Bovey Castle

What a great experience. Our whole marriage arrangements were conducted by the lovely Sophie T. Sophie made the day perfect for us. The timing was to perfection. The whole day could not have been better. The castle as a wedding venue could not be beaten. The food was superb and the staff looked after us. Sophie kept a discreet but watchful eye on the formal ceremony and even helped my partner into her wedding dress. Sophie T was without doubt the star of the day in the castle and went above and beyond our expectations.

As an extended family of 16 - 8 adults and 8 children - we highly recommend Bovey Castle for a family adventure. Traveling from the US, our goal was to have an English countryside experience prior to a few days in London.|We hired a driver with a bus to travel from Heathrow. We spent considerable time planning with the Bovey Castle staff to choose and reserve our activities, plan our meals and rsever two lodges. Thank you to the wonderful staff that helped with all of this planning-Aimee and Amy (Resort Desk and Reception), Sally and Kim (Reservations) and Matt (Activities). The location, and castle are beautiful! Beautiful views and gardens! The children ages 12- 1 years old were enchanted with the castle and loved roaming around the grounds and castle with lots of surprises for them - playground, croquet, tennis, views and fancy staircases. The men enjoyed the golf course - narrow and challenging. The lodges were beyond our expectations -three floors, plenty of room, great kitchens. Everyone loved activities and would recommend the activities- I think we tried them all ! archery (thank you ?), Off roading, Dartmoor Tour, Bovey Rangers. All must be reserved in advance. Thank you Matt for working with us -There was quite a bit of planning and for creating a special golf event (thank you ?) when we experienced one scheduling snafu. We recommend printing a schedule and going through this with Bovey at the start of your visit. The daily open events with chickens, and ferrets in the Kitchen Garden captivated us all. The falconry show was entertaining, incredible!!! impressive!||Heads up on the food - if you stay in the lodge you can bring food and you will find every cooking supply you could want. BUT for Bovey Restaurants - you MUST reserve in advance. And for large parties - must order in advance. As we did not know what time the children would want to eat - or when activities would end -this was a challenge for us - so we kept restaurant visits to a minimum. Sunday Lunch in the beautiful Great Western Grill was tomato soup, Beef with Yorkshire pudding and Treacle tart! Perfect! |The dining room was beautiful, the children felt like royalty, all staff were friendly and attentive, however the service was very slow. Lovely dinner at the Smith Brassiere, Fish and Chips followed with Eton Mess were favorites. If you do not have a car it is nearly impossible to get take-out from the nearby town - although we did manage it once!|Other perfect memories of our time: Cream Tea, and playing chess on the castle veranda, finding Marion’s garden, swimming in the castle pool coated with shiny blue tiles, rolling down the front lawn, riding bikes and playing croquet. When it was time to leave for London -we all dragged our feet - Highly recommend this enchanting countryside retreat. Thank you Bovey Castle for an experience we will never forget!

We stayed at Bovey Castle for my fiancé’s birthday along with our dog, Luna, and from start to finish it was an unforgettable experience. The venue is every bit a 5-star escape, not just for its breathtaking setting, but for the exceptional service. Every member of staff we met was kind, attentive, and genuinely couldn’t do enough for us.|On our first evening, we dined at Smith’s, which offered a more relaxed but equally delightful experience. The following day we took a beautiful riverside walk to North Bovey before returning for an afternoon tea fit for a king and queen. Later, we enjoyed some time relaxing in our room ahead of a spectacular dinner at The Grill, which was every bit the 5-star fine dining experience.||The Chairman’s Rooms, where we stayed, were worth every penny. Overlooking the grounds, the space was elegant, comfortable, and perfectly designed for a restful escape. Waking up to that view and enjoying breakfast in the room, especially the eggs Benedict and the cinnamon toast was the perfect way to end our stay.|There are so many special touches at Bovey Castle. For golfers, the course is outstanding. We also highly recommend the falconry talk in the morning, the gentleman leading it had everyone roaring with laughter while introducing the most beautiful birds. Even practical details were thought of: I travelled in an electric car, and the staff made sure it was fully charged for our return journey without me even needing to ask.||This is a truly unique venue, one that combines luxury with warmth, and we left feeling thoroughly spoiled and a little sad to go. We can’t wait to return.

