Southernhay House Hotel

The style, the cocktails & the staff - so good

Lovely stay as usual. Very comfy room and the breakfast was cooked to perfection and took on board personal requests. By far the best hotel in Exeter so we always choose here if rooms are available. Always extremely friendly and accommodating staff who remember previous visits and provide the warmest of welcomes.

Fantastic Grade Ii listed building, really friendly, staff, lovely tranquil atmosphere, excellent location, beautiful room with absolutely outstanding shower. I come to Exeter once a month work and won’t stay anywhere else. Wonderful Hotel

L’edificio storico, la posizione e gli arredi

Camera eccessivamente piccola e calda. Bagno inadeguato ricavato con un tramezzo. Cuscini eccessivamente alti che si sono rifiutati di cambiare. Pessimo rapporto qualità-prezzo

Our favourite hotel in Exeter. Wonderful and unique accommodation, excellent food, wonderful hospitality team. Thank you all for making every stay a special one

I can't say enough about the lovely hotel. Everything was exceptional - from the service to the accommodations and the food. For a posh English stay, it's a must.

In a class by itself in poor Exeter, this small hotel exceeds on a number of counts. Personal attention from a local staff and on-site owner, beautiful curated rooms, outstanding breakfasts, perfect location for walkers (taxi from train station), private garden- quiet and green. It’s an historic home, 1805, of an East Indian company captain, with fabulous eclectic collection of paintings. The man, William Kirkpatrick, is highlighted in hotel literature, but full appreciation of his singular life requires reading the biography chapter of William Dalrymple’s White Mughals ( itself a revelation and delight). If life brings you to Devon, simply sleep here. Rooms require stair climbing.

Central property if you’re wanting explore the centre of Exeter.

There is no parking on site. You can pull in to drop off / pick up luggage. With the additional cost of off site parking, this makes this accommodation very pricy.

We stayed in sugar, Really lovely room - honestly the best shower I’ve ever had in my life no clue how they get the water pressure that strong but it was incredible. Slept very well and the breakfast was fantastic And what a convenient location.

Fantastic stay, staff and breakfast amazing. Room was beautiful, Really beautiful property. Bed massive and very comfy..

however incredibly hot - it was during heatwave. When asked for a fan staff quickly sorted.

Het pand is oud maar heel mooi gerenoveerd.

Niets.

Charming, elegant, Georgian hotel, tastefully restored. Fantastic bar with a long and interesting cocktail menu. This hotel is situated in a wide leafy street next to the beautiful area surrounding the cathedral. Southernhay House has many reception rooms mostly overlooking a private garden. The beds are very comfortable and the rooms large and interesting.

Liked everything

We visited here for a rare mum and dad date night so we wanted something a bit special and this place delivered. We stayed in ‘Tulip’ and it was just pure luxury - as soon as we walked into the room we were blown away and then there are the little details like local coffee and beautiful smelling soaps which just enhance the luxury. The gentleman on Reception / running the bar was friendly and welcoming and knows how to make the perfect Aperol spritz and espresso martini! The location of the hotel is perfect, a 5 minute walk into the city centre / to the cathedral and there is a beautiful wine bar (Rendezvous) a stones throw away which serves the BEST food I have ever eaten. In terms of parking, we arrived after 6pm and were able to park on the road outside, moving the car to a public car park before 8am (again, only a 5 minute walk to the car park). Thank you so much for such a wonderful stay - it’s been so nice to relax and enjoy.

la receptionist veramente molto gentile e di supporto

il bagno in camera, struttura un po’ vecchiotta e non lindissima.

History, look and feel

N/A

Great room size , lovely warm comfortable

Noise during night wasn’t sure if it was the heating or Simone using shower during the night but very loud and disrupted sleep

Was clean and well presented

Rooms weren’t as described , very stuffy and had a very annoying green light on the ceiling which was really bright throughout the night

Free sweets and central location

Sink in bedroom

This is a a gem of a boutique hotel handily placed for exploring the city centre. Our room was generously sized and extremely comfortable with super king size bed and a large bathroom. The roll top bath was great for a soak after a hard day’s sightseeing. The town centre and the cathedral are only a few minutes walk away yet the area was calm and peaceful, ensuring a good night’s sleep. Breakfast was excellent with a good choice. The pancakes were beautifully done and the portion generous as was the full English I had the following day. The staff were friendly and helpful.The bar is comfortable and a great place for a nightcap. The hotel benefits from its historic background and yet is beautifully clean and modern. We would happily stay here again

Breakfast, location, room

Safety light on in bedroom all night and too bright.

