Devon, United Kingdom

Hotel Endsleigh

Rates from (inc tax)$210.72

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 21 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (21GBP), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Hotel Endsleigh – Devon – United Kingdom Photos

Style

Fairy-tale fishing lodge

Setting

Unspoilt Devonshire woodland

A glorious, grade I-listed shooting-and-fishing lodge, Hotel Endsleigh rests in a stunning valley between Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The grounds are perfect for long woodland walks, fishing excursions, and other outdoorsy pursuits. It’s no surprise that the Bedford family, who at one point owned a third of Devon, decided that this was the most beautiful plot of land in the area on which to build their impressive home.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

Afternoon tea for two, with freshly cut sandwiches, various cakes, scones served with clotted cream and jam, and a pot of tea

Facilities

Photos Hotel Endsleigh – Devon – United Kingdom

Need to know

Rooms

18, including four suites and a gatekeeper’s lodge.

Check–Out

11am. Check-in, 2:30pm, but if you arrive earlier the porter can take care of your luggage while you explore.

Rates

Double rooms from $210.72 (£163), excluding tax at 20 per cent.

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 21 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP195.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

More details

Rates don't usually include breakfast (£20 a person for full English buffet).

Also

Massages can be booked with 24 hours’ notice. Picnics, horse riding, archery, clay-pigeon shooting, falconry, fishing, private guides, Pilates/yoga instruction and bicycle hire can all be arranged (some activities require advance notice).

Hotel closed

The hotel closes for two weeks every January.

At the hotel

The lodge is set in 108 acres of soul-enriching woodland and gardens, including a stretch of the Tamar river and a croquet lawn. Massages can be booked with 24 hours’ notice. Library, free WiFi, badminton, table tennis, games.In rooms: flatscreen TVs and DVD players, free bottled water and Ren bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Room 8 has a marvellous garden view, as does Room 5, which also overlooks the river. You can see the river and the garden from the bathroom of Room 3. Suite 1 on the ground floor has direct access to the gardens through French doors. The Gatekeeper’s Lodge has private, enclosed gardens. And some of the suites have fridges for keeping that champagne ice-cold.

Packing tips

Outdoorsy gear.

Also

Two-night minimum stay at weekends.

Children

Many rooms at this family-friendly hotel have space for an extra child’s bed (£40) or cot (free). Three of the suites have sofa-beds, suitable for teenagers or extra adults (£40). Babysitting and listening can be arranged.

Overview

Many rooms at this family-friendly hotel have space for an extra child’s bed (£30) or cot (free). Three of the suites have sofa-beds, suitable for teenagers or extra adults (£30). Babysitting and listening can be arranged. Very young children aren’t allowed in the restaurant after 7pm.

Best for

Babies and children who love the great outdoors.

Recommended rooms

The Gatekeeper's Lodge has a private garden and a fridge, useful for storing milk. The Suites are great for families; each has a sitting room with day bed. Most rooms have space for an extra cot at no extra charge, or a bed at an additional £30.

Activities

There are 108 acres of garden and woodland to romp around in, as well as a croquet lawn and boules pitch. Staff can arrange canoeing on the River Tamar, horse riding on Dartmoor, and falconry displays, among other activities. Hire bikes can be delivered to the hotel. There's table tennis and plenty of board games for rainy days.

Rates

More details

Rates don't usually include breakfast (£20 a person for full English buffet).

Meals

The hotel prefers the restaurant to be adults-only in the evening, but meals can be served from 6pm. Alternatively, the entire family can dine together in the private dining room. There isn't a children's menu, but the chef will prepare anything a child likes, from fresh chicken to scrambled eggs. Also happy to heat up milk and baby food.

Babysitting

Babysitting can be arranged for £10 an hour (£20 an hour after midnight). Please give at least 24 hours' notice.

No need to pack

There are high chairs available in the restaurant.

