A HOTEL and restaurant in Purbeck has been named as having the best seaside location in the UK.

The Pig on the Beach in Studland is the winner of its category in The 2017 Sunday Times Best Places to Stay guide, which is published on Sunday.

For the best place to stay on the sea, The Sunday Times was looking for a coastal escape with stunning views, watersports and sundowners by the sea. The Pig on the Beach, surrounded by beautiful coastline, was the newspaper’s hotel of the year in 2014.

The guide refers to the hotel and restaurant as a “quirky, canary-yellow Victorian pile in Studland”. It says the “herb-filled greenhouse restaurant serves generous portions of ‘proper’ food, befitting the appetites of those who’ve spent the day on the cliff paths or nearby beaches.”

The hotel has 23 bedrooms, with larger rooms fitted with chandeliers and freestanding baths. It also has two shepherd’s huts with woodburners.

Stephen Bleach, travel editor of The Sunday Times, said: "The South West has always led the field in terms of places to stay and it hasn't disappointed this year. Its hoteliers know exactly what we want from a holiday now: informal luxury, excellent local food and an authentic sense of place.”