The Best Hotels in Devon
By CTH Editors
15 hours ago
From spa hotels to seaside retreats
Staycations are as popular as ever, with Devon a top choice for its beautiful sandy beaches and charming seaside towns. Wondering where to stay? Here are the best hotels in Devon.
The Best Hotels in Devon 2024
Reviews are taken from this year’s Great British & Irish Hotels Guide – purchase your copy from Friday 3 May.
Watersmeet Hotel, Woolacombe
The proud recipient of Condé Nast Johansens’ hugely prestigious Best Waterside Hotel for UK and Ireland 2024 award, Watersmeet boasts one of the most stunning locations in North Devon, offering dramatic views of the rolling surf and beyond towards Hartland Point, Baggy Point and Lundy Island. Overlooking Combesgate Beach, the property has its own private steps down to this sandy cove, which is perfect for bodyboarding and rock-pooling, and rarely gets crowded, even in peak season. The 28 individually decorated bedrooms and suites offer comfort and luxury to complement the extraordinary vistas. At the heart of Watersmeet is a beautiful terrace spanning two levels, the perfect spot for lunch or afternoon tea in the sunshine, or a candle-lit dinner in the two AA Rosette Rocks Restaurant, serving meticulously crafted dishes featuring local ingredients from the land and sea. Guests can further enjoy a treatment in the fabulous on-site spa or take a dip in the indoor or outdoor pools. New for the 2024 season is a multi-purpose area on the lawn for informal and formal alfresco dining and smaller wedding ceremonies and private parties.
BOOK
Doubles from £185
+44 (0)1271 870 333; [email protected]
Lympstone Manor, Exmouth
This handsome country house hotel is the culmination of experience gleaned by chef patron Michael Caines over an exceptional career gaining Michelin stars. There are 21 glamorous guest rooms that take their names from birds of the Exe Estuary, as well as six shepherd’s huts at the foot of the vineyard looking up through the vines to the house. Indeed, the soul of the place revolves around the Exe and its wildlife. The birds of the estuary are featured in the staircase wallpaper, and the bedrooms, each decorated with a watercolour of their avian namesake, match the feathered colour schemes. One of the main reasons to come is for Michael’s exquisite and intelligent food with a Michelin star and 5 AA Rosettes. There is a second casual dine restaurant; The Pool House Restaurant & Bar, too, with its outdoor heated swimming pool and tennis court. Located on the Exe Estuary and at the gateway to the Jurassic Coast, the 28 acres of grounds feature an 11-acre vineyard producing English sparkling wine and a collection of wines from barrel-aged chardonnay to Provençal-style rosé and more.
BOOK
Doubles from £395
+44 (0)1395 202040; lympstonemanor.co.uk
Gara Rock, East Portlemouth
Perched on a clifftop near Salcombe, Gara Rock began life as a coastguard station and lookout in 1847. In 2016, the transformation began to the beautiful boutique hotel you see today. Surrounded by picturesque countryside, the 33 bedrooms have calming sea views and sumptuous interiors. The ‘Out of the Ordinary’ accommodation steals the show, from the deliciously romantic Secret Suite to the plush three-bedroom Penthouse, with a freestanding roll top bath. Talented chef Paul Hegley heads up the kitchen, with the restaurant offering breath-taking views of the rugged coastline and a fine-dining experience that celebrates creativity and the best ingredients Devon has to offer. Relax at the Wild Rock Spa and zone out with a blissful treatment, swim a few lengths, or soak in the jacuzzi. And if the weather is on your side, head to the beach or along the South West Coast Path to make the most of the breathtaking views. This year, make the choice to escape to elegance at Gara Rock – a destination where every moment is an invitation to unwind, indulge, and savour some time just for you.
BOOK
Doubles from £180
+44 (0)1548 845946; gararock.com
Dittisham Hideaway
For those who like to glamp, rather than camp, Dittisham Hideaway is the answer, with its collection of treehouses, shepherds’ lodges and an American Airstream. Just outside the village of Dittisham, a mile from the River Dart and ten minutes’ drive from Dartmouth, the back-to-nature setting lives up to its name. The only sounds at night are a gently babbling stream and the owls hooting in the trees. The four cedar-clad treehouses are ideal for up to two adults and three children, an d includes a welcome hamper for the first morning. The most recent addition are the five larger-than-usual shepherds’ lodges sat in a wild flower meadow; one has a neighbouring mini children’s hut, kitted out with bunk beds, next door. The Airstream has been beautifully restored with burnt orange leather seats and a shiny space-like silver ceiling in the sitting area. All accommodation comes with a private deck, wood-fired hot tub and BBQ, and the majority is dog-friendly too. When you’re not out exploring, there is plenty to do onsite, too (think boules, table football, chess, ping pong, woodland walks, board games and books).
BOOK
From £195 for a Shepherd’s Lodge or the American Airstream. From £275 for a treehouse.
