'Florentinos' A nice looking room. We were there on a…read moreSaturday night at about 8 o'clock and the place was about three quarters full.The waitress was friendly and attentive and the we didn't have to wait for too long for each of our courses.The creamy garlic mushrooms I thought were excellent.I had the Italian beefburger followed by a Vanilla panna cotta and my wife had the Beef stew followed by Vanilla ice cream.To drink we had a small glass of rose,a half pint of Pepsi and a bottle of Peroni. The final bill came in at around £25 a head which I didn't think was too bad.

From the owner: The Royal & Fortescue is an astonishingly charming luxury hotel situated at the head of…read moreBarnstaple's historic High Street. Steeped in history, this elegant Georgian hotel offers stylish accommodation and a vibrant convivial atmosphere. With two restaurants to choose from, as well as a gorgeous lounge bar and sleek new cocktail bar, there's nowhere better to unwind.

As someone who spends his time away from home. I make it my business to always stay in the more…read moreunusual hotel or guesthouse. chain hotels just dont do it for me. If you ever happen to find yourself in Bideford Devon then this hotel is quite superb..From little touches like Botttled water in the room too teddy bear on the bed Aah! I was lucky enough to have the room with the magnificant four poster and the wonderful river view. You will definatekly be guaranteed a peaceful nights sleep..Not a sound! The food is wonderful . the chef respected as one of Devons finest. I cant fault this hotelIf you are a single occupany you get money off too.bargainIll be back!

Wow, love this place. It's a hidden gem, an enchanted garden. To reach the hotel, you walk up a…read morepath which is flanked with large beautiful sculptures. We were really going to the five times award winning restaurant, Terra Madre (part of the Slow Food network), for their 3 course lunch at £14.95 en route to our destination in North Devon, so did not have time to book ahead. Booking is essential. So we were offered the Bar Menu instead, which was actually a very good choice, 3 home made tapas dishes for £9.95, which consisted of a rather large bowl of piping hot buttersquash soup with two slices of homemade crusty bread, garlic prawns, hake in tomato cassoulet, garlic mushrooms, and Moroccan style lamb casserole. We added a couple of side dishes of mixed salad and homemade sourdough bread and olive oil. What a feast, all so, so delicious too! Fresh and more-ish, yum! With the booked lunch, you get a free ticket for the Sculpture Park, otherwise it is £4.50. After the meal, we had a look at the interesting art gallery cum dining hall. Some lovely pieces of art and paintings which can be bought. There are also tables outside to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere, have a drink or eat al fresco. Will need to return to wander round the Sculpture Park properly, in such a relaxed and beautiful setting.

Broomhill lies in one of the most glorious valleys in North Devon surrounded by hundreds of acres…read moreof woodland and bound by its own stream. The Broomhill Sculpture Park displays one of the largest permanent collections of contemporary art and sculpture in the South West. 300 sculptures by over 60 sculptors are sited in 10 acres of garden that present a wonderful balance between art and nature. This place is quite fantastic and is apparently one of very few art hotels in the UK. During your stay you can not only walk around the gardens and view all of the sculptures, but you can even purchase them afterwards (if you bring a very big chequebook!!). The gardens were a little drab when we visited, (but it was December!!), but I would imagine that during the warmer months they are quite breath taking. An art gallery is situated in the main dining area of the hotel itself and has many many pictures to view and purchase. The place caters for all sort of events such as weddings, large and small parties and corporate events (with its very own corporate facilities). The hotel is also renowned for its many Jazz events held throughout the year. The rooms are very reasonably priced and you get alot for your money. They are very spacious and have everything you need to make your stay very comfortable, with beautiful views over the Devon countryside. The setting is very rural and therefore very quiet and makes for a very relaxing stay and a very quiet nights sleep. The staff are a husband and wife combo (Dutch), and are two of the friendliest people you will ever meet in this business, who could not do enough to help you (especially if you like to drink tea!!). The food is organic and sourced from the local area, which is probably why it tastes absolutely fantastic (the Morroccan food is especially nice). Even if you don't stay at the hotel you should try out its restaurant, which is also very reasonably priced considering the standard. If I was going to be very very fussy then I would have to say that the alcohol is a little pricey, but I suppose it is a hotel after all. Saying that, if you visit their website, you will find that the hotel does do a number of offers to bring the price of staying at the hotel down even further i.e. B&B and reduced price evening meal. A must stop when visiting N. Devon.

Overnight I've become a huge fan of this chain of budget hotels which I only discovered by accident…read morewhen surfing the internet. Vastly superior to Travelodges though sometimes almost as cheap, or even cheaper when they offer special deals (three nights for the price of two, etc). The rooms are clean, spacious and comfortable, with plenty of storage and a superior standard of furniture and fittings. Our room had a telephone, large flat-screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities with lots of teabags, hot chocolate and fresh biscuits each day. In addition to the large bed was a plush two-seater settee. The en-suite had a large power shower and, again, the tiling and fittings were of a high standard for a budget hotel. There's a modern lift to rooms (very good disabled access), beautiful carpets and curtains, and a foyer with local information and a sweets and chocolate machine. Breakfast came free with the room rate and was served across a short walkway in the Jack Rabbit pub. It consisted of a continental-style buffet with an excellent choice of cereals, fruit juices, fresh fruit, yoghurt, breads, toast, preserves and croissants. A machine provided good quality teas or coffees. You can eat as much as you wish and there are helpful staff on hand to assist if need be. A free newspaper (Daily Mail) was also available each day. All in all, a superb value package at only £89 for 3 nights (the special offer this month)! Certainly a chain to watch - there are 200 branches around the country and more planned.

This hotel is comfortable and the rooms cosy. Heating is good and there is decent wifi. There is no…read moreroom safe. They have both a heated indoor and an out door swimming pool. Staff are very pleasant. Breakfast is standard English breakfast and is served buffet style. The chef cooks your eggs to order. Take as many sausages, bacon, mushroom, baked beans as you like. But I was disappointed to see a £3/- charge on my bill on check out. Our room rate included prepaid breakfast. One morning we had to order breakfast. I asked for an omelette and One sausage. I was given 2 sausages and charged £3/- for the sausages! What I object to was that I was not warned about the extra £3/- for 1 sausage! Then to hide it in my bill is disgusting! This is NOT best practice. Charge if you must, but please warn your guest first. I still had to pay the £3/- for 1 sausage. Be warned check your bill carefully!

Would like to have given this hotel a good review, but due to an incident with an overflow issue…read morein the bathroom and a lying member of staff I can't. The hotel itself is fairly decent and the rooms themselves are fair for the price. My partner and I stayed here for one night. We decided to have a bath when we first checked in. We started the bath and went to take our clothes off. When we went back into the bathroom the bath was overflowing, which according to a certain member of staff is something that happens fairly regularly, naturally we were worried that we'd be in trouble for this. I asked the member of staff who dealt with us if we'd be liable for any costs. He assured me we wouldn't as "its happens quite regularly, so you won't be charged" We were then moved to a lesser room (again, not something either me or my partner had any real issue with) at some point during the evening our door was knocked and another member of staff asked us if "we'd had another overflow or split a bottle of wine" as they'd had another leak through (surely they'd know what room it had come through from, rather than just try and blame us) Anyway, we then enjoyed the rest of our evening and even asked to check out late as we'd slept so well. When we then went to check out we were suddenly told we had to pay £180 for damages caused by the overflow. The overflow that we had been told the night before they'd had problems with, and that we wouldn't be charged for. As it was the same member of staff, I said to him that he assured us it wouldn't cost anything. He then said that "yes I did say that" and still presented us with the bill. We didn't have the money to pay in full there and then so we paid as much as we could there and then and said we'd settle up the outstanding later. In the meantime we spoke to trading standards and the hotel ombudsman, as well as a plumber friend. All of whom agreed that we had a good case not to pay the £180 for several reasons; it being a common occurrence at this particular hotel, the member of staff telling me to my face that we wouldn't be charged and then admitting to me he said it as he presented me with the bill, and the fact the overflow obviously has issues within this hotel. The member of staff who said all this has since told his manager that he never said what he said. So we ended up essentially being called liars. We don't lie and the fact this piece of scum has basically said we do I am furious. He knows the truth and we know the truth and we will be happy to stand up in court and/or to his face and look him in the face as he tells his lie yet again. So I say this, if you want to risk being served by a liar then go ahead and book a room, but be warned ... you never know what total rubbish the person serving you could be speaking. The bill has now been settled up but we will be pursuing our case through trading standards, the hotel ombudsman, and the citizens advice bureau.

