Southernhay House Hotel

Third and last stay at this hotel.  Spent £1,190 on 2 rooms for 2 nights to bring my mother for a treat.  On our second night, I was kept awake until nearly 1am by the noise of people in the bar and the staff clearing up.  I went down twice in my pjs to ask them to reduce the noise as I wanted to sleep.  The next morning the manager eventually and reluctantly agreed it would have been possible to at least shut the 2 doors to the bar and restaurant area so that the noise wouldn't have travelled so easily.  The owner was vile about it all and refused or didn't even understand that noise travels and has now banned me from returning (knowing I wouldn't)!  So don't stay in the Ivory room if you want some peace at 12.45am.  There was never anyone at reception to collect/leave keys with, and we would ring the doorbell repeatedly to try and get someone, look in the bar area etc but couldn't find anyone.  My observations on this and the consequent lack of security and possible impact on their insurance arrangements was again met with anger.    Cleanliness is also an issue - black mould in the shower, dirty carpet, clump of hair on the bathroom floor (which I had put from the shower into the bin but it was obviously dropped on the floor when the room was cleaned) etc.   No sheet on the under mattress.  Have seen from negative reviews elsewhere that this will be met with a horrible reply from the owners - they don't want to raise their standards or apologise for anything.

Arrived around midnight (as previously communicated with the hotel) as it was our wedding night. Also wrote in the notes of the booking that it was our wedding night. We couldn’t tell if we’d rung the bell properly so tried again. We were greeted with no smile or warm welcome unfortunately. As it was our wedding night, I thought we may have a congratulations note or something in the room but had nothing at all. Really disappointing. The stay was made up for a bit by the lovely greeting we had in the morning along with a stunning fried breakfast and pancakes. I’m not 100% sure it’s worth what we paid but it is a beautiful hotel.

We have stayed in this amazing Hotel before. We travel a lot. This is honestly one of the best nights sleep ever. The decor is lovely, staff are attentive, great location for Exeter. Breakfast was great. But this was the most comfortable restful sleep ever. Great bedding. You might hear the sound of the cathedral bells in the morning but is that not the nicest alarm clock ever? We do spend a lot of time in Exeter so even when we are not staying at the Southern Hay we always pop in for a drink in the great conservatory. The conservatory always reminds me of a restaurant in Berkeley Square in NYC. I cannot find a fault. In fact We are making sure we are going back in February.

Really lovely boutique hotel with huge rooms, fantastic service and in a perfect central location. Wish we’d stayed for dinner instead of going to Hotel du Vin - abysmal! - so will definitely dine here when we come back. Special mention to Nick on reception who was so friendly and lugged our massive cases up two flights of stairs with a big smile on his face. Wonderful little place.

We stayed for a wedding anniversary and were delighted by the hotel, its ambience, its situation and impeccable service. We stayed in the room. “Cotton” and revelled in the large comfortable bed and especially the deep, roll top bath. Breakfast was beautifully presented, generous portions and well cooked. If you want a secluded, discrete and tasteful place to stay in Exeter - this is it. Highly recommended.

We frequented Southernhay House a few times these last two weeks to enjoy cocktails in the well kept garden. Lovely friendly staff and nothing was too much trouble for them. We found each experience peaceful and relaxing and it was lovely to be able to order a cheese board to accompany the red wine to have in the garden one sunny afternoon. Admittedly it is a little expensive but a lovely holiday treat for us both with a very good cocktail menu.