A lovely peaceful, quirky, boutique hotel in a very quiet but central part of Exeter. We loved everything about this hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful. The rooms were very well appointed, comfortable and had many lovely luxury touches, whilst being eco friendly. Lovely attention to detail throughout the hotel. The bar and dining area were very nice, great breakfast with a very good choice of dishes and good drinks and cocktail menu. Would definitely stay again and would recommend this gem of a hotel.

Staff excellent. made to feel very welcome. food was excellent and private dining can be thoroughly recommended. hotel is very well located for shopping in Central Exeter and is only a few 100 metres from the Cathedral which is most impressive.

Only real criticism is that the room was stifling hot with no means of turning down the radiators because they were not actually on! Something else was going on there, but with no thermostat that I could see to try to cool the room, the heat made it a little uncomfortable. I don't like a toilet in the room without a properly fitting and opaque door. We tried to use the ground floor facilities where possible but the mens toilets on the ground floor were only available with a code (surely unnecessary?). Combined, these two things took the edge of what was othersise a good value boutique hotel experience. I would return, but would seek a different room with more traditional ensuite facilities.

Southernhay House must be the only hotel in England (certainly the only hotel charging three hundred pounds per room per night B & B) that does not offer their guests the opportunity to have cornflakes for breakfast. Or Weetabix. Or Rice Crispies. Or any fresh fruit. Or any fruit juice other than orange juice. The only cereal they offer is some unappealing-looking granola. On the positive side, the staff of the hotel are friendly and helpful, the period decor is attractive and authentic-looking, and there are some stunning pieces of antique furniture. But you can't eat the decor or the furniture for breakfast.

Lovely location . Hotel was excellent as were the staff.

Unfortunately one of the guests flooded their room and set the fire alarm off .

Stille gate, men ble likevel vekket av søppeltømming og smelling av dører

Rommet ble ikke ryddet og sengen ble ikke redd opp. Ikke påfyll til kaffemaskinen

This review is for the food. Fabulous wine list, food (special occasion set menu was promised, though not delivered in the end) was genuinely vile, expensive and worse quality steak than Wetherspoons . Food was uneaten, because it was awful, waiter didn’t notice. Hotel was a lovely venue though x

Breakfast was excellent. The team were very friendly, helpful and professional. The location was ideal - a short walk into the town.

Booked for a graduation meal. The venue is stunning it’s a shame the food was standard nothing special . Considering it was a small menu we expected what we would be given would be done very well and a high standard of ingredients would be used, unfortunately this was not the case. what we received was average to say the least the Steak was not great quality and not cooked well it lacked flavour , the rest of the plate was mediocre, tasteless tomatoes and what I suspect may be frozen chips . The Halloumi sticks my son commented were the same as Whetherspoons . The Ragu meat was poor and had a lot of fat . The Wine menu should match the standard of food, if you sell high end like Cristal the food should be of the same calibre . I would be surprised if they have a Chef more likely a cook , if the food we received was done by a Chef then that’s concerning, I have had much better food at pubs , felt very disappointed by what we received if I’m honest and everyone commented , which is a shame because this place could be amazing , the venue is beautiful .

מיקום בעיר , ארוחת הבוקר

חדרים מיושנים במקצת

great Bar lady. very helpful staff also very good

Lady that checked us in was lovely, real asset to the hotel. Looked after us at all points of our stay from reception to bar drinks and breakfast, she was amazing. Hotel is lovely with a great character and vibe, breakfast was excellent and the sun terrace is a gem.

Very chic

No air conditioning

Atmosphere of restrained elegance. Tasty food. Great staff really friendly. And of course excellent location.

the room was quiet, the bed was comfortable.

it's overpriced, no parking.

Beautiful hotel right in the centre of Exeter so perfect for walking everywhere

The only moan I have were the pillows - I didn’t have the best sleep as the pillows were quite hard and lumpy! Pillows are tricky but keep an eye on them!

Breakfast was so good. Delicious smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were served hot (which is rare in my experience in hotels)! Room was lovely and v comfy bed.

Great location, short walk to town centre. Beautiful square and gardens. Great breakfast

It has character. Good food. Good bed. Clean. Lovely staff

Needs some refurbishment and a coat of paint

Charming house with great food and bar service. We were treated very well. Location was great as well. Would recommend enthusiastically to others.

Rooms were large, location was very close to the center, breakfast was very nice.

Central location. Lovely room. Helpful staff

Shower and toilet a bit odd with no proper doors

The Room was amazing. Definitely had the wow factor!! A huge comfortable bed. The curtains need to be sorted as had come iff hooks in places. Room was very clean apart from the shower trap.. The staff were all very polite and very very helpful.. Breakfast was delicious especially the fresh orange juice and the selection of greek yougart, fruit compote, granola, honey and nuts that arrived pre cooked breakfast...

