Places to Stay With a Restaurant in Chichester

Ten places to stay in and around Chichester are published on BritStays with a restaurant on site. That's a small, specific set, but it covers more ground than you might expect: six hotels, two camping sites and two caravan parks, spread between the city itself, the countryside to the north and the coast. If you want to arrive, unpack and eat without getting back in the car, this is the list to work from.

Where the restaurants are

Seven of the ten sit in Chichester, with one each in Petworth, Midhurst and Hayling Island. In practice that means the city is your default choice if you want options, and the outlying three are worth considering if a particular kind of trip appeals.

• Chichester — the bulk of the choice, from the straightforward (Travelodge, which also lists takeaway food and disabled access) to hotel dining at the Millstream Hotel, The Ship Hotel and Bel & The Dragon, plus holiday-park catering at Lidsey Caravan Park, Holdens Caravan Park and Fishery Creek.
• Petworth — one entry, Woodfire Camping, which lists a bar, a restaurant and toilets. Useful if you want countryside without self-catering every night.
• Midhurst — Park House Hotel, which lists a swimming pool, gym and spa.
• Hayling Island — Langstone Quays Resort, also with a pool, gym and spa.

Coast or countryside?

For a coastal trip, Hayling Island is the obvious base, and Langstone Quays Resort is the only restaurant stay listed there. Funland Hayling Island is the nearby draw for anyone travelling with children who want a day of rides rather than walking. Further along the coast, Butlins Bognor Regis and Bognor Regis Museum give you a wet-weather fallback and a rainy-afternoon alternative respectively.

For countryside, look north to Petworth and Midhurst. Woodfire Camping puts you within reach of Cowdray House, while Uppark House and Woolbeding House (both National Trust) suit a slower day of grounds and interiors. Frensham Common and The Flashes, Churt Common are the ones to pencil in if you'd rather be out on heathland than indoors.

What the example stays tell you

Two things stand out. First, a restaurant often arrives with a bar: five of the ten list one, including Bel & The Dragon, the Millstream Hotel, The Ship Hotel, Woodfire Camping and Holdens Caravan Park. Second, the spa-and-pool combination is concentrated in a couple of places — three list a spa, three a swimming pool and two a gym, and Park House Hotel and Langstone Quays Resort account for much of that. The Ship Hotel lists a spa alongside its bar and restaurant.

Equally worth noting is what isn't widespread. Only three list WiFi and only three list disabled access, so if either matters, treat it as something to confirm rather than assume. Four are listed as near a train station, which is genuinely useful if you'd rather not drive after a meal.

Families, couples and dog owners

Families are best served by the parks: Fishery Creek lists a swimming pool, restaurant and playground, which covers most of a wet afternoon, and Holdens Caravan Park lists a cafe as well as a bar and restaurant. Travelodge's takeaway food is handy with small children who won't last a sit-down meal.

Couples will find more of what they want at the hotels — Park House Hotel, Langstone Quays Resort and The Ship Hotel between them cover spa, pool and gym, and the Millstream Hotel and Bel & The Dragon are the straightforward bar-and-restaurant options in Chichester.

On dogs, be straightforward with yourself: none of these ten carries a dog-friendly facility listing, so you'll need to ring and ask. Rules often differ between bedrooms, pitches and the restaurant itself, and a site that welcomes dogs on a pitch may not want them in the dining room.

When to book

With only ten restaurant stays in the region, and seven of them in one city, availability tightens quickly. Book furthest ahead for school holidays and sunny bank holidays, when Hayling Island and the Bognor Regis side of the coast fill first. Camping and caravanning at Woodfire Camping, Lidsey Caravan Park, Fishery Creek and Holdens Caravan Park is seasonal in nature, so check what's open before you plan around an on-site meal.

Two practical habits will save you trouble. Book your table at the same time as the room or pitch — an on-site restaurant is not the same as a guaranteed seat on a Saturday night. And if you're combining a stay with Marwell Zoo, Uppark House or Cowdray House, check their own opening arrangements first and fit the stay around them, not the other way round.