SMITH FAVOURITE For families

Devon, United Kingdom

Bovey Castle

Price per night from$243.74

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP187.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Bovey Castle Photos

Style

Outdoorsy British beauty

Setting

Dartmoor parkland

Explore

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The thoroughly British hotel that has everything covered for family holidays, baronial Bovey Castle near Dartmoor has waxed jackets and wellies at the ready for your moorland adventures en famille. The estate is vast, so there's plenty to do for Smiths of all ages with exhilarating outdoor activities, delicious dining in the award-winning restaurants and a place to pamper yourself in the luxurious Elan Spa. 

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of red wine; little Smiths (under 14) staying for more than three nights get a Bovey Bear

Facilities

Photos Bovey Castle facilities

Need to know

Rooms

60, plus 22 three-storey country lodges with kitchens.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in is 4pm, although you're welcome to arrive earlier and use the facilities, have lunch and make yourself at home before your room is available.

More details

Room rates are usually room only. Breakfast costs from £25 for an adult (£15 a child); if you've booked the lodge, breakfast hampers can be pre-ordered for delivery straight to your door.

Also

Within the main building, there are two accessible bedrooms, each with a level entry wet room for guests in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. There's a disabled toilet and an emergency alarm.

At the hotel

Spa, indoor pool, restaurants, bar, family activities, helipad, 275 acres, gardens, woods, outdoor activities, golf course, driving range, tennis courts, putting green, free WiFi. In rooms: flatscreen TV, mini-fridge, kettle, free bottled water, safe, Temple Spa bath products, bathrobes and slippers. Lodges have fully equipped kitchens, a DVD player and utility room with washer/drier.

Our favourite rooms

The Valley Rooms take the win for us, courtesy of their sweeping Dartmoor views. All rooms from the Castle category up can take one extra bed or cot, but the Grand and Junior State rooms are much roomier – some have separate living spaces and dining tables – and they all have space for two extra beds. One of the Grand State rooms has a decked balcony directly overlooking the countryside. For bigger families, there are the 22 three-storey self-catering lodges dotted around the grounds; they each have three ensuite bedrooms and sleep a maximum of six adults and two children (with two extra beds). They also have a utility room, outdoor areas, enviably kitted-out oak kitchens with microwaves and dishwashers and a lounge and dining area.

Poolside

There’s a heated indoor pool which features a whirlpool at one end; it’s adults-only from 7am–9am and again after 5pm (until close at 8pm), but firmly family-friendly for the rest of the day. The area contains a steam room, sauna, a scattering of chic deckchairs and is utterly spotless with fine poolside views over Dartmoor National Park

Spa

The Elan Spa uses Temple Spa products in its relaxing and rejuvenating spa treatments; choose from a range of classic massages, body wraps, age-defying facials, aromatherapy and reflexology treatments, pre- and post-natal massages, and Jessica mani-pedis. The spa's service and attention to detail are excellent, and there's a gym too (open 7am to 8pm).

Pet‐friendly

One medium size dog can be accommodated in a single or Classic room and two dogs in a Castle room or above are welcome (£25 a night, for each dog) with advance notice. See more pet-friendly hotels in Devon.

Children

Very welcome. There are kid-friendly activities and designated family swim times (between 9am and 5pm). Cots, highchairs and stair gates can be provided and extra beds for under-14s are available for £20 per night.

Overview

Anything you can possibly think of, Bovey Castle has thought of it first (if it’s raining, they’ve even got a jacket for you) – from crolf (croquet mixed with golf), falcons and ferrets within the castle’s confines, to the parkland that lurks beyond. Wear out your little ones, so you can unwind over an Armagnac, spend a few hours at the spa, or hit the world-class golf course.

Best for

Kids of all ages.

Recommended rooms

The Castle Room, Valley Room, Junior State Room, State Room and Grand State Room can all fit an extra bed or two (for kids under 15) for £20 a child, each night).

Activities

Older children are welcome to join the adults for activities such as archery, clay pigeon and rifle shooting, and 4x4 off-road driving. For the younger ones, there's the Bovey Bears Den. The KidsZone opens daily for children aged 2–8; it contains craft materials, dressing-up chests, puzzles and games, and wooden kitchen sets. For the older kids (ages 8–18), the TechZone is equipped with an Xbox and games. For access to these areas, purchase a Playzone Passport at the activities desk for £15 a day for one child (£40 for the whole stay) or £25 a day for two children.

Meals

Children are welcome in both restaurants (over-5s only at Great Western Grill), and highchairs and menus are available.

Babysitting

Can be arranged in-house; book with the reception team.

Also

Letterboxing combines orienteering and puzzle-solving and there’s a trail within the grounds of the castle. Ask staff for details, but the basic aim is to locate hidden weatherproof boxes using clues, keeping a log of each one you find. The trail gives purpose to your walking and stops little ones getting bored.

Sustainability efforts

Bovey Castle has a silver award from Green Tourism for its sustainability initiatives, such as drawing all its water from the Bovey River, cleaning and purifying it before pumping it through the hotel.

Food and Drink

Photos Bovey Castle food and drink

Top Table

If you’ve got a babysitter, go for one of the tables by the Great Western Restaurant’s big windows for romantic, wistful views. If you haven’t, you can get some privacy at the front of the dining room, behind tactfully positioned planters.