The curtains in the room need to be re hung, they had come off the hooks making it look a bit tatty, although the room was amazing... The shower trap was dirty!!

Evening food was good They carried my luggage up for me Mattress was comfortable

The shower mat in the room was stained. It had obviously been washed but had it been looked at they would have seen it was stained with black marks and it should have been discarded. The soap bottle in the shower was made of glass....and not fixed to anything so easy to fall and break...not great. The shower tray was shiny and therefore slippery...by the time i realised I was already in the shower and it was too late to call and ask if they had a rubber shower mat. One of the water bottles in the room was already opened and looked as if it had been refilled from the tap - it was "over full" compared to the unopened one. This should have been spotted as it was very obvious to me. The sleigh bed in the room may look OK but the frame is too big for the space. There is hardly any space to move in the room, and the only place to hang anything was a rack of knobs fixed to the wall. The stairs are steep - its an old building so to be expected BUT they are carpeted in dark blue and there is very little light in the hall way at night. Really hard to navigate if you have any sight impediment in the dark (as I do).

My brother-in-law had his wedding reception here, and the whole wedding party stayed. It was amazing!!! We were able to drop our stuff off before check-in. By the time we returned from the wedding ceremony, the lovely staff had kindly taken our bags to our room - a blessing as I've got dodgy knees, my husband has breathing problems, and there's no lift😄 We were in Silk. It was beautiful. The bed was so comfortable. The bathroom was spotless with a fabulous shower. The whole experience was incredible. Cocktails before dinner (I recommend the spicy marg😆) We had a private dining room, which was perfect for our small group - 8, including the grooms. The food was incredible and enhanced by perfect service. The following morning, breakfast was great. Loved the presentation of the yogurt, fruit compote etc. The pancakes, swimming in a lake of hot maple syrup, with bacon, just awesome. If, like me, you are a bit of a history nerd, you'll find the background to the house interesting.

OMG, AMAZING! I really love the decor of this place. For starters, the food was just delish, and my partner and I had the best night's sleep ever! We stayed in a room called Cotton, and the bed was so comfy. We took full advantage of the bath in there, too. The staff were lovely and couldn't do enough to help us; I'm currently looking at booking again for Valentine's Day!

We have stayed in this amazing Hotel before. We travel a lot. This is honestly one of the best nights sleep ever. The decor is lovely, staff are attentive, great location for Exeter. Breakfast was great. But this was the most comfortable restful sleep ever. Great bedding. You might hear the sound of the cathedral bells in the morning but is that not the nicest alarm clock ever? We do spend a lot of time in Exeter so even when we are not staying at the Southern Hay we always pop in for a drink in the great conservatory. The conservatory always reminds me of a restaurant in Berkeley Square in NYC. I cannot find a fault. In fact We are making sure we are going back in February.

Location /friendliness of staff

Woke up by the noise of the water pipe assuming because the guest in the room below had a shower No hot water left after that. The carpet would need to be refreshed and the floor in the bathroom was not very clean.

Friendly attentive staff and nothing was too much trouble. Our lovely room Tulip had great bed linen, towels and products. Gorgeous freestanding bath and powerful shower. Excellent quality coffee teas and biscuits.

Breakfast was fantastic but felt it should have been included in the room rate.

No on-site parking.

Great location, a couple of the staff are lovely and nice cocktail.

Third and last stay at this hotel.  Spent £1,190 on 2 rooms for 2 nights to bring my mother for a treat.  On our second night, I was kept awake until nearly 1am by the noise of people in the bar and the staff clearing up.  I went down twice in my pjs to ask them to reduce the noise as I wanted to sleep.  The next morning the manager eventually and reluctantly agreed it would have been possible to at least shut the 2 doors to the bar and restaurant area so that the noise wouldn't have travelled so easily.  The owner was vile about it all and refused or didn't even understand that noise travels and has now banned me from returning (knowing I wouldn't)!  So don't stay in the Ivory room if you want some peace at 12.45am. There was never anyone at reception to collect/leave keys with, and we would ring the doorbell repeatedly to try and get someone, look in the bar area etc but couldn't find anyone.  My observations on this and the consequent lack of security and possible impact on their insurance arrangements was again met with anger.    Cleanliness is also an issue - black mould in the shower, dirty carpet, clump of hair on the bathroom floor (which I had put from the shower into the bin but it was obviously dropped on the floor when the room was cleaned) etc.   No sheet on the under mattress. Have seen from negative reviews elsewhere that this will be met with a horrible reply from the owners - they don't want to raise their standards or apologise for anything.

