Manor Hotel

This is an old building so expect the usual issues with it - it’s NOT a premier inn !however it was spotlessly clean and the staff extremely courteous and helpful as I arrived late at night . Room spacious and lots of toiletries and beverages. No milk alternatives to hand in the beautiful breakfast room but staff had oat milk and brought it to me . However the milk was “off” , the orange juice “off” the bread was stale and the toaster didn’t fully work. This knocked my confidence in regard to eating there again. A shame as this was the big let down for me .

We checked in at 2pm and the big room was freezing, we went and told reception and he said the heating comes on at 3pm…why when you can check in an hour earlier? It’s January, it’s by the sea and it’s cold! The heating barely came on at 3 and was off again at 4pm 🤷‍♀️ Also the radiator wasn’t big enough for the room. There was no heating in the bathroom and the shower had barely any pressure! We have an amazing shower at home so when we are away we want that or better! I believe it’s recently changed hands so maybe there are teething problems. The staff are very friendly, it was spotlessly clean and the bed big and comfy! However the decor was tired and the fittings were a mismatch. There is no light over the dressing table mirror and it’s too cold to do make up in the bathroom. The breakfast was very average, not good quality ingredients which is a shame as the dining room is a lovely room but yet again cold. The bar nice but no one in there as cold so uninviting. A few tweaks and I’m sure it could be lovely. Lovely to have a sea view. Sadly we won’t be back to this hotel but we will be back to gorgeous Exmouth.

Judging by previous reviews, I have no doubt that the Hotel are good at what they do all year round, however I would heavily not recommend for Christmas dinner. Albeit a nice location and a nice venue, the dinner was extremely sub standard. The starter was presented very poorly (see picture) and the mains were cold. It wasn’t just ours either as the tables adjacent to ours sent theirs back for this reason. The quality and portion control was also off, some plates had 1 Yorkshire pudding, some had 2 and some had 3. Potato wedges instead roast potatoes, 1 tiny stuffing ball that was dry and hard and the small amount of gravy was extremely runny and lacked flavour. The dessert was just a slice of a chocolate Colin the caterpillar cake with cream. This being said, credit to the staff that were trying very hard and were very friendly, however I feel they were way out of their depth with this kind of cuisine. I feel if they are to be successful next Christmas, they need to employ an English Chef that understands what makes a good roast dinner, or not bother.