Bedford Hotel

We stayed at the Bedford for my wedding in November and had a fabulous time. I do agree that the room rates are a little too high for the standard of the rooms (flat rates all year around which seems a bit odd) however the standards of service we received were exceptional. Our wedding party arrived on the Thursday night and were given our rooms, which were large and comfortable if a bit old fashioned, and yes, the floorboards are a bit squeaky but you need to remember that this is a very old building, not a brand-new travellodge-type plastic palace and the creaky floorboards are just part and parcel of staying somewhere with a bit of character. Thursday night we had drinks and sandwiches in the bar, excellent service. Friday night we had 16 for drinks in the bar and again all the staff were very friendly and accommodating. But Saturday was just so fantastic. The hotel laid out the red carpet (literally) for us on our return and served Champagne and afternoon tea in the lounge. As we had a small wedding we were able to have the 'Dukes Table', a 7-course meal which was one of the best meals I have ever had. Dinner was served in a private dining room which was beautifully decorated. All our guests have been raving about the food and service. If you are planning a special event, wedding, birthday etc I would highly reccommend the Bedford. Special thanks go to Simon and his team on Saturday night for their special attentions and to the hotel manager, Micheal who was polite, accommodating and always helpful with whatever daft questions this particular bridezilla asked!

We last went to this hotel for the start of our honeymoon, 25 years ago. We've come back from our latest trip today. I regret having been away for so long. I have nothing bad to report at all. I note one other reviewer has complained about the expense: we were fortunate in that we had a special Autumn Break deal which was £70 per person half board. This was exceptional value I feel. The dinner was excellent- one eats from the a la carte menu on the particular deal we had. This is not extensive, but in my view better to have a few dishes done really well, than a large selection of mediocrity. Our room was of a fair size, overlooking the car park, so not noisy, at all. (Rooms over the front are overlooking the main road, so might be noisier.) The large bed was fabulously comfortable. We thought it especially nice that a three star hotel was dog-friendly. Not only that- there was NO CHARGE for the dog! The Devon/Cornwall coast is only an hour's drive away, and Dartmoor with its walks only 5-10 minutes in the car. Tavistock is a charming small town. The hotel doesn't have a pool, but there is a nice public pool about 200m away, and there is also a park with a play area for children. The River Tavy runs along the back of the hotel. We found the staff very friendly and attentive, though didn't have to trouble them for much. We are already trying to work out when we can get there for another 3 day break this year!

Arrived at 8.30pm after a long drive only to be told that the kitchen had no capacity to serve us food due to a function. Had to go out to get take away pizza instead. Bar closed at 11pm, even to hotel guests. Rooms are very tired and small and have uncomfy beds. Staff seem very young and no one seems to be in charge. No night porter either, so when electricity went out in an old lady's room, it was up to fellow guests to find the fuse box and fix it. For £130 per night this hotel should be significantly better and needs to have a good deal of investment in the rooms to even get close to being value for money.

Due to theDue to the nature off my work I stay in many Hotels around the world and when working down in the west country I normally choose a large chain hotel in Plymouth. Having been let down by this large chain hotel and not to pleased with the service I decided to look for a location out of the City and was introduced to the Bedford hotel in the charming town of Tavistock within Dartmoor national park. The hotel has an enormous amount of character and resembles a castle with a courtyard in the middle. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and went beyond their duty to assit me with an internet problem .The bar serves some very good locally brewed ale, and the restaurant served me possibly the best rump steak I have ever tasted. I would certainly recommend this Hotel to anyone.

We've stayed at the Bedford Hotel several times, most recently on our wedding night. We also had our wedding reception there. The hotel staff have always been very friendly and helpful and we have always had a lovely room (either the Four Poster room or the Half Tester room). The rooms we have stayed in have always been quite spacious and very clean. The food is excellent and I can safely say that it is some of the best hotel food I have ever had. The food at our reception was also extremely good and the waiting staff are very helpful. The building itself is lovely and preserves all its old world charm. It is a little hot inside, but not too bad. The only downside is that it does not operate a non-smoking policy and our room had a stale smokey smell this time. However, I think we were unfortunate enough to occupy the room iimmediately after some smokers as it hasn't been like this on other occasions. Hopefully this should all change in July anyway, when the smoking ban is introduced. Tavistock is a lovely little town, with a great pannier market. It is also in a very good location for exploring Dartmoor. Overall I would strongly recommend this hotel and feel that it offers great value for money.

My wife and I stayed at the Bedford for two nights, as there was a promotion in the local paper offering half price B&B (worked out at £32 pppn). Tavistock is a great base for exploring Dartmoor and surrounding area, so the hotel is ideally situated. The building has an old charm about it in the reception rooms. Our room was adequate; clean enough if a little dated. The only real problem was the heat - we turned off the radiator, but thanks to a large hot water pipe and small windows we baked! Room also had a stuffy atmosphere - too much air freshener used, I think. The breakfasts were good and the staff very friendly and helpful. We also ate one night in the restaurant which was quite expensive (c. £17 for a main course). The food presentation was a bit pretentious, but appeared popular. The other night we went to the local indian restaurant; highly recommended but book at a weekend! All in all, we had a very pleasant stay. They do a very good job at running a standard hotel and you get what you would expect! Not sure if it would be worth the full rate, though.

Thought the cost was excessive for the room we had, it was very small, had to climb over the bed to pass my wife if she was sitting at the dressing table. Staff were very good, food excellent. Hotel closes at 11 pm, door is locked, so you have to let yourself in, so you can't have a drink or a nightcap. Overall not impressed with the hotel, would not stay again.

The most striking thing about this hotel is the building itself - it's built like a little castle with a large walled courtyard (in which there is lot sof parking) and a pretty little garden. We were a large group and we slightly mucked the hotel about a bit with the room bookings, but they took it all in their stride and were friendly and helpful. We had a nice dinner and there is a good bar to relax in. The rooms are nothing special, but clean and functional. The hotel has a good central location in Tavistock.

Whilst the location of the hotel is great, I still only feel that it is really only a B & B, rather than a 'hotel'. We stayed here one night for a wedding, and thank god it was only one night. Whilst it was by no means warm outside, the rooms were incredibly hot (heating was off) to the point of being almost unbearable. Yes the windows open... but onto a fire escape, so anyone could actually come into the room aswell - not an option if the room is left unattended. The rooms were incredibly drab... 'Olde English charm' doesn't come into it... it is all old tat. All of the floorboards creak in the hotel, whilst novel, is not particularly good if you are trying to sleep and people are wandering up and down the corridor. The walls are so thin, you may as well sleep in the corridor. The bathroom didn't feel clean at all. The rates which this hotel charges are astounding for what you get... we got a special of £75 a night bed and breakfast... and we felt ripped off!

we often go to the bedford for lunch when we visit tavistock and wanted to stay there as a treat. found a great price on laterooms. room ok, fair size, bathroom small (shower only). ambience downstairs lovely. food in bar very good and breakfast excellent. girl at checkout not very welcoming - they had charged us for drinks we hadn't had and I was made to feel it was my fault. overall enjoyed the experience though.