Also

Only the Gatekeeper's Lodge has a fridge, but you can store milk and baby food in the kitchen's fridges on request.

Food and Drink

Photos Hotel Endsleigh – Devon – United Kingdom

At the hotel

There are two dining rooms serving Modern European cuisine, using organic and locally sourced ingredients. The menu changes regularly to reflect the seasons.

 

At the bar

There is a 24-hour honesty bar, which includes a great selection of wines.

Last orders

Lunch, 2.30pm; afternoon tea, 5.30pm; dinner, 9.30pm.

Room service

Drinks and tea available 24 hours a day. Light snacks (fruit platters, smoked salmon) available, 7am–11pm.

Location

Photos Hotel Endsleigh – Devon – United Kingdom
Address
Hotel Endsleigh
Hotel Endsleigh Milton Abbot Tavistock
PL19 0PQ
Devon
United Kingdom

Planes

The nearest airport is Exeter, just over an hour away.

Trains

Trains from London Paddington run to Exeter, an hour's drive from the hotel, and Plymouth, 45 minutes away.

Automobiles

The drive west from London and the Midlands will take at least three and a half hours, using the M5 and the A30.

Worth getting out of bed for

Walks through the grounds and, nearby, falconry courses, bike rental, archery and clay-pigeon shooting. Hotel Endsleigh’s spectacular location in the Tamar Valley on Dartmoor’s western edge makes enjoying the great outdoors as easy as falling off a picturesque, ivy-clad log. A particularly peaceful way to get an eyeful of all that outstanding natural beauty is from the water: Canoe Tamar (+44 (0)845 430 1208) organises outings upriver from Morwellham Quay to Weir Head – you’ve a good chance of spotting kingfishers, otters, falcons and even the occasional seal. Yacht rental is also available locally from April to September.

Local restaurants

Mix a passionate chef with local produce, an organic kitchen garden and breathtaking valley views, and you’ve got The Horn of Plenty in Gulworthy (+44 (0)1822 832528) has its own organic kitchen garden, and a national reputation for its delicious food. The Harris Arms in Portgate (+44 (0)1566 783331) is another award-winning gastropub option for locally sourced, home-made food. An hour’s walk along the River Tamar gets you to Horsebridge, where you can rest your legs and wet your whistles at The Royal Inn (+44 (0)1822 870214).

Local cafés

In Tavistock, Donella’s (+44 (0)1822 612888) is a stylish café housed in a former dairy.

Local bars

At the Dartmoor Inn in Lydford (+44 (0)1822 820221), a series of small, airy and very chic dining rooms provide the setting for food cooked with love and imagination. The small bar does its own version of pub classics with a twist.  There’s a wine bar and brasserie at Browns Hotel (+44 (0)1822 618686), where Modern British dishes are given a Gallic touch.

Reviews

Photos Hotel Endsleigh – Devon – United Kingdom

Anonymous review

This review of Hotel Endsleigh in Devon is taken from our latest guidebook, Mr & Mrs Smith: Hotel Collection – UK/Ireland Volume 2.

You don't know what people-watching is until you've taken pre-dinner drinks in the bar of a smart weekenders' hotel. Forget catwalk shows, forget singles' nights – nowhere do guests check each other out with quite the same fervour witnessed over gin and tonics and olives around 8pm every Friday at stylish boutique boltholes all over the country. There is a very good reason for this, of course. Your choice of venue for an indulgent weekend reveals a great deal about you. Not only your budget, but your taste, not just your interests, but your aspirations. In theory, at least, you have a great deal in common with your fellow weekenders. These, my friends, are your people.

