Round Island Cottages, Dorset

A Private Island Stay in Poole Harbour

A unique island stay in Poole Harbour, with three holiday cottages set across 12 acres of woodland, shoreline and open space, reached by private boat from the mainland.

Arriving at Round Island, Poole Harbour is part of the adventure. Leave the mainland behind and travel by private boat across the harbour before stepping ashore onto a 12-acre private island of woodland, rhododendrons, shoreline and open space.

Three welcoming cottages—Curlew, Sandpiper and Pier—provide coastal accommodation for up to 21 guests, with a private beach shared by the cottages and the waters of Poole Harbour just outside. Book one cottage or take all three and bring family and friends together for an island holiday unlike anywhere else we’ve found in Dorset.

Life here follows a different rhythm. Days are shaped by the tides, the water and whatever you feel like doing next. Swim, paddleboard, explore the island or simply stay put and enjoy having this extraordinary setting around you.

This is the luxury of doing less—slowing down, reconnecting and enjoying uninterrupted time together.

Why We Love Round Island, Poole Harbour

At Round Island, luxury isn’t about polished interiors or hotel-style service. It’s having 12 acres of island to explore in Poole Harbour, a private beach, woodland and wildlife, and the freedom to spend your days swimming, boating, paddleboarding, crabbing and exploring.

It’s this rarity that made us want Round Island on Boutique Luxury Retreats. Having stayed here ourselves, we know just how special it is. There’s a wonderful sense of freedom from the moment you arrive by boat, and being surrounded by water and nature changes the pace of the entire holiday. With the wildlife of Poole Harbour all around, it feels remarkably removed from everyday life.

It’s no surprise that Round Island has so many repeat guests, including families who have been returning for many years. Once you’ve experienced island life here, it’s very easy to understand why. There are plenty of more conventionally luxurious places to stay, but very few that give families and friends an experience quite like this—and for us, that makes Round Island unquestionably worthy of a place in the Boutique Luxury Retreats collection.

At a Glance

• A private island setting: 12 acres of woodland, open space and shoreline, surrounded by the waters of Poole Harbour.
• Arrive by private boat: your stay begins with an approximately 25-minute journey across the harbour, creating a memorable sense of arrival.
• A private beach for guests: shared by the three cottages, with opportunities for sandcastles, crabbing and relaxing beside the water.
• Three cottages with their own space: Curlew, Sandpiper and Pier can be booked individually or together, giving larger groups flexibility over how they stay.
• Space to be together and apart: the cottages are close enough for groups to connect while each retains its own sense of privacy.
• Wildlife on your doorstep: peacocks, birds and other wildlife are part of everyday island life, with the natural landscape changing through the seasons.
• Accessible accommodation: accessible features are available across the island and cottages. Discuss your requirements, including boat access, with the owners before booking.

The Cottages at Round Island

Pier Cottage

Sleeps up to 7 guests

Pier Cottage has a ground-floor double bedroom with an en-suite shower room, alongside a first-floor double bedroom, twin bedroom and single bedroom. A main bathroom with bath and hand shower completes the accommodation.

The cottage has a well-equipped kitchen with dining table, a comfortable sitting room leading into a conservatory and a woodburner for cosy evenings. Outside, a private patio overlooks the beach, pier and moorings, with outdoor furniture and a BBQ for relaxed meals in the open air.

Sandpiper Cottage

Sleeps up to 8 guests

Sandpiper has a ground-floor bedroom with an en-suite shower room and dual-aspect windows offering panoramic views across the harbour and Long Island. Upstairs are a double bedroom and two twin bedrooms, alongside a main bathroom with shower.

A well-equipped kitchen with dining table and cosy sitting room with woodburner provide comfortable spaces to relax. Outside, there’s a private patio with garden furniture and BBQ, plus an outdoor wet room with shower and toilet, particularly useful after swimming or watersports.

Curlew Cottage

Sleeps up to 6 guests

Curlew offers one double bedroom and two twin bedrooms, together with a bathroom with shower.

The cottage has a well-equipped kitchen with dining table, a comfortable sitting room and a separate dining room with woodburner and double doors opening onto the patio and lawns. Outside, the patio has garden furniture and a BBQ, while an outdoor wet room with shower and toilet provides a practical space for changing and washing off after time in the water.

