My husband turned 40 in March so I wanted to find a luxury hotel that we’d enjoy but would also have things to do to keep the twins amused. With them being so young I’m very conscious that its not fair on them (and other guests) to take them somewhere too formal and we booked Saunton Sands following a recommendation from another Mum. The website describes the hotel as ‘North Devon’s Leading Luxury Hotel’, with a 4 star rating and location right on the beach, we booked.
We chose to stay in a sea facing family room, this was a double room with an interconnecting twin room. Arriving on a Friday afternoon we checked in and then headed to our room. The sea / beach view was fantastic, the beach stretches out as far as you can see – I think its at least 3 miles long. The children chose their beds, jumped up and down on our bed and then we headed out to explore.
With a gate and path directly to the beach from the hotel, we were at the beach in a matter of a minute. We had a giggle running down the sand dunes, known as Braunton Burrows. Caspar thought it was hysterical to tumble down them and then run up the next one. The scale of the dunes is really impressive too. Shoes and socks came off pretty quickly and barefoot running play was much loved by the kids. We spent Saturday back on the beach – visiting twice and the rest of the time we were loving the pool. The baby pool was great and the children spent lots of time safely jumping in and out of here.
The hotel is art deco in style and has an air of grandeur. A few days before we arrived we had an email to say work was being carried out on the pool, children’s club and leisure area, luckily this didn’t impact our stay too much but I could see the hotel is in need of a cash injection in pockets, so this renovation work is clearly called for. The place feels dated and whilst I understand why it calls itself a luxury hotel, we didn’t feel that the experience we’d had was luxurious. The bedrooms and facilities are very standard, there are limited ‘extras’ to make the price you are spending feel justified. Luxurious to me is something akin to Babington House and would feature at every touch point. Saying that, the customer service from all staff was superb and the food is excellent but pricey – a sandwich lunch for the 4 of us was £50!
The location of the hotel is excellent however I’d recommend you try and find a deal before booking, or visit Saunton for the amazing beach and find an Air B&B (or follow our love of home swaps – something we plan to do as soon as our house is fully renovated). Sunday morning after another swim in the pool, we hopped in the car and made the short drive to a family restaurant in nearby Braunton for lunch. Well fed, tired and happy we headed home. A great weekend – made by its fabulous beachfront location, although we had felt our weekend stay was over priced.
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