We visited the spa this Sunday as a couple as we were staying in lovely accomodation in the village. We loved chittlehamholt and found everyone to be friendly and warm and the pub was great. I had read up about the hotel and was looking forward to an afternoon using the facilities and was thinking of booking a spa treatment too and having a drink. I emailed the hotel beforehand to check that everything was open and that non residents could pay to use the spa for the day or book a package. I was told that we could so long as we arrived before 5pm. No mention of how to get there or the fact that there is a large building site on the grounds. It took us a while to find the spa and had to wait at the hotel reception first to just be told to go down the hill where the signs ran out. When we arrived the spa receptionist was very curt, didn't ask us if we needed robes or towels or anything and assumed we knew our way round initially but then gave us a brief description of where the changing rooms were. We were charged only £16 which we thought was very reasonable at first but we were surprised we weren't offered a spa treatment menu or any refreshments. When I went into the changing rooms I found it was dirty generally and that there was a pile of hair next to the showers and muddy floors in the toilets. We got changed and I met my husband in the pool. Unfortunately it became obvious immediately that it was not going to be a good swimming experience. There was a large group of young men running jumping splashing shouting and at times screaming. I got into the pool hoping they would tone it down when they realised they weren't the only ones there but instead they got louder, were saying inappropriate things and were being dangerous. One of them nearly hit my husband as he bombed into the pool. Is there no CCTV?! We got out not wanting a confrontation. We went into the sauna but found there we could still hear all of the shouting from the pool and that the sauna smelt horrible . I asked my husband what we should do and said that I wanted to go and speak to reception as there didn't seem to be any staff around at all and some young children were getting ready to go swimming in the changing room too and didn't want them to hear the bad language. As we had been offered no robes or anything we had to get changed to speak to the receptionist. I told him and he said that he could " have a word with them" which was too late for us as we had already had to get right out of the spa. He made no offer of a refund or any apology. We asked if we could use the outdoor pool he sounded surprised but said yes. He asked if we knew where it was and that was all the assistance we were offered. We went to the outdoor pool but realised that it hadn't been cleaned and was full of leaves and that there was no changing area or anything next to it. I went into the hotel to ask if there was somewhere we could have a quiet cup of tea atleast. Again the staff seemed surprised at this request and said that if we went out to the terrace ( no directions) we could sit there and that we should ring the bell if no-one was there. We couldn't see a bell or any staff on the terrace that we found and my husband went down to the bar in the hotel but there was no staff there either. There were more people waiting to check in and having already wasted so much of our time with all the wandering around and waiting to speak to staff we decided to abandon and leave.…
It's been a difficult time for the hotel, hospitality and events industry. Challenges in 2022 continue with increasing prices and the problems of staff recruitment and retention. Covid hit hard. Brexit (in my humble opinion) hasn't helped from a staffing point of view and the market is different. Clients now have ever increasing expectations and demands. It wasn't therefore a surprise to see extensive development and construction work going on in the grounds of the "Grand Old Lady" that is The Highbullen Hotel. New, upmarket, high quality lodges are springing up. Creative plans for a major upgrade to the "resort" are rapidly taking shape. Meanwhile sitting proudly above the sea of change is a majestic Victorian mansion that has seen numerous reincarnations over the years. But one thing remains intact. Critically all the staff that we came in to contact with are right on their game. Smiles, helfullness and a chef who is worthy of his two AA Rosettes. They are the constant in a turbulent World. The rooms in the old house are large, a harp back to days of splendid grandeur and are still of good, clean working order. They could do with a bit of a revamp, but these things don't come cheap in old buildings. One tip, check to ensure your request for a twin is actioned and if travelling with elderly people remember there are a limited number of walk in showers. A bit of a wobble here, but sorted out by a receptionist whose voice is calming, her actions impressive. We were in an outside building called the Courtyard. And this might not appeal to everyone, ie having a short walk/drive from the "Old Lady" down to estate houses that have been converted to good sized bedrooms. But this small inconvenience - a positive for some - isn't really a problem and the key thing, the Housekeepers are right on it. Cleanliness is next to Godliness in Yorkshire and clearly the same applies in Devon. Respect and very well done! But what about the food I hear you cry? Well it's good. No, it's very, very good. Fine Dining in the Devon View Restaurant was excellent, Georgia the waitress a delight. Next night the Cellars - a step down in the menu, but the quality equally as good. We had a very good stay. Made by the staff. Thank you.…
My wife took me to dinner at Highbullen to celebrate a milestone birthday, our first visit since Covid and the hotel's change of ownership. When booking, she mentioned being dairy and gluten intolerant and was given a special menu, which was based on the one I had. We both chose a smoked salmon starter and rack of Exmoor lamb main course, which were excellent and beautifully presented, accompanied perfectly with a bottle of Sharpham English wine. A choice of two lovely dairy and gluten free desserts were offered to my wife, which makes a wonderful change from so many places that only offer sorbet! Thanks Highbullen, we had memorable evening and it's good to know standards are as high as ever.
We stayed at the Highbullen Hotel for 3 nights in April. We were really impressed with the size of the room, it was clean, bright and comfortable. The bathroom was spotless although the shower could have done with being a power shower, but it wasn’t really an issue. We couldn’t fault the breakfast, there was plenty of choice and the food was really very good. On our first day we ate dinner in the Devon Views restaurant, the food was superb and so well presented, I can honestly say we’ve never had a meal like it before. On nights two & three we ate in the Cellers restaurant, the food here was equally as good just a little more standard, fish & chips, pizza etc. The staff throughout the hotel were wonderful, very friendly and helpful. The hotel grounds are undergoing some renovations which we weren’t made aware of but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the views and walks around the grounds. We’re planning on revisiting again next year to see the results!! …
Just returned from a lovely 3 night stay at Highbullen Hotel. We were kindly given a room upgrade on arrival to the main part of the hotel. The room was lovely, the bed was really comfortable and as it was right at the top on the side, was also very quiet. We ate in the Devon view restaurant the first night and had a wonderful fine dining meal, every course was exceptional. The other 2 evenings we ate in the Cellars restaurant which again was really good food. The service from all the staff was excellent, they were all welcoming, friendly and efficient. The hotel was quieter than we thought it would be apart from Saturday when there was a wedding party staying, we believe this is because of the large amount of building work happening across the bottom end of the site. Plans are made available to view in the lounge and it shows 58 separate self catering lodges being built. The building work distracts from the lovely view across the valley and blocks off the front area of lawn and therefore you are not able to walk there or into the woodland to the right which is understandable but also a shame not to be able to go for a stroll. The hotel building is lovely and we were interested to read of its history dating back to 1879, we are worried how the new complex of lodges will affect the hotel and the lovely atmosphere of this Devon gem. Thank you to all the staff for making our break away so special, we had a really lovely time and we will watch with interest about the changes to Highbullen.…
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