Weston-super-Mare
A seafront hotel on the Somerset coast, for a second stop if you are working your way round the south west.
Ready to Stay on the Old Harbour?
Eight rooms above a listed pub, two of them looking over the water, in a town that fills from July to September and again for the Seafood Festival. Check your dates now.
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