Guests at the Hotel Endsleigh are, while style-conscious, more Boden than Balenciaga, as you would expect of a clientele who choose to weekend in this remote and beautiful valley between Devon's Dartmoor and Cornwall's Bodmin Moor. They are moneyed, but of the old-school that prefers rolltop baths to Jacuzzis. (I distinctly heard the gentleman savouring a brandy digestif in the library describe it as ‘scrumptious’.) And they have one further thing in common: they look extremely happy to be where they are. And so they should, for Hotel Endsleigh is a class act. The house, a Grade-I listed fishing lodge, is insanely pretty, and the setting magical: it is easy to see why the Bedford family, who at the time owned a third of Devon, decided in 1812 that this was the prettiest spot in the county on which to build their house.

From the lawned terrace outside the drawing room, the view sweeps down to the rapid waters of the River Tamar, which divides Devon from Cornwall, and up densely wooded banks on the other side. Arriving on a dark, snowy November night, we hurried from car to hotel in search of hot baths and long drinks. Our room, no 7, was one of the less grand rooms, with one small window in the bedroom and none in the bathroom; nonetheless, it combined the assets of a chic private house (interesting art, a good selection of bedside reading) with those of a good hotel (huge, comfortable bed, plasma-screen TV), and boasted walls of a delicious duck-egg blue that has had me poring over Farrow & Ball charts since our return.

Hunger and curiosity soon coaxed us downstairs for drinks, snacks and, of course, people-watching. The ground floor of the hotel is a jigsaw of cosy, characterful rooms: a drawing room with a huge log fire; a pretty sitting room with hand-painted Thirties wallpaper; an impressively well-stocked library boasting everything from Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking to the Koran, and from The Jewel in the Crown to The Shadow of the Wind. Making a wrong turn while searching for a loo, I chanced upon a corridor stocked with Hunter wellies in every size, for ill-prepared townie guests. Dinner, served in the wood-panelled dining room, ranged from perfectly nice (a main course of roast monkfish, a fruit pancake dessert) to excellent (a starter of sea bream in watercress soup, a main of sliced seared beef).

The only low point of the weekend came the following morning. On the long drive down, we had compiled a wish-list for the perfect hotel weekend. Having parked our two-year-old son with Grandma for the weekend, top of the list was, of course, the chance to lie in. This was closely followed by being able to walk more than half a mile without the promise of a playground, and being able to browse the papers in a country pub instead of reading Thomas the Tank Engine stories out loud. (Naturally, there were a couple more elements, not suitable for publication.) And one more wish: breakfast in bed.

So imagine our disappointment on Saturday morning when, looking for the room-service menu, we found instead a note informing us that the Endsleigh ‘discourages’ in-room breakfasting, ‘because our layout is not ideal.’ In the light of this schoolmarmish diktat, we were a bit worried that Alex, the hotel's impressive but rather formidable owner, was about to burst into the room, throw open the shutters and chide us for wasting such a glorious day, so we hurriedly dressed and made our way down for breakfast. (Good strong coffee, creamy scrambled eggs and crunchy brown toast with delicious marmalade: perfect, although it would have tasted even better in bed.)

But any grumpiness just could not last. From the moment we pulled on our wellies and stepped outside the hotel, resistance was futile: we were in love with Endsleigh. By the time we had explored the garden and grounds – a satisfying two-hour walk – we were decided that it was one the most beautiful places we had ever seen. A freak snowfall had transformed this very English scene into Narnia. A ping-pong table looked fabulously eccentric under a five-inch covering of snow; croquet hoops were half buried under the white-out, while the forest of evergreens on the far side of the river bowed under a frosting of snow, gently melting in the morning sun.

We made our way down to the icy, tumbling waters of the Tamar and back, discovering waterfalls and a picturesque shell grotto along the way. As we climbed back to the hotel, Alex's pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, a handsome little thing with black spots on a sugar-pink coat (very Agent Provocateur) trotted through the snow to greet us. Truly, we thought, we have stumbled into another world, four and a half hours from London.

Having thus rediscovered our love of the countryside, we boldly ventured further afield for lunch at a local pub recommended by the hotel. This turned out to be a mistake: the food was good, but the service surly to the point of obnoxious, so after another quick walk (Kit Hill, nearby: good views, but nothing like as pretty as the hotel garden), we retreated to Endsleigh.

