Feel free to merge to an exciting topic...All photos available atwww.getsetjetset.com Does Alex Pollizzis Hotel Endsleigh deliver effortless countryside bliss with excellent service as she so often looks for in her past series, The Hotel Inspector ?. The drive to Hotel Endsleigh through the the magnificent countryside of Devon is a spectacular one. The hotel is unassuming, originally completed in 1816 to be the private residence of John Russell, the 6th Duke of Bedford. Endsleigh started as a summer fishing lodge for the family built on the banks of river Tamer, offering unparalleled views to the south and west. The exquisite landscaping was designed by Humphrey Rempton and the grounds originally comprised a plantation of 300 acres, including thickly woods sloped down to the river, and gardens of 20 acres. The grounds are still impressive with an exotic garden and wildlife, the beautiful River Tamer in the bottom of the valley and a well maintained croquet lawn off the side of the main building. A local fishing syndicate took over the house and grounds in 2004 and in 2005 it opened as a country hotel, retaining 108 square meters of ground, owned by the famous Olga Polizzi and led by her capable daughter Alex. The welcome is warm, in the slightly narrow reception. Being a Grade I listed building modification work is extremely limited, and is something that provides some of the charm of Hotel Endsleigh. With only 16 rooms, including 3 suites, one hopes for an extremely individual service from the alway polite, but sometimes seemingly unsure staff. On out arrival I decide to proceed straight for lunch on the hotels terrace overlooking River Tamer and the wild falcons circling above.

Lunch

Lunch is simple, yet elegant. Local seasonal produce feature heavily on the lunch menu with a very good wine list accompanying. Service throughout the lunch is business like, perhaps due to the fact the restaurant was full of non-residents enjoying the beautiful setting for lunch or afternoon tea, and no distinction had been made between residents and outside guests.

Room

I proceed to my suite, room 2, which has a very peculiar layout on the second floor of the hotel. Up the stairs onto an internal balcony that has been covered with linen drapes from the internal courtyard for privacy. The suite consists of three room, living room, bedroom and finally a very good-sized bathroom. The only problem is that the only way to access each room is via the linen covered hallway, which even with the linens was quite exposed. i certainly could see the cars parked outside in the courtyard. This made it very awkward to use basic washroom facilities unless you were completely covered up or not too modest about your decency! I appreciate the fact that it is a listed building and modification permits must be very difficult to obtain, but the whole set up was rather strange. We I to stay at Endsleigh again I would definitely opt for Suite 1, directly below 2, but everything contained behind one door, and a delightful patio for breakfast and evening drinks. The bedding , towels and other amenities were more than adequate. One other anomaly was that the bathroom window opened up straight to the nature trail, but that was nothing a curtain couldnt fix.

Dining

After a relaxing day exploring the beautiful hotel grounds and the banks of the Tamer, we returned for sundowners which were served with a selection of canaps. I opted to play a game of croquet at this time and without hesitation our drinks and canaps were brought to the croquet lawn. As the weather was getting chilly we dined the atmospheric main dining room with wooden panels and a wooden fire to want us up, overlooking the river. Disappointingly the dinner menu was exactly the same as the lunch menu, and not exactly extensive. As there were only 2 other people in the dining room, unfortunately service was a bit spotty and almost abrupt. Breakfast the next morning was most disappointing as we arrived late and ate outside, we were surrounded my dirty crockery from previous guests and it seemed to take a while for staff to notice out existence. After that things took an upward turn, and the simple breakfast we had was well executed and served with a warm smile. Check out was swift, with everything as it should have been. The porter loaded out car whilst I took care of formalities and the staff bid us a warm fait well.

Overall

All in all an enjoyable stay, beautiful location, but the repetitive menu and odd room layout wouldnt want me to rush back specifically to stay at Endsleigh, but if I was in the area I wouldnt hesitate to stay for the night. Still one of the better country house hotels out there. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks!