Boringdon Hall is an historic Country House Hotel with a beautifully equipped spa, located on the…read moreoutskirts of Plymouth.
The house itself has a colourful history: a 16th Century Tudor Manor House that once hosted the likes of Sir Walter Raleigh, it was remodelled in the 17th Century. The owners - the Parker family - moved permanently to nearby Saltram House in the 18th Century and the house, let to farmers, slowly deteriorated. It was partly demolished around 1800, but continued to be occupied until shortly after World War II. It was restored and rebuilt as a hotel 1986-7 and restored again after a fire in 1989. The Spa is a very recent addition.
It's hard to describe as a hotel without the description sounding like that of a country house. The exterior has two splendid square towers, a smaller tower enclosing the large 17th staircase, and a wealth of Tudor doorways and windows.
Inside, old doors abound, but the most impressive room by far is the lounge bar, located in the Great Hall. This has an original doorway and a restored fireplace dated 1640, with the Royal Arms of Ling Charles and two huge plaster caryatids (statues) representing peace and plenty.
The decorated plaster ceiling is actually a modern pastiche, as is the panelling, but the staircase incorporates genuine 17th Century fragments.
Off the bar are the Brasserie restaurant (where we ate) and the first floor gallery is used for both fine dining and breakfast. There's a "secret" bar accessed through a hidden door, and a quiet rear lounge. It's all furnished with large, traditional sofas and chairs.
Rooms are scattered throughout the main house, and the former outbuildings and barns. In the main house, some are large and splendid in the four poster style, other spacious and modern (in the annex), but ours, in the east wing, was a more standard modern double, as you might find in a Marriott or Holiday Inn, albeit with two foot thick stone walls.
Overall, we had a very comfortable stay. The bed was fabulous, and the room had nice touches such as a jar of locally baked shortbread with the tea/coffee facilities, fresh milk, water from the hotel's own artesian well. The toiletries were lovely if strongly scented.
The breakfast was a mixture of cold buffet and hot food cooked to order, with vegetarian options. Both breakfast and dinner were fine, if not outstanding. (Dinner around £60 for two with a glass of wine.) Otherwise staff (mostly in their 20s) were lovely, ever present, and eager to please.
The highlight, though, is the Spa. This includes a 20m swimming pool; a large hot water pool with an outdoor jacuzzi and several different water features; a well-equipped gym; two saunas, two steam rooms and a lapidarium, all with various treatments available. It's fitted to a high standard and free to hotel guests. We spent a couple of hours there before dinner every day.
Practicalities: there are three car parks, the house bring accessed by a narrow drive, off a minor road on the edge of the sprawling suburb of Plympton. A car is pretty much essential, as it's up a steep hill and some way from public transport (it's about 5 miles from Plymouth station).
It's well located to drive into southern Dartmoor, or the beautiful Saltram House and it's park (National Trust).