Picture the scene that greeted us in the library: a proper cream tea laid out for guests, complete with fruit scones and Devon cream and home-made jam; cake stands piled with tempting slices. All around, happy guests sat contentedly in armchairs, working their way through the weekend papers with pots of Earl Grey at their elbows. There was a delicious sensuousness to Endsleigh in this incarnation as a winter wonderland.

The sound of our boots crunching on virgin snow as we stepped out to explore the garden, the fragrant crackle of log fires in the lobby, drawing room and library, and the glow of candlelight on a dark afternoon. But then, summer must be magical too: the sloping terrace is perfect for an early evening Pimm’s; the river full of salmon (the hotel has a gamekeeper, and fishing expeditions are encouraged); the long croquet lawn marvellously Gatsby-esque. With a swimming pool planned for next year, we will be back long before the next snowfall.

The Guestbook

Whenever you book a stay at a Smith Hotel with us, we’ll invite you to review it when you get back. Read what other Smith members had to say in Hotel Endsleigh’s Guestbook below.

We loved

The setting and grounds, in the Tamar Valley, and the afternoon tea.

Don’t expect

Large rooms, showers, or breakfast (£20 per person on top of the room charge).

Rating

Stayed on 16 Aug 2016

We loved

The high standards of everything at the hotel. The staff were exceptional and a really credit to the place, nothing was too much trouble. Food was fabulous. We visited many local villages, all within 15-20 mins drive, good central location for exploring.

Don’t expect

Shopping....it's all about escaping, lovely walks in the fabulous grounds!

Rating

Stayed on 29 Jul 2016

We loved

The beautiful rural setting. The attentive but not intrusive staff. The stable room. Recommend a tour of Dartmoor looking at the wild ponies, tin mines and the flora - through Explore Cornwall

Don’t expect

A night life or mobile phone reception

Rating

Stayed on 28 Jul 2016

We loved

A delightful Hotel, very comfortable and wonderful breakfasts. The Staff were very welcoming and attentive. 10/10

Don’t expect

Walk in showers

Rating

Stayed on 18 Jul 2016

We loved

Impeccable in every way. Beautiful stylish and elegant but relaxed friendly and unstuffy - and best of all- genuinely dog friendly! It was perfection in hotel form. Oh and the food was divine- the afternoon tea was second to none (courtesy of Mr and Mrs Smith!)

Don’t expect

Anything at all to complain about! If you do you need to have a quiet word with yourself.

Rating

Stayed on 16 Jun 2016

We loved

We have stayed here many times and always enjoy the experience.

Don’t expect

Night life.

Rating

Stayed on 20 Apr 2016

We loved

The peace and quiet and old fashioned calm, lovely setting and views. The staff are very helpful and able to recommend pubs and places to visit nearby but car is essential unless just wanting to stay put for few days. 10/10

Don’t expect

Lots to explore in the local area in the day, but don't expect much to do in the evenings apart from enjoying the cosy ambience (ps. only dissapointment was the cheese board!)

Rating

Stayed on 19 Apr 2016

We loved

The gardens and interior design. We saw many of the flowers blooming making it one of the most spectacular and romantic gardens of our trip. Don't miss the fish fountain and the shell pavilion. Tavistock is a beautiful historical town worth the visit. Lydford Gorge is a short drive away and is a relaxing walk next to a river surrounded by nature. A little bit further away is Hound Tor, a great viewing point in the middle of the Dartmoor National Park. I would also recommend visiting the villages inside the park, driving around is tricky but worth trying. 8/10

Don’t expect

Flawless five star service. I was shocked that a member of staff insisted many times that we should have drinks before dinner making us feel uncomfortable (and that they charged us the newspaper). A good service lets the guests decide how they want to enjoy their stay and should avoid pompous unnecessary behaviour.

