Devon, United Kingdom

Glebe House

Glebe House Photos

Style

Home-spun heritage

Setting

Verdant Coly Valley

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The family silver just happens to be homegrown at Glebe House. This heritage-rich hideaway sits along the Jurassic Coast in East Devon, where produce from the organic garden, farm and bakery supplies its Michelin-Green-Starred restaurant. Its owners — Hugo and Olive — took over the nine-key guesthouse from the former's parents, enhancing its welcoming warmth and original features with a wood-fired sauna, seasonal pool and curated activities rooted as firmly in the valley as the kitchen itself.

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Facilities

Photos Glebe House facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Nine, including three suites and two cabins.

Check–Out

10am, and check-in is at 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

Also

Unfortunately, historic structures and uneven, rural land make Glebe House challenging for those with limited mobility.

Please note

The restaurant is closed on Sunday evenings, but you’re welcome to help yourself to a selection of homemade goods from the kitchen table, including sourdough, charcuterie and pickles, for £20 a head.

At the hotel

Public beaches nearby, 15-acre grounds, tennis court (rackets and balls are available to borrow), shared living spaces, local walking maps, wellington boots to borrow, small shelf shop with local goodies, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: radio, a collection of books, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water and Reia bath products. Southleigh Wood, and Crow’s Nest One and Two also have bathrobes (available on request for all other rooms).

Our favourite rooms

Each of the nine rooms has its own distinct design: the Rose Room is so-called for the climbing La Follette that bedecks its sash windows; the Tulip Room is defined by its Ottoline de Vries wallpaper, and Copper Beech’s nature-nodding tones are contrasted by strawberry-illustrated walls in its bathroom. But it’s Southleigh Wood that has our hearts for its standalone, wooded setting, alfresco fire pit and small-but-sweet living area.

Poolside

Fringed parasols and striped sunloungers make Glebe’s seasonal outdoor pool (open May to September, 11am to 5pm) seem more Floridian than English. But turn to raise a glass to your moo-ing, dappled neighbours and you’ll be reminded this is Devon, after all.

Spa

There’s no spa as such, but this restorative retreat doesn't fall short when it comes to self-care. Watching over the valley’s patchwork of fields, the standalone oak deck is home to a wood-fired sauna (which has an indoor changing area and Smeg fridge filled with immune-boosting ginger shots, sunken cold plunge and steamy outdoor shower. Exclusive-use slots start at 8am, 9.30am, 3pm, 4.30pm and 6pm, running for 75 minutes and costing £70 for two — it’s an additional £10 a person for group steams.

Packing tips

A roll of bubble-wrap to protect any purchases you’ll inevitably make from Glebe House’s art-adorned walls.

Also

Most of the artwork on Glebe’s characterful walls has been hand-painted by Olive herself. But she also worked closely with artists including Rosie Harbottle, Ruby Bateman and Honor Addington to create a gallery of over 300 buyable pieces.

Pet‐friendly

Dogs are allowed in The Old Kitchen, Southleigh Wood, and both Crow’s Nest cabins for £50 (beds and bowls included). Pups must be kept on leads; they aren’t permitted on furniture, but are welcome to join you at a designated table in the restaurant. See more pet-friendly hotels in Devon.

Children

All ages are welcome; up to two camp beds for under-12s (or travel cots) can be added to The Old Kitchen and Southleigh Wood for an extra charge, and the Crow’s Nest cabins can interconnect to sleep families of four.

Sustainability efforts

At Glebe House, the vegetable garden and its polytunnel, cutting gardens, on-site bakery, temperature-controlled aging room and home-reared Lop pigs ensure as much food and drink is made in-house as possible. This slow-food approach — coupled with the owners’ commitment to supporting local, sustainable suppliers — has earnt Glebe’s restaurant its well-deserved Michelin Green Star (in 2026). Interiors, too, prioritise the South West’s makers, with artwork, furnishings and ceramics all crafted by regional artisans.

Food and Drink

Photos Glebe House food and drink

Top Table

Tables are scattered across the ground floor — most are communal and cross-diner chats are optional. The kitchen table has the best view of chefs at work, but during the summer we prefer the Garden Room for its verdant climbing vine and botanic views.

Dress Code

Glebe House has its roots as a family home, so whatever you feel most comfortable in works just fine around here.

Hotel restaurant

Like most things here, Glebe House’s restaurant has quite the tale to tell — and it started long before it earnt a heralded Michelin Green Star. Hugo spent his childhood cooking at the blazing-red Aga, passing plates to his parents’ dinner party guests from the hatch window and rotating between dining rooms. Little has changed: the Aga is still used to transform homegrown and locally sourced ingredients into the refined dishes that define the hotel’s provenance-proud menus; the hatch window is where you can watch head chef David and Hugo work their magic, and the quintet of dining rooms — though lovingly renovated — still host with the same warming ambience.

