Northcote Manor

We, three friends came today for a mini afternoon spa, love, love loved it. The spa facilities are great, something for everyone, the treatments were really good, we each had a different treatment with a different therapist. Mine was Rosie...Thank you Rosie. I know I was a bit tricky🤔 each of us felt pampered. We had the Cream Tea, which again was very nice. The views from the Terrace are spectacular, still not sure where I was looking. I definitely will recommend.

We arrived at Northcote in the pouring rain, not the best start to our break. An ashtray filled with cigarette butts and rain water sat by the entrance steps and remained there until we left. As we had arrived early we sat in one of the lounges, a large room, full of character but very dated. The carpets as we noted in all areas grey with dirt. Not surprising as there are very few doormats. We were shown to our room, the Dragonfly suite, to get there we had to walk through the dining room and breakfast room. Then outside into a relatively newer building. The suite didn't quite live up to our expectations, dirty carpet, dim lighting and lack lustre. The patio doors opened onto a small area that needed a good sweep and clean. The dinning experience by all accounts is supposed to be the highlight, the room was pleasant, but I felt the plastic table decorations a let down. The gentlemen waiter was very professional but seemed to be doing everything, dashing from table to table. We started with an amuse bouch, vegetable soup, it was green with no hint of anything vegetable and bland. Next we had the starter of the day, guinea fowl sausage. A small piece of bland, burnt on the outside sausage was served up accompanied by some mushroom, spinach and sauce. Mains was beef, with a fondant potato, roscoff onion and spinach. The potato and onion both needed further cooking as they were still firm. The sauce non descript in flavour. Dessert was the best course, I had a very good creme brulee, my wife a chocolate fondant. We aired our disappointment to one of the waiting staff, and went to bed. Breakfast was served in a conservatory lacking any ambience, bare wood tables, scratched and smeared with cleaning products. Jars of cereal, which had been visible from the day before ( covered in Cling film) sat on a long table with a bowl of dry looking fruit salad. Big kilner jars of apricots, jam and possibly marmalade sat part open, everything looked unappealing. We wondered how long it had all been sitting in those jars. It was only the croissants that looked tasty. A young waiter came to take our order, we plumped for cheese and bacon filled croissants, which duly arrived, they also came with a side of lettuce, cucumber and tomato, a little odd for breakfast ! We decided to leave rather than stay another night, and explained how we felt to the manager. He accepted our comments, but kept saying that lots of people come back time and time again. And that the hotel had just had a AA inspection and passed. The hotel grounds could be lovely........but parts are overgrown, and weeds abound. A newish spa has just been built, we didn't sample the delights but it looked lovely. Shame they didn't invest a bit more on the hotel. Needless to say we won't be returning.

A local break All really good apart from parts of the bathroom looking tired and the shower leaking. Also could do with a better shower head.

We have stayed at the hotel and spa a number of time now and have never been disapointed. The location is stunning with far reaching view over the Devon countryside. The main house outside is starting to look a little tired and could do with some TLC in a number of places. However what makes the stay so enjoyable is the staff. From the Mangers, Richie and Briony to Michell who's wine knowledge is amazing to the cleaners and waiters, all are so kind and polite - They remember us and appear to be happy to see us again. The same for the Spa team they are always kind and welcoming - I could not rate the staff and the stay any lower than 5 stars and we are already looking forward to booking again in the near future and also booking the new rooms next year when the are finished.

Just come back from a lovely 3 days at this hotel, set in the heart of the beautiful North Devon countryside. Service and food were excellent, and the adjacent spa was very good too, with a pleasant small warm swimming pool. Dinner is a bit of a special ritual with tasty canapes and drinks as you chose your dishes from the menu, and numerous courses. Hard to find any faults except our room had a rather springy soft bed when we prefer a firm mattress. Don't also be surprised if no one is around to welcome you on arrival as the staff seem to live in the kitchen. Head on into the hotel, bearing left, and at the bottom of the stairs you will find a desk with a bell on it. Top tip - make sure you use the special postcode given on the website in your satnav, instead of the hotel's own postcode, as otherwise you will arrive at the back entrance via some very narrow lanes.

My son purchased a stay at northcote manor for us, he knows it’s our favourite place, we had a relaxing few days here and the food was amazing Thanks to all the staff for making our stay special. I loved the food and the surroundings of this beautiful old building. We will be returning soon