Hotel restaurant

There are two restaurants: one formal, one less so. Inspired by the glamorous railway company that first opened the hotel, the Great Western Grill is an elegant art deco space with chandeliers, chinoiserie, champagne – the whole shebang. Specialising in afternoon tea, a meal that’s never overlooked by Bovey, guests can linger over sandwiches, scones and homemade cakes by the crackling fire, or overlooking the delicious estate on the terrace. Plus, children can do tea too. Smith's Brasserie is a more casual place to pull up a bucket chair for generously filled sandwiches or Mediterranean themed dishes; desserts are equally satisfying.

Hotel bar

The Oak Bar practically oozes cognac from the cracks of its wood panelling. It’s a sultry spot with high ceilings, huge views of the grounds, and an open fire. Behind the bar, there are 130 whiskeys, plenty of gins, malts and Armagnacs, Dartmoor ales and a long wine list. Children are allowed at any time, but it’s quite an adult setting.

Last orders

Afternoon tea at the Great Western is 1pm–4pm; dinner is until 9.30pm Wednesday to Saturday. Lunch and dinner at Smith’s Brasserie is until 6.30pm (9.30pm on Monday and Tuesday); open Sunday to Tuesday evenings only in low season.

Room service

You can also phone down if you need milk to be warmed for your children. Room service runs from 7am-10pm and includes simple stalwarts such as soup, fishcakes, ploughman's and burgers. A limited selection of sandwiches and snacks is available overnight.

Location

Photos Bovey Castle location
Address
Bovey Castle
Dartmoor National Park
North Bovey
TQ13 8RE
United Kingdom

Bovey Castle is a grand country house hotel in Devon that sits within the boundaries of Dartmoor National Park. It’s in the northeast of the park, near the tiny town of Moretonhampstead, which is notable for having the longest one-word place name in Engla

Planes

The nearest airport is Exeter International (www.exeter-airport.co.uk), a 45-minute drive away.

Trains

Exeter St Davids train station is a 40-minute drive away. You can reach Exeter St Davids in just over two hours from Paddington with First Great Western, or in three and a half hours from Waterloo with South West trains.

Automobiles

The hotel is easy to get to from the M5 - it’s about a 30-minute drive once you exit the motorway. If you’ve got a SatNav, the postcode may throw you off-course, so enter ‘Bovey Castle Golf Course’ instead. Your room rate includes valet parking. If you want to hire a car from Exeter, Thrifty and Avis have offices near the train station and Europcar is at the airport.

Other

There’s a helipad near the hotel. Call ahead to organise your arrival, and have your insurance documents ready. From here, the hotel will send a vehicle to meet you.

Worth getting out of bed for

There’s no cosier place to be on a rainy English afternoon. Take your afternoon tea by the fire and borrow a board game – there are three gorgeous communal rooms to while away the time in. Or, if you’re fond of the elements, borrow wellies and a wax jacket and do whatever you’d do if the sun was shining. Besides the golf and spa, there are lots of adult activities the hotel can help to arrange, such as cider and sloe gin-making in the barn, clay pigeon shooting, archery, and 4x4 off-road driving experiences.

The Dartmoor setting is bliss, and Bovey Castle puts you in prime position to enjoy it, even if you’re not usually very outdoorsy. You don’t need to travel very far away for an epic family adventure, whether it’s history, wildlife, the seaside or ice-cream that floats your brood’s boat. Follow the estate’s keepers on a one-hour tour of Bovey Castle Deer Park; you may even get a chance to bottle-feed baby fawns. Dartmoor National Park is just outside, too. If you don’t want to go it alone, Bovey’s activities coordinators can plan a tour to suit you, whether you want to set foot on some lesser-trodden spots, or you like the idea of a War Horse Moor Walk, taking in some breathtaking filming locations. Speed to the good stuff (and spare a certain Little Smith’s feet) by turning your walk into a safari in Bovey’s Land Rover Defender. There are spectacular views from the top of Hound Tor, a jumbled granite outcrop overlooking the moor. Impress (or spook) the kids by telling them where the tor gets its name: according to local legend, it’s made of a pack of hounds, turned to stone. Feeling energetic? There are bikes to borrow  within the property for the whole family for a half day or a full day, complete with a helmet, bike repair kit and map.

For a family day out at the seaside, Bigbury on Sea is your best bet – the water is shallow, the sand is soft and the area is dotted with rock pools to keep your budding marine biologists entertained. There are bodyboards to hire and lifeguards on duty. Make an adventure of Burgh Island – accessible on foot at low tide, or by ‘sea tractor’ at high tide. 

If you’re not spotting enough animals at Bovey, there’s loads to see at Pennywell Farm, a 30-minute drive away, plus farm-themed rides, theatres and quad bikes. Watch out for the miniature pigs, which steal the show every time. 

Local restaurants

Pubs like The Horse Inn on George Street in Moretonhampstead are worth going on holiday for. The dining room of the ex-barn is beautiful, the food locally sourced – a bright, exciting menu might include 21-day-hung Dartmoor steak, butter-poached hake or a pizza topped with home-made meatballs. The whole clan can relax: pizzas have fresh toppings and there's a chest of toys and a roomy patio. At Lake Sourton, the thatched Bearslake Inn is run by the Cross family, who live and breathe Dartmoor. The building used to be part of a farm and the hallways are adorned with photos of those who have lived and worked there. The restaurant is crisp and smart but wholly unpretentious. There’s a children’s menu and the chef will happily scale down most meals on the main menu too. The Ring of Bells in the local village of North Bovey is also a firm favourite, and walkable, via the river from the estate.

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