Lympstone Manor Hotel Restaurant & Vineyard - Relais & Chateaux

We visited Lymstone for the special offer lunch. The food was amazing and beautifully presented. It was a pleasure to enjoy not only the food but the elegant dining room and the service and professionalism of the staff. This is the 4th time we have enjoyed lunch here and it will not be the last!

First time we have had afternoon tea here and it was wonderful. The sunshine helped but the food, tea and service were wonderful. The cakes were incredibly fine and delicious and the scones were light and crumbly - just the way they should be.

We booked Lympstone Manor’s Pool House for a post-wedding celebration, and what should have been a relaxed and special afternoon quickly became a source of stress and frustration due to poor communication, disorganised service, and a general lack of care for the customer experience. Although the venue now refers back to “terms and conditions” and claims that aspects like the minimum spend and bar offerings were highlighted beforehand, the issue is not about what was written in small print—it’s about how those things were communicated, handled, and followed through in real time. The customer service simply didn’t match the premium price point or expectations. Instead of working with us to create a seamless and enjoyable day, the venue seemed more focused on deflecting responsibility and quoting policy. One of the biggest issues was the abrupt reversal of a previously agreed arrangement regarding individual payments from guests. This was changed just days before the event—while we were in the middle of our wedding—which caused unnecessary stress and confusion. Had we known this earlier, we likely would have cancelled within the appropriate timeframe. On the day, no one could tell us what our outstanding balance was, despite multiple attempts to find out. We were offered vague suggestions (like taking wine home to “make up the spend”) but without being told how much we were even short by, it felt chaotic and unprofessional. The staff on-site couldn’t answer basic questions, and the person who could apparently help wasn’t available. The bar was another letdown—something as simple as a Bloody Mary wasn’t available due to missing ingredients. This is a basic cocktail, and for a luxury venue, it was frankly embarrassing. Guests ended up ordering less due to the limited options, which ironically contributed to the minimum spend shortfall they were so focused on. The final response to our complaint was dismissive and lacked any genuine accountability. We weren’t asking for miracles—just a bit of understanding and proper service for what was meant to be a celebratory weekend. For comparison, we had our wedding the day before at Rockbeare Manor, and the service there was absolutely flawless—warm, thoughtful, and truly professional from start to finish. It made the shortcomings at Lympstone Manor even more obvious. If you’re considering Lympstone Manor for a private event, I strongly recommend you look elsewhere. The setting may be beautiful, but the experience behind the scenes was stressful, confusing, and not worth the cost.

**** WARNING - THE HOTEL HAS TRIED TO GET THIS REVIEW REMOVED AS THEY CLAIM IT CONTAINS 'PRIVATE' INFORMATION. PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT THE CONTENTS OF THE REVIEW ARE GENUINE AND THE SUPPORTING INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE **** My family of 4, stayed at Lympstone Manor for 5 nights in April 2025. We had one suite and 2 additional rooms for our teenagers. My total spend was nearly £14,000. The hotel is in a lovely setting and it is extremely quiet and private once you are inside the grounds. The booking process was very friendly and efficient, with the hotel even calling me the day before we arrived to check everything. The rooms were adequate but nothing particularly special. The plumbing in all 3 rooms we had was poor and to flush a toilet properly required several attempts which was really annoying. Housekeeping was generally quite poor. Staff knocked on our door before breakfast on the first morning to ask when they could service the suite. We explained that were about to go for breakfast and asked if they could come after then as we planned to go out for the day. To our surprise, when we returned from breakfast, they had already started to service the room which made it a bit awkward. On the following day, the room was serviced very quickly whilst we were at breakfast. We found that towels were not always replaced with new ones, despite leaving them on the floor. It didn't look like the room was vacuumed during our entire stay. Empty wine bottles, carafes and glasses were left in the room, even after housekeeping had been. The thing that really let the hotel down was the service. There is a nice lounge bar area but there was never anyone actually serving in it. Each time we wanted a drink, we had to go and find someone in reception. This was poor for a supposedly 5-star hotel that is serving champagne cocktails for £27 each. When I order two cocktails for £54, I expect good service and I also expect them to be served with nibbles but they were not. We occasionally saw some other guests being served their drinks with nuts but we never received them. On the first day I questioned whether the cocktails came with nibbles, the staff member who didn't speak very good English, fumbled around and eventually produced a bowel of crisps for which I appear to have been charged £3.50 on my final bill. There always seemed to be one of two members of staff loitering around behind the reception desk doing nothing but never anyone actively attempting to take drinks orders. Even ordering another round of drinks meant getting up to find someone. The only member of staff who was proactive in this regard was their apprentice Joe who was really impressive for his age. The hotel had surprisingly few guests when we were staying. One staff member claimed the hotel was 'half full' but I would be surprised if that was even the case. The hotel currently runs heavily discounted lunch promotions to try and generate some revenue. There was a distinct feel th

We were greeted immediately on arrival and shown to a room nicely decorated with comfortable seating overlooking the sea (although the sea was in the distance. We were offered the menu to choose our pre-luncheon drinks which were served with canapés. These were priced reasonably since it is a 5 star hotel. We were then shown to a small room which seated 21 comfortably, all the seating was comfortable although my husband’s only view was the fireplace. The lunch was amazing. The staff were all immaculately dressed and very courteous. We chose to have our tea/coffee on the terrace overlooking the sea. A lovely relaxing anniversary lunch.

We have been very lucky to stay at Lympstone Manor and have never been disappointed. We are always planning and looking forward to the next trip when we leave. Simply stunning all round - the service, the setting, the comfort and of course the cuisine!