Rating

Stayed on 13 Apr 2016

We loved

The style, quality of team and service and the beautiful environment (of hotel and grounds). Everyone makes you very welcome and the quality of the experience was excellent. Many wonderful local walks and beautiful places to view, eg. Lydford Gorge

Don’t expect

To survive without a car and without preparing for different environments and weather

Rating

Stayed on 8 Apr 2016

We loved

Devon break

Rating

Stayed on 31 Mar 2016

We loved

I was looking for somewhere in Devon that would be suitably perfect to propose to my girlfriend. Down a long winding track, taking deep into the Tamar Valley, the hotel is situated in an incredibly picturesque setting. You get what you pay for with style and luxury, however the staff are friendly and helpful whilst maintaining an air of calmness and casualness. They had made sure everything was set for the big day, lighting lanterns and leaving blankets out in the grotto at the end of the croquet lawn. Make sure you stroll down to the grotto! It's where I proposed and is beautifully old with sea shells and crystals imbedded into the stone walls. It looks over the valley and is the essence of a peaceful retreat. They brought afternoon tea up to our room full of lovely cakes and sandwiches as well as a great bottle of champagne. The room itself (number 5) was massive, with a lovely roll top bath, a wonderful view over the croquet lawn and valley, and lovely vintage decor. I had heard the dinner might not be great, however they put us on the best table (looking over the croquet lawn) and the food was delicious! Service was on point and I was left wanting for nothing! We'd go back there in a heartbeat, may well do for a mini moon after we get married.

Don’t expect

Grandeur in the house. It's subtle and classy. The grounds give it all the gradeur it needs.

Rating

Stayed on 25 Mar 2016

We loved

The grounds and hotel are beautiful. The staff welcoming, friendly and attentive. The food excellent. Hotel Endsleigh is a fabulous place to relax and feel comfortable doing so.

Don’t expect

A bar, there isn't one. But it doesn't matter here. Staff are always on hand to mix a cocktail or serve a drink of choice.

Rating

Stayed on 13 Mar 2016

We loved

The elegant drawing rooms where you can really relax and unwind, the food, the service, the room, the beautiful gardens and the "honesty bar" - what a great idea! This really is one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in. The staff were excellent: attentive but not intrusive. We fully intend to return and will be recommending it to all our friends!

Don’t expect

Lively night life - this is really somewhere to completely unwind with complete peace and quiet. Perfect for escaping the pressures of work!

Rating

Stayed on 11 Dec 2015

We loved

The ambience, decor of room 8, wonderful staff, excellent food, log fires, countryside and a super comfortable bed.

Don’t expect

Any phone signal or consistent wifi. We were also badly disturbed by poor sound insulation from the floor above our room.

Rating

Stayed on 25 Nov 2015

We loved

The building, the room, the library, the food, the service, the people, the view, the peace and other kids being there (gave us time to enjoy the peace!)

Don’t expect

night life

Rating

Stayed on 16 Jul 2015

We loved

The roaring fires in all the reception rooms, the food (whether breakfast, afternoon tea or dinner!), the candlelit atmosphere in the evenings and staff that look after you with a great blend of formality and friendliness. Gardens were lovely even in February and very comfortable rooms.

Don’t expect

Shower in every room, some have only handheld shower in the bath.

Rating

Stayed on 20 Feb 2015

We loved

Our arrival at Endsleigh was welcoming and warm for Valentine's weekend. Staff were attentive and happy, and our room was perfect. The menus over the weekend were delicious with good choices, and we really enjoyed our whole stay.

Don’t expect

Another small armchair would fit in nicely by the fireplace in our room, instead of a dining room chair. Some shelving space in the bathroom near the sink for toiletries instead of the small table next to the bath. But neither are necessities, they just would be nice to have.

Rating

Stayed on 13 Feb 2015

We loved

Peace, tranquility, pampering.

Don’t expect

Crowds.

Rating

Stayed on 9 Feb 2015

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