Bovey Castle Hotel

I stayed there with friends on a golfing break in one of the lodges that are situated 3-4 minutes walk form reception. The staff were very attentive, bot not obtrusive, even offering to put cold beer in the fridge for when we came back from visiting the local area. Decanter of Gin, Vodka and Whisky ready in Situ, and a fridge stocked with bits and pieces. There was a power cut for around 15 hours, but we were kept very well informed as to the situation, and given, torches, candles and as much help as could be summoned. Lunch down by the Spa was very nice, and the Dinner in the main restaurant was very good, particularly the very nicely cooked Turbot Fillet. I would recommend Bovey to anyone, especially the lodges, very well finished, lots of room, and everything you could wish for really. Superb location, thanks to my Tom Tom, fairly easy to find, and a very challenging golf course as well, especially when the wind and rain are almost hoizontal, could not wish for any more

Stayed at bovey castle on a 2 night 'deal' . Wanted a quiet room, and without asking we were upgraded to a wonderfully quiet spacious room overlooking the valley. The views were spectacular, the room decorated perfectly, and a perfect size. The bed was huge and exceptionally comfortable and i am extremely fussy about beds! The bathroom was lovely and big. There was complimentary sherry in the room, which was a nice touch, as well as tea and coffe and shortbread, and we were left a jar of fudge one night. The hotel overall was beautiful. the grounds stunning and the interior wonderfully done. The Gallery had a huge burning fire and sofa's to relax on. The dinning room was 1920's and had a nice atmosphere. The staff were overall good, and friendly. However, we did have a few annoying things happen. Firstly, the bathwater IS yellow. Then we realised our central heating wasn't working and although we were swiftly delivered a fan heater, it wasn't quite the same. The TV wouldn't tune in properly either which again in a hotel charging the price they were is not really what you'd expect. We were never offered to have a newspaper to brought to our room, and on our second day we tried to find one in the hotel after breakfast, but only US papers could be found. I asked the receptionist twice to find me a paper but she came up with nothing. Again for a hotel charging this price i thought this would be a basic service. One of the reasons we booked this hotel was for the pool, which we were surprised to learn when we tried to use it was closed on the full day of our stay. The food was above average but nothing special. we ordered soup as a starter and it came in a small tea cup, prompting my husband to say 'cup-a-soup'. Considering if you got soup on room service it would cost £19+ (£9+ for the soup, £10 tray service) I would advise anyone to take a couple of cup-a-soups as room snacks with them. Apart from this I am glad we stayed, and if you want outdoor activities they cater for most things. They just need to iron out a few basic problems and it would be perfect.

Lets be clear. This a very good hotel but sadly nothing special as I had been led to believe. Great marketing, average delivery! This hotel has many 4 star features and is no better than say Hanbury Manor which is a good benchmark 5 star hotel and yet rooms are generally £100 more. Entrance to hotel is not as spectacular as hoped for. The corridors have those ghastly old english firedoors with lined glass yuk!! However the room was very good but bathroom quite 4 star and oh no yellowy brown bath water!! No minibar and tatty wardrobes. Restaurant quite ordinary, no musice in bar or restaurant, limited menu, but good food that was reasonably priced. Piano bar has that old gentlemans club feel about it. Lovely grounds are consumed by a golf course. Nice indoor pool and steam room. The title Bovey Castle is misleading as there is nothing castle like about the hotel and the retro capture of the 20s is great if that is what you want and expect. In many ways it does lack atmosphere and sadly there is no wow factor. No reason to return...

Have just returned from a delightful weekend at Bovey Castle and would highly recommend staying here for a special occasion. The staff cannot do enough for you and their manner was exceptionally friendly, courteous and professional. The Hotel itself has a real genuine olde english feel to it, with wood panelling and cosy open fireplaces adding to the ambience. The grounds are breathtaking and the Hotel has a good array of activities on offer if required. The Spa was first class as were its staff. There are also some great pubs within a 2 mile radius and the Hotel gladly operated as a taxi service for us one evening. Yes Bovey Castle is expensive and most of us will run out of money if we stay here too long or too often. However we left with a feeling of having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at an excellent upmarket location where the staff went out of their way to ensure that our needs were met.

Oh dear. Great setting, lovely building, but an awful hotel. Understaffed (conflicting stories (unsolicited) from disgruntled staff as to whether this is as a result of redundancies by the new owners, or staff remaining with Peter de Savary (who has now sold out)). Our stay included: 1. no dinner reservation booked for the first night (even though I had email confirmation from the hotel) - we accepted a later booking but eventually got to dinner at 10 pm (one hour after the later booking we had accepted); 2. no hot water - we were told it was back on after dinner, it wasn't; we had 12 hours without hot water and only got moved to a room with hot water when I refused to pay the first night's accommodation and threatened to check out (wish I had now); 3. no booking at a local pub for dinner (even though, again, this had been confirmed by the hotel by email); 4. no tea or newspaper delivered to the room on the second (and thankfully last) day of our stay; 5. the manager informing us (again without any prompting) that asbestos removal works were being undertaken on a round the clock basis under the restaurant. Would I stay there again? No.