Offerings differ depending on the time of week: breakfast is served daily, with baked goods fresh from the oven, seasonal compotes, homemade yoghurts, and eggs baked to your liking as sapid staples. Monday to Wednesday evenings feature a three-course 'Kitchen Supper’ with comforting classics at centre stage. Thursday to Saturday, a more elevated (but equally soothing) six-course ‘Glebe House Dinner’ takes over. To close the week, traditional Sunday roasts are served at lunch and come evening, there’s a help-yourself set-up with handmade charcuterie adorning the kitchen table.

Hotel bar

There’s a small wooden bar where you can order drinks to any of the house’s fire-warmed living areas between 6am and 8pm. Menus follow the restaurant’s focus on Devon’s seasonal bounty, with a selection of cocktails, cordials and kombuchas made in-house from the garden’s herbs, as well as hand-picked wines, beers and ciders from nearby small-scale suppliers. 

Last orders

Breakfast is served daily from 8am to 10am; lunch is available on Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 2.45pm; and dinner is from 6pm to 8pm, Monday to Saturday.

Location

Photos Glebe House location
Address
Glebe House
Southleigh
Colyton
EX24 6SD
United Kingdom

Glebe House sits high above the idyllic Coly Valley in East Devon, not far from the small town of Southleigh and just three miles from the Jurassic Coast.

Planes

Exeter Airport is a 30-minute drive away and your nearest, though it typically only operates regional flights, with occasional routes to European hubs like Amsterdam, Paris and Mallorca during the summer. Bristol is a larger international airport, and around 90 minutes from the hotel by car.

Trains

Honiton is a 15-minute drive away, sitting along the West of England Line between Exeter and London Waterloo with daily links into the capital, as well as connections to Salisbury and Basingstoke.

Automobiles

Cars are required in this rural pocket of Devon, and there’s free private parking on-site for added ease.

Worth getting out of bed for

Glebe House’s friendly owners have enjoyed this pocket of East Devon for decades, and Olive has used her knowledge of the land to draw custom hiking maps for each room, with routes around the Jurassic Coast and its embracing fields. Hugo pulls his weight, too, with delectable, homemade picnics to take on your trek. During the summer, Beer Beach and Hooken Cliffs fill with sunseekers and in the winter, they make for wildly scenic walks. Pop between boutiques during a wander around the small village of Southleigh; or sample the region’s terrific terroir with a wine tasting and tour at Castlewood Vineyard. 

Alternatively, let Olive and Hugo take the lead with their enticing schedule of guided activities. Exact details are typically revealed a few weeks in advance and tend to change with the weather, but usually include outings such as twilight beach dinners, bread- and cider-making lessons, pickling workshops, and seasonal cooking classes. 

Local restaurants

Such awarded dining at hand means there’s little need to venture far for food. But should you crave an evening out, Eat at Millside in Lyme Regis matches Glebe’s Earth-kind ethos, with a seasonal menu that showcases regional seafood and a loved-by-locals reputation for its intimate atmosphere. If it’s no more than a pint and some proper pub grub you’re after, Branscombe haunt The Fountain Head has all the trappings of a truly British inn: low beams, crackling fires, Devon-made ales, hearty homemade classics and a scenic setting along the South West Coast Path.

Reviews

Photos Glebe House reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this green-minded guesthouse along the Jurassic Coast and finished browsing local homes for rent, a full account of their South West England break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Glebe House in Devon…

You might say with a surname like theirs, Hugo and Olive Guest’s destiny was predetermined — and thankfully, it’s one they’ve fulfilled with skill. One a chef and the other an artist, the couple has crafted Glebe House — set on a 15-acre expanse of lovingly tended land in East Devon — into a boutique stay with distinct flavour. 

Having taken over the estate from his parents, Hugo’s intricate knowledge of the valley’s terrain was paramount, shaped by the organic gardens, traditional pasture and woodland he spent childhood summers roaming. It’s a farm-to-fork vision that comes alive in Glebe’s kitchen, where he once cooked with his mother on the same Aga now used to spin local ingredients into refined, multi-course menus.  

Interiors please the senses with equal creativity, benefiting from Olive’s artistry across nine individually styled rooms. But it’s the owners’ love for hosting that ties everything together: a seasonal line-up of activities, from twilight beach dinners to breadmaking and pickling, proves that they’ve got the recipe just right.

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