Having not been on holiday for 2 years through illness, my husband and I decided that we would start with a short 4 night trip and treat ourselves to a spot of uxury on our stay. |Bovey Castle seemed to offer the service and luxury we were looking for and it was expensive but we did not mind that if it lived uup to expectations. Unfortunately it did not. At a cost of £2576 for a state room, breakfast and a £50 each allowance for dinner, I was really disappointed.|We were shown to our room but not "round it". The make up mirror in the bathroom was broken and it took reporting it 3 times before the maintenace man came and said it couldn't be fixed. The room had a 4 poster bed and the TV on the wall meant you could not see the screen without a post going through the middle of it.|The fine dining restaurant was closed except for the last night which was a good evening. The other 3 nights was no better than your local pub but costing Bovey prices. The table was a small table with a "tin" top and covered in salt on the first night as it had not been cleaned. |I went to reception before the last night to hck our spending and discovered we had been charged for food and drinks we had not had. On one night we seem to have consumed two three course meals and a pint of lager (my husband does not drink and I don't drink pints of lager). It took a long time to get sorted until eventualaly these items were taken off. Stress we did not need.|Would we go again? Think you can guess that one!

Spent the weekend here with family and we had a great time. We were a party of 12 and the hotel coped well in the bar and relaxing lounge areas with catering for this number of people, the only big disappointment was dinner in the Brasserie on the Saturday evening where service was very very slow. Also on the Sunday afternoon when we wanted drinks on the terrace we were told we had to go in and order at the bar, not really what you expect from a 5 star hotel. But overall We loved the hotel and grounds and we would certainly stay here again.

Went for afternoon tea absolutely wonderful. Staff welcoming, pleasent and helpful throughout. We sat in the lounge which was quieter than the restaurant only about 4 tables set up lovely setting. The afternoon tea was a gift and consisted of a selection of sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes along with 2 types of scones with jam and cream and of course lots of tea of your choice. There was so much to eat one lovely member of staff did us a little box to take away what we couldn't manage! Overall fantastic thank you!.

Beautiful hotel. If you want luxury, then try this. Staff were all so attentive and friendly. A little remote but the splendour both inside and out more than made up for this. One could imagine Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson staying here while they hunted the hound if the Baskervilles!

We celebrated a special occasion at Bovey Castle, and what a weekend it was! I could wax lyrical about our experience for hours.||Highlights included the spa, clay pigeon shooting with Rob, and rifle shooting with Izaac. We also loved simply unwinding in the various lounges, playing chess, and relaxing with a nice glass of wine - or two.||The food was delicious, and the “Happy Anniversary” plate of strawberries and chocolates was such a thoughtful touch - thank you!||Every member of staff we met was exceptionally helpful and welcoming, making us feel truly special.||It was the most relaxing and wholesome weekend - we absolutely loved it.||The only thing we would change is the location of the coach parking: one was directly outside our bedroom, and we were woken early as people gathered before boarding. It didn’t spoil our weekend—far from it—but it’s worth mentioning.

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.

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.

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.

Lovely scenery and decor but terribly let down by the food and service. Went to attend a friends wedding. The room was booked months in advance but we were given room 1 which is a disabled room. Room 2 had serious water leakage. Water was literally dripping from a crack on the bathroom ceiling. Appalling service at the bistro. The waitress had to photocopy more menus as they ran out. French onion soup with no cheese. I complained to the waitress and after 15 mins I was presented a plateful of roughly chopped cheddar cheese! Breakfast was good at the Edwardian restaurant but the carpets smelled of rancid milk. The sort of smell you get in the nursing home. Very expensive, poorly sign posted and remote location. Nearest railway station is Exeter st davids. Cost you £50 to get a taxi to bovey castle. No mobile phone reception bring your GPS along. Weather at bovey castle erratic and does not follow the met office forcast. If it rain the main road to the hotel get flooded. Dont go in winter unless you drive a snow plough. The English B roads are poorly treated.I won't go there again. Trust me I live in Devon.

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