Ah, Ashwick House. What a delight…read more I hadn't been to Exmoor before, and so was very excited as we weaved our way through its treasure trove of villages, bound for Dulverton. Then we took a turn on to the moor, across a cattle grid, down a single track road, and past the Exmoor Pony Centre. In a wooded Coombe lay Ashwick House, an old shooting lodge tastefully refurbished into a very comfortable country house hotel. The first good point about this hotel became evident immediately - the host came out to meet and greet us with an easy, relaxed air. Staying at Ashwick House feels more like staying with some friends for the weekend, but in luxurious comfort. The host and hostess are very friendly, but also allow you enough privacy to enjoy your weekend. The balance is perfect. When you enter the house you'll encounter the main hall - very much the central room. A grand hall for a grand house, but still cosy enough to enjoy your evening drink in. It also has a very good collection of oriental furniture which manages to blend perfectly with the age and atmosphere of the house. We were then shown to our room. Nicely decorated and a newly refurbished bathroom. I was particularly pleased to see that there was a small fridge in the corner meaning we had been given fresh milk in a jug. (I can't stand those horrible plastic pots of milk.) You have the option to dine in at Ashwick house, and I would strongly recommend trying this at once during your stay. The 5 (or is it 6) course menu is excellent, with a good selection each evening. The price is at the higher end of the scale, but I was perfectly happy to pay for the quality of the food. The chef is also happy to be adaptable, as proved when I asked for plain pasta pre-marathon! The breakfast was also very good. Homemade fruit compote and yoghurt, a selection of cereals and then the delicious full english. I've never seen a full english presented so well, and boy did it taste good! Slightly sad to see the absence of beans, but I think that's more my fault for not asking for them. Ashwick House made me realise the value of a weekend in a country house hotel. Not something I've done that much, but I have now made a mental note to indulge myself in the future. I think I'll definitely be returning to enjoy this magnificent area of the West Country. (I haven't mentioned any of the history of the house, as I'll let you enjoy discovering this when you stay!)

Follow the river,cross the cattle grid : where were we going as we followed the directions across…read moreExmoor to Ashwick House ? It turned out the directions were as well thought out and attentive to detail as Ashwick House itself. The house,beautiful in its individuality and graceful in its decor was at the same time comfortable and welcoming. A nice touch: the host came out to greet us as we arrived and later showed us around some of the private rooms. The food was excellent;the menu varied and we particularly enjoyed sitting in the hall before the wood burning stove savouring the first drink of the evening whilst hearing from our host and hostess about the history of the house. We did not see the red deer this time but we'll be back to this special place

A gorgeous hotel with incredibly friendly and warm staff. We were welcomed with a complimentary tea…read moreservice and enjoyed a meticulously clean and comfortable room, a delicious breakfast with staff happy to accommodate special dietary needs, and an incredible dinner. I would definitely return!

Had stayed here and attended a celebration well before reviews were only word of mouth…read more They say you get what you pay for service and accommodations wise. Indeed that is true here.

Woo-hoo! Talk about dreams being fulfilled and standing in the same spot that Luisa and Martin…read more(from Doc Martin) have been in! I didnt stay at the hotel, and unfortunately, we arrived a bit too early to eat dinner, so cant really provide any reviews relating to either of those things. What I can however talk about is the thrill and sheer exuberance I felt, walking around in the parking lot of the Old School Hotel, seeing the Doc's house, the lovely Harbor bay below, Bert and Al Large's restaurant - it was like visiting an old familiar house! The staff here were super friendly, even when I do think the must get super tired of all the gawking tourists, and cant wait to come back here another time and hopefully this time, experience dinner too! Yelp 312/ 2018

Is there a statute of limitations on Yelp! reviews? I stayed here in 2007, not knowing who Doc…read moreMartin was (I've since become a big fan of the show.) In any case, I came here without a reservation, and I was promptly assigned to the Chemistry room. The room was small (but I did ask for the cheapest they had), but I remember how comfortable it was. I was a big fan of all the pillows on the bed, into which I sank with pleasure. It had an ensuite bathroom, and it was very warm and cozy. I especially liked the view across the harbor. They had a very nice little bar near the reception, and the dinner I had there (fish) was elegant and excellent. A nice couple from Cornwall that I had drank with earlier even invited me to join them. I still remember the conversation. I'd highly recommend staying here while in Port Iaasic.