Third and last stay at this hotel.  Spent £1,190 on 2 rooms for 2 nights to bring my mother for a treat.  On our second night, I was kept awake until nearly 1am by the noise of people in the bar and the staff clearing up.  I went down twice in my pjs to ask them to reduce the noise as I wanted to sleep.  The next morning the manager eventually and reluctantly agreed it would have been possible to at least shut the 2 doors to the bar and restaurant area so that the noise wouldn't have travelled so easily.  The owner was vile about it all and refused or didn't even understand that noise travels and has now banned me from returning (knowing I wouldn't)!  So don't stay in the Ivory room if you want some peace at 12.45am.  There was never anyone at reception to collect/leave keys with, and we would ring the doorbell repeatedly to try and get someone, look in the bar area etc but couldn't find anyone.  My observations on this and the consequent lack of security and possible impact on their insurance arrangements was again met with anger.    Cleanliness is also an issue - black mould in the shower, dirty carpet, clump of hair on the bathroom floor (which I had put from the shower into the bin but it was obviously dropped on the floor when the room was cleaned) etc.   No sheet on the under mattress.  Have seen from negative reviews elsewhere that this will be met with a horrible reply from the owners - they don't want to raise their standards or apologise for anything.

Fabulous bartender - made us the best margarita cocktail and was lovely too!

Water came out of the shower onto the floor due to its design.

We stayed for a wedding anniversary and were delighted by the hotel, its ambience, its situation and impeccable service. We stayed in the room. “Cotton” and revelled in the large comfortable bed and especially the deep, roll top bath. Breakfast was beautifully presented, generous portions and well cooked. If you want a secluded, discrete and tasteful place to stay in Exeter - this is it. Highly recommended.

Location

Tiny room, bathroom and shower cubicles at foot of bed, each with glass doors and minimal privacy

Comfy room. Great breakfast. Staff were friendly. Good location for central Exeter. Overall a good stay but nothing exciting.

No car parking. Feels a little bit soulless in the common areas but only a small footprint. Small outside area but Feels like you're sitting amongst the local offices... which you are!

Spacious, comfortable, quiet

Great staff good town centre location

Overlooked by high rise office blocks no parking v exp breakfast if not included lacked a little character

Friendly and homely

ok hotel

Arrived around midnight (as previously communicated with the hotel) as it was our wedding night. Also wrote in the notes of the booking that it was our wedding night. We couldn’t tell if we’d rung the bell properly so tried again. We were greeted with no smile or warm welcome unfortunately. As it was our wedding night, I thought we may have a congratulations note or something in the room but had nothing at all. Really disappointing. The stay was made up for a bit by the lovely greeting we had in the morning along with a stunning fried breakfast and pancakes. I’m not 100% sure it’s worth what we paid but it is a beautiful hotel.

The location is fantastic, very close to the city centre The staff are brilliant, very friendly and helpful, make you feel very much at home

Absolutely lovely hotel, centrally located. Very comfortable, and the staff are excellent.

Great place, with lots of history. Beautifully decorated.

Parking was an issue if you have a car, but I suppose that is a common problem all over the UK. Our room faced the street, so some student noise, and the big beautiful trees have birds nesting, so that could be an issue.

Really lovely boutique hotel with huge rooms, fantastic service and in a perfect central location. Wish we’d stayed for dinner instead of going to Hotel du Vin - abysmal! - so will definitely dine here when we come back. Special mention to Nick on reception who was so friendly and lugged our massive cases up two flights of stairs with a big smile on his face. Wonderful little place.

Location is great, friendly staff, very comfortable bed and great quality bathroom.

Room needed a dressing table, full length mirror or mirror stand for ladies to use. The sofa could have been removed to fit these things in easily, as the only purpose it served was as a clothes horse as it didn't face the TV or a window view.

It was close to the Cathedral which is why I booked it. I loved the history of the house and grand but homely feel of the place. The breakfast was delicious and I would recommend it especially with the added mushrooms. I had tofu, roast tomatoes, spinach and large field mushrooms on sourdough. You don't have to be a vegetarian to like this!!

What I would have liked is more space to put my make up and bits and pieces, so another folding table perhaps?

We stayed at this beautiful hotel for two nights and loved it. It's an oasis in the middle of town. The whole place is very stylish, beautifully decorated and so welcoming. We had a "comfy room" which had a unique layout but it was certainly big enough for the two of us; it was bright, airy and super clean with lots of thoughtful touches. It also had a great shower and such a comfy bed! Breakfast was delicious with a good choice and everything both looked and tasted amazing. Service was excellent; all the staff in the hotel were very friendly and attentive though. We had drinks in the bar one evening, it has a good cocktail and drinks list and is a lovely area to sit and relax after a busy day! We had a great stay, would love to come back and wholeheartedly recommend it.