Our Stay at Round Island, Poole Harbour

We’ve been lucky enough to stay at Round Island ourselves, and it remains one of our favourite family escapes—the sort of place that reminds you just how much fun a holiday can be when everyone switches off and simply gets outside.

We took our own boat, SUPs and canoes, which meant the water became part of everyday island life. We could simply step out of the cottage and head off around Poole Harbour when the conditions suited. One minute we were paddleboarding, the next exploring by boat or canoe.

You absolutely don’t need your own boat, though. The owners will collect you from the mainland and take you across to Round Island, along with your luggage and kit. So if you arrive laden with SUPs, canoes and everything else that comes with a family holiday on the water, they can help get it all over to the island.

For us, having our own boat added another dimension. There aren’t many holidays where you can leave your cottage by boat, explore other parts of the harbour or head across the water to a local restaurant for lunch. If you’d like that same freedom but don’t have a boat of your own, boats can also be hired locally and the owners can put you in touch with the right people.

Back on the island, the children barely needed entertaining. They spent hours digging on the private beach, crabbing from the pier and swimming. With 12 acres to explore and no cars or roads to worry about, there was a wonderful sense of freedom that’s increasingly difficult to find on a family holiday.

And that, for us, was what made Round Island so special. It gave us proper time together. Days revolved around the tide, the water, food and deciding what adventure to have next rather than phones and screens. The island does actually have very good 5G—we just chose not to mention that to the children.

If you’re bringing your own SUPs, canoes or kayaks, we’d absolutely recommend it. If you have your own boat, discuss bringing that too. And if you have none of the above, don’t let that put you off. Getting to the island and enjoying life on the water is all part of the experience, and the owners can help make the arrangements.

Round Island isn’t simply somewhere we’ve visited for Boutique Luxury Retreats. We’ve stayed here, experienced it with our own family and loved it. For families and friends looking for somewhere completely different to reconnect, get out on the water and have an adventure together, this is one of those rare places we’d return to in a heartbeat.

Favourite moment: Sneaking off for a pre-breakfast paddle and finding a seal sunbathing on my SUP.

An Island Stay for Family and Friends

Round Island is particularly well suited to extended family holidays, multigenerational gatherings and groups of friends. It offers something increasingly difficult to find—plenty of time together, but enough space for everyone to have a little independence too.

With three cottages on the same island, large groups can come together for meals, beach days and adventures on the water, while different families or generations still have their own cottage, bedrooms and living spaces to retreat to.

It works particularly well for a longer holiday. Rather than simply passing through, you can settle into island life, find your own rhythm and enjoy this unusual setting together.

Discover Poole Harbour and Dorset

Round Island sits within the Wych Channel in the western part of Poole Harbour. Its sheltered waters, islands and varied coastline create a rich natural environment, with abundant birdlife and marine wildlife all around.

Alongside neighbouring islands such as Brownsea, Green, Furzey and Long Island, Round Island forms part of this distinctive harbour landscape. The views, tides and light shift throughout the day, while the island’s woodland and open spaces provide a natural habitat for its wildlife.

The wider harbour is also a wonderful setting for enjoying life on the water, with opportunities for kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming. The Dorset coastline beyond the harbour offers beaches and coastal walks too, for those who want to discover more of the area during their stay.

Getting to Round Island, Poole Harbour

Parking is available at Lake Yard Marina in Poole, where you’ll meet the Round Island caretakers and board Arripay, the private boat that transfers guests to the island.

The journey across Poole Harbour takes approximately 25 minutes. The owners can also transport your luggage and watersports equipment across, so bringing SUPs, canoes or other kit doesn’t mean you need your own boat.

Guests who wish to bring their own boat can arrange to arrive by water. If you’d like the freedom of having a boat during your holiday but don’t have your own, the owners can put you in touch with local boat hire providers.

A Family Adventure at Round Island

Round Island, Poole Harbour has all the ingredients for a modern-day Swallows and Amazons adventure: a private island setting, days on the water, wildlife, space for children to explore and plenty of time for family and friends to reconnect.

It’s the boat journey, the beach days, the adventures on the water and the feeling of having escaped somewhere completely different—the sort of stay you’ll find yourself talking about long after you’ve returned to the mainland.