My friend and I stayed at Bovey Castle for one night on our trip to Devon, and we very much liked the property. The hotel ground is large and breathtaking, and the staff is mostly friendly (although the bus boy was a bit inconsistant in his service speed and attitude). There were wellies and umbrellas at the foyer for guests' use if they decide to explore the property in wet weather, which I thought was an adorable touch. We checked in around 6pm and the receptionist personally showed us to our room, where a CD called something like Sophisticated Melody was being played, creating a true atmosphere of 1920's old england. The room was a good size (we had a castle room with valley view) and the bathroom had large windows so you can see the gorgeous valley outside when you shower. Next to the TV was a bottle of wine or sherry (I'm extremely ignorant in wine/alcohol and can't tell one from another!) And underneath is a china jar of butter shortbread and two boxes filled with teabags, instant coffee and condiments. You can serve your own afternoon tea in the room.... and the view from the windows are just as magnificient as the ones from the grand rooms on the ground floor. The weather was miserable during our stay but made a good day to stay indoor by the roaring fire. There were plenty of activities for people who wanted to move around. Kids can spend time with the owl expert, hatch eggs or ride ponies. Adults can go horseback riding, play golf, go fishing, do archery, and many more. I just relaxed in the public rooms, enjoying the view of the rolling hills, and went to the spa and pool for a day of lazy pampering. The spa treatment prices are equavilent to other hotels of its level, and the massage I had was pretty good although felt quite short at 50 mins. The heater in our room wasn't working so the maid brought us a very efficient portable heater within minutes. The bed was large and comfortable with very warm down comforter and pillows. I had a wonderful night of sleep and was looking forward to the full english breakfast the next day. I shouldn't have anticipated so much. The breakfast was buffet style and although it provided everything in an english breakfast, there was something missing. Think the bacon was a bit tough, the eggs ran out and weren't restocked until 15 mins later, the coffee was weak, not much selection of fruits (and some of the diced pineapple were brown). Luckily the breakfast was included in the room rate, otherwise I'd be even more disappointed to have paid a big price for a mediocre breakfast. I would definitely recommend Bovey Castle to my friends, and I plan to take my parents there in the Spring. It's great for people who appreciate nature and want to be in Dartmoor National Park while staying comfortably. Just be sure to bring a credit card with very high limit.... as you will surely need one!

I like bovey castle its really nice and although 2 nights with dinner, wine, champagne and wine tasting set us back £700 I enjoy myself. May not £700 worth but it was nice. They did tell us that Ebays are treated different and get the worst rooms in the place.... so be aware Make sure you get the afternoon tea - it was very nice The rooms are nice but dated, it is a lovely part of the country and a great place to stay and see it

My wife and I were lucky enough to win a 3 night stay here on an EBay auction - at about 30% of the list price! Whilst we had a wonderful stay, I'm not convinced that it warrants 5 stars for anyone paying even near to the full rate. Hotel and grounds are stunning. Public rooms are breathtaking. Bedroom was fine (altho opening directly onto Golf Clubhouse terrace, and would have lacked any privacy if this had been a busy time of year). But it wasn't perfect. In the Pool area, throughout the 3 night stay, the steam room was out of order and the jacuzzi worked only intermittently. The Pool itself was fine, but the drinking water ran out on day 1 and was never replenished. We had a nice meal in the restaurant, but we've had much better meals at at a quarter of the price (For £60 per head plus minimum £30 for a bottle of wine - your expectations are entitled to be high). We decide to eat out on subsequent nights and did have better meals in local pub/restaurants. I played golf and enjoyed it, but the guys in the proshop insisted afterwards on whipping my bag, clubs etc away, keeping them for 2 days in the store room and then putting them back in the car just before we left. Great, except everything was a bit wet and they did nothing to dry them, even leaving a wet jacket inside the bag for me to fish out before we left. It might just have been me being paranoid, but I got the distinct impression that (as EBayers) we were slightly second class citizens. That's fair enough in a way, but it didn't leave us with an impression of 5 star service. Overall, magnificent for what we paid, but not up to scratch for those paying (and expecting an experience consistent with) these 5 star prices.

Having read some of the negative comments about Bovey Castle, I felt I had to share my extremely positive experience of staying there. My boyfriend and I went to Bovey Castle last December to celebrate my birthday. At first sight, the hotel is breathtaking. Our car was taken and valet parked and we were met at reception by a very helpful woman who offered us glasses of sloe gin, helped us check in and then took us to our room. The room itself, although one of the cheapest doubles available, was aboslutely charming. The bed was huge and comfortable, there was a CD player, decanter of sloe gin, biscuits, tea, coffee, hot chcolate etc. Later, when we came back from dinner, a jar of homemade fudge had been left next to the bed and a hot water bottle had been placed in it. Dinner itself was lovely. The menu and ingredients were of the highest quality and the staff were efficient and discrete. We also had afternoon tea in one of the beautiful drawing rooms. Admittedly, at £11 a person, this is not cheap but the experience of sitting next to a roaring fire in such a grand room, drinking perfect tea and eating delicious scones and cake can't be beaten! When we left the hotel we were surprised to find that our car had been immaculately hand washed. It is little touches like this which make a stay at Bovey Castle so special. We are returning to Bovey Castle this year for my birthday and I cannot wait!

Despite being concerned of what we might expect given some of the previous reviews, we recently stayed for 2 nights D,B&B and found the staff friendly and helpful, the facilities first class, the food and dining experience of high quality, the accommodation well presented and the location simply stunning! The golf course was exceptionally well turned out and the golf professional staff extremely helpful and courteous. On the negative side, the clubhouse bar ran out of draught beer on the first evening with a re-stock/repair date advised of almost a week (I'm sure they could do better!) Other than that and the fact that the venue is still rather pricey, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Bovey Castle to anyone who is happy to pay for exclusive quality and service in a beautiful location overlooking a Devonian valley with views out towards Dartmoor. Definitely worth a visit.