Bovey Castle Hotel

Fantastic castle resort set amidst acres of beautiful English countryside. Stunning location.
While we were there for the NYE package (our activities might not be the norm year round), there were plenty of activities to keep us busy including archery, table tennis, clay pidgeon shooting, hiking, practice putting area, driving range, full 18 hole championship golf course, spa, indoor pool (with sauna and steam room), afternoon cream tea, falconry event (bird exhibition including a very cool owl), live music, and fancy course dinners.
Pros:
1. Beautiful castle with great sitting rooms on the main floor.
2. Wonderful cream tea every afternoon. Delicious scones and jam and tea. Wonderful loose teas.
3. Beautiful golf course.
4. Attentive staff and some were exceptionally friendly.
5. David-​the ex sommelier and now the events manager-​was fantastic. He was knowledgeable and passionate about his wine knowledge. Great guy.
6. Room turn down service.
7. Gorgeous indoor pool.
8. On location spa with many treatment options.
Cons would be the following:
1. Secluded location means you pretty much do everything at the hotel. No option to walk to other options… but you can pretty easily drive into town (we didn’t explore this option). Some might say the remote location is a Pro.
2. One dining room option can get a bit boring for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Decent food but not fantastic and the food was not consistently good over the course of 3 days.
3. Older style rooms.
4. Our room, number 40, had a great view but the window was a bit small and then ceilings were a bit low.
5. Central heating means the room can get hot and there’s not way to change the temp other than to open the window.
6. We had incorrect charges on our final bill… but they easily removed the charges without any argument.
7. Our hallway to our room often smelled like food. Wasn’t a pleasant smell.

went on new years eve and had the best night, great food and the best fireworks display

Better when it was the Manor House Hotel but now very aspiring WAGs kind of place. We went in a large family party and had an excellent long weekend.

It is one of my favorite places that we stayed at during our trip around England. Set in a picturesque park (Dartmoor National Park) in southwest England, in a region called Devon.
It is the epitome of a country retreat!
Fantastic service from the moment you step in to the you check out. The classic double guest room is very comfortable, roomy enough to spread out.
The room was always stocked with bottled water and milk in the mini fridge, as well as fresh healthy snacks of nuts, dried apricots, and fresh strawberries.
They provide you with luxury brand name toiletries. Lots of fresh clean towels as well as robes and slippers.
There is internet access in the room through a cable — no wifi in the area at all!
Lots of public rooms for guests to sit and relax and enjoy a drink or afternoon tea which we did and it was absolutely delightful!
The hotel has two restaurants to offer guests. The Edwardian, serving up contemporary British cuisine, and the Castle Bistro serving up foods like pizzas and burgers although i had the leg of lamb and that was just amazing! The food at the Edwardian was okay. The food at the Castle Bistro was better.
The hotel also has a spa, which we didn’t use but we did use their pool and sauna/​steam rooms. There are changing rooms at the pool as well as showers for the guests. The pool is indoors but looks out to the park — gorgeous views.
Bovey Castle also has a golf course for those who like golf. There are also lots of other activities like fishing, tours of the area, falconry, and gin making.
I highly recommend it if you can afford it. I can’t wait to return!

I was lucky enough to visit Bovey castle as part of an extended Like Minds conference session last weekend. First and foremost, you can’t help but fall in love with setting. In the middle Dartmoor, it’s windswept, scenic and beautiful.
We were greeted by a rather dapper young man in hunters and wax jacket, who took our bags to our room. Always a nice touch.
Built in 1906 for Viscount «WH Smith» Hambledon and set in the 368– square-​mile Dartmoor National Park, the ‘castle’ has a rich heritage and buckets of cultural appeal. I like that it felt authentic instead of pretentious.
The inside of the hotel itself is gorgeous. It’s a little like stepping back in time, with art deco styling dripping from every corner. I loved the giant bath (though at first was slightly suspicious of the colour of the water — but that’s just the countryside apparently), and nice little touches like fresh fruits, nuts and fudge upon arrival.
The golf course got a good review from those I was staying with, and there’s a nine-​hole putting green on the lawn next to the croquet and boules. If that’s not your thing, then there’s also tennis, archery, fishing, mountain– biking, and pheasant-​, duck– and deer-​stalking.
I went to the Elemis spa for a facial, which wasn’t exactly cheap (£70 for 50 minutes), but worked wonders. I’m fairly picky, but it definitely lived up to its price tag.
Food-​wise, we had a great dinner as a group, and the breakfast was mighty tasty (though I’d go for continental instead of full english).
I’ll definitely be going back, next time spending some more time in the spa and taking in a lot more of the countryside to boot.