+44 (0)1803 925034; dittishamhideaway.co.uk
The Collective at Woolsery
Set in the pretty village of Woolsery in the wilds of North Devon, The Collective is the genius creation of tech entrepreneurs Michael and Xochi Birch. In 2018, the couple transformed the local pub The Farmers Arms into a fantastic restaurant, steeped in humour and style. Since then, they have breathed new life into the local chippy, village shop and post office, plus a 150-acre farm. There are a handful of beautiful cottages, suites and rooms, housed in village buildings, to bunk down in, from the retro-feminine Shop Suite One with its fabulous pastel palette to a historic former smithy-turned-contemporary cottage for two. Families will love Hillside Cottage, with its four roomy bedrooms and generous social spaces. Foodies are sorted, too, thanks to The Farmers Arms, which knocks out unapologetically British classics (don’t miss its stonking Sunday roast), using produce straight from the farm. Locally brewed ales and beers alongside seasonal cocktails and soft drinks (crafted from own-made syrups and cordials) line the cosy bar. The charming towns of Bideford, Barnstaple and Bude are also nearby.
BOOK
Doubles from £275
+44 (0)1237 488480; woolsery.com
The Bull Inn, Totnes
This radically ethical pub with rooms at the top of Totnes high street is run with a people and planet-first ethos and guided by a triumvirate of its own ‘No-Bull Rules’ for how to dine, trade and work in the most eco-minded way possible. That means organic beer and wine alongside simple, seasonal veg-led food (grown not flown, much from nearby Riverford Farm), day boat fish and ‘mindful meat’ for the daily changing menu in the restaurant. Nine sustainably designed and stylish rooms feature lime-plastered walls, reclaimed furniture, reworked vintage fabrics, handmade tiles, organic mattresses and linens, and artisan-made lighting. None of this comes as a surprise when you learn that the owner is Geetie Singh-Watson, who opened the world’s first official organic pub, The Duke of Cambridge, in Islington in 1998. For families, there is The Albatross, a four-bedroom, self-catering apartment across the road with a private terrace. Plus, there is an event space where all kinds of creative workshops (drawing, watercolours, making with willow), classes and talks are held.
BOOK
Doubles from £130
+44 (0)1803 640040; bullinntotnes.co.uk
Bovey Castle, Dartmoor National Park
First opened as a hotel and golf resort in 1930 by Great Western Railways, Bovey Castle is set in 275 acres of Devon countryside, surrounded by Dartmoor National Park and is part of the Eden Hotel Collection. Choose from cosy, elegant rooms in the historic manor house or private mews across the courtyard. There are also three-storey self-catering lodges in the grounds, ideal for families or friends travelling together who want independence while still being able to dip into all the hotel has to offer. This could include watching a complimentary falconry display, collecting eggs from the estate’s chickens or booking in for a massage at the Elan Spa (the lodges come with fully equipped kitchens, open plan living and dining, and housekeeping). Executive Head Chef Mark Budd uses fresh ingredients from Devon and the South West to create seasonal menus for one-AA Rosette Smith’s Brasserie (in the summer, sit on the outdoor terrace that overlooks the River Bovey) and three-AA Rosette Great Western Grill. Activities available include everything from golf to archery, and from off-road driving to fly fishing and cider making.Â
BOOK
Doubles from £325
+44 (0)1647 445000; boveycastle.com
Cary Arms and Spa, Babbacombe Beach
Visitors descend a cliff lane and dramatic views of the English Riviera unfold. Once ensconced in the cosseting welcome of Cary Arms & Spa – owned by Peter and Lana de Savary – you feel as though you’re in a Mills & Boon romance and Famous Five adventure rolled into one. Its delightful bedrooms, with echoes of New England style, are each supplied with a stick of rock on the snow-white pillows. Eat Devon beef and Lyme Bay lobster in the stone-walled bar, or on pretty terraces that hang over the bay. Bedrooms in the inn are sumptuous and seaside-fresh, while the beach huts and suites are beautiful and contemporary. Nine smart cottages sleep larger groups (including the latest addition, Foxes Walk, a real showstopper), each with their own gardens and sundowner spots. While you wouldn’t usually expect sybaritic luxury at a self-styled ‘Inn on the Beach’, there’s actually a state-of-the-art spa with a hydrotherapy pool, steam and sauna, and holistic Gaia treatments. Romantic, family friendly, perfect for walkers and dog lovers, there’s something here for everyone.
BOOK
Doubles from £295
+44 (0)1803 327110; caryarms.co.uk
The Pig at Combe, Gittisham
As you approach this Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor down the mile-long drive, surrounded by meadows, it slips tantalisingly in and out of sight, building a sense of romance that’s utterly fulfilled on arrival. Always a special place, its latest iteration is brimful of life, bonhomie and stylish informality. With the main bar installed in the historic Grand Hall, the fun starts the moment you walk in. There’s a wonderful, double-aspect conservatory restaurant with bare wood floors, restored shutters and incredible views; cosy snugs with roaring fires; a bar with a wood-fired oven in the ‘derelict-chic’ Folly; huge, raftered bedrooms in the attic; an atmospheric private dining room in the original Georgian kitchen and so much more. In the walled herb and infusion gardens, two Potting Sheds are now delightful, calming treatment rooms, beyond which stretches 3,500 acres of Devonshire countryside. Close by are the wide-open spaces of Dartmoor and the World Heritage coast to explore at your leisure. Just like all the other PIGs, this is a total joy of a hotel.
Doubles from £255
+44 (0)1404 540400; thepighotel.com
