The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa

Very very disappointing stay at the start of the month. We arrived to our room, with the door ajar and dust on every service. Rooms are extremely tired, there is mould around the bath, the pipes creak at 5am waking everyone up. Beds are rock hard. Both mornings the cutlery was dirty at breakfast, which got a bit boring. For £400 a night, it is simply not acceptable. As an apology they knocked off the £45 quid service charge on our bill…. Service for what exactly? Mental. I would never return. P.s. The wedding we attended off site was spectacular, so that made up for it. But we should have got an Airbnb down the road.

We have been to the Devonshire Arms a couple of times for special occasions and it has changed. It is no longer a luxury, fine dining hotel. The brasserie is the same, serving good quality, well presented food and the garden room serves sandwiches and sharing boards but that's it. There's no longer a silver service, fine dining restaurant. Also, the check-in is like most hotels. Gone are the seats at the desk, help with luggage and being shown to your room. It is still a nice hotel in a very picturesque location. The spa is very nice and clean. The rooms are clean, but getting ready for a refurbishment. Breakfast is served to you at your table. That's everything. This may be fine for some people, but it does limit juices, pastries, cereal etc as you have to ask for it when a waiter is passing your table. I believe the hotel is trying to be less "stuffy/posh". This has worked as guests now wear vests and shorts to dinner. If you have an expensive car, you are able to park on the drop off roundabout. Overall, there is no longer an especially compelling reason to visit the hotel again.

We had really been looking forward to this visit. When you think of the Devonshire Estate, you expect high standards, excellent food, and attention to detail. Sadly, the experience did not live up to the name. The spa staff were friendly, and the setting has potential, but the maintenance and cleanliness were poor. A visible dirt mark lined the pool, the water was cloudy, and the steps were coated in grime and limescale. Only two of the three steam and sauna rooms were working. With better lighting, the extent of the dirt and neglect would be obvious. Showers and toilets were no better. Lockers had missing keys, many still contained used robes and towels, and the hairdryers were old and barely functional. Dinner was the real let-down. Included in our package, it was served in the Brasserie, a far more casual setting than expected, with jeans and t-shirts being the norm. If you didn't want to pay a hefty supplement, the options were fish and chips or a burger. The burger was a disaster. A congealed patty, burnt pulled pork, soggy onion rings, and overly salty fries. It completely undermined the idea of a wellness retreat. Dessert gave a glimmer of hope. The sticky toffee choux bun had potential, but it wasn’t executed well. The choux was soggy, the sponge dense and stale. It could be a great dish with refinement. Also, a basic reminder dessert should be served with both a fork and a spoon. Small touches matter in a place with this reputation. Overall, the Devonshire Arms felt more like a tired and overpriced gastro pub than a luxury retreat. A huge disappointment. And finally, please check the decorative vases with corks in them. Dead flies floating in between the corks are not a good look.

Just back from 4 nights at the Devonshire Arms Hotel. I would rate most of our experience to have been ok-good rather than good-great. Reception staff were warm and efficient and our first room was very nice, but our 2nd room was tired and poorly maintained. The guy working the bar was overworked but did well in looking after us when we chose to eat in the Garden Room one evening. That we booked dinner and the room was closed with no staff about shows disorganised procedures. We ate there as we’d eaten in the Brasserie twice. The food there was ok, but whilst some table staff worked hard and engaged customers well, others couldn’t have been less interested in guests. It was similar for breakfast, with one or two of the staff trying hard and being pleasant, but others didn’t seem motivated. The food was often ok, but really seemed to lack seasoning; too often it was bland. We had great massages in the Spa, and that was great overall. The big let down for me was the lounge and bars, with flies and scruffy seating; I would suggest rethinking “dog friendly” if you want luxury and high quality. This has all the makings of a beautiful and great hotel, but needs to raise standards in a number of areas, including training.

From the moment we walked through the door we were made to feel like an imposition rather than guests at this hotel. Everything was just a bit hard and instead of having a luxury break we came away underwhelmed by the whole experience. The deluxe room that we booked was small and dated, the old built in furniture had been painted to give it a bit of life but the paint was all scratched and just looked uncared for. The room has since been rebranded as comfort which is a more fitting description. We had two meals, the tasting menu on the Saturday night in the garden room and a Sunday night meal in the brasserie. The tasting menu was lovely the pairing wine was a nice addition and overall we had a lovely evening. The conservatory is a nice setting and I would have been disappointed if we had been given a table in the middle area as it’s dark and lacks atmosphere. The experience in the brasserie was poor on the Sunday night. The kitchen closed at 7.30 so we were left having rushed our meal. Overall, it’s just too pretentious and therefore makes the experience just a bit too hard. There are lots of hotels that balance this well and guest leave feeling like they have had an individual experience. This just wasn’t the case at the Devonshire! On a positive note, yes the spa is small but the staff in this area were lovely.