Best Western Exeter Lord Haldon Country Hotel

We stayed here for an impromptu 'couple of nights away' on the 'Breakfast On Us' deal. When we saw the prices for the evening meal, we made other arrangements!! The setting of the Hotel is very rural, nice and quiet, the staff helpful and friendly and the breakfast excellent, but the road into the hotel is, in my opinion, a disgrace. It might not be the hotel's responsibility (it runs on past the hotel) but I don't see why the hotel cannot at least fill in the worst of the potholes. less

The Best Western Lord Halden Hotel is an opportunity lost. Lack of signs when trying to find it in a maze of country lanes, is straight away a big minus. When you eventually locate it, it is set high up in attractive grounds with gorgeous views. The rooms are pleasant, but desperately need air conditioning. Stayed at the start of the heatwave and had to ask for a fan as the room was so hot. What it must have been like in the peak of the heat does not bear thinking about. Air conditioning is taken as given these days. A shock to find none. Why on earth has a lift not been installed? The several flights of stair were steep and narrow and we saw an elderly couple request assistance, but told no porter. Another guest helped! Serious lack of staff. On the first morning, an assistant manager was waiting tables, and only one chef was cooking. But, the full English was worth the wait. All locally sourced food. The best part of the stay. Cleanliness was another problem. The room was dusty, and not vacuumed until I requested it. Fluff by the bed betrayed its lack of cleaning. Also, the drip tray under the milk dispenser in the breakfast buffet had dried milk spills that were there for two days. Evening meal were poor. Soggy fish and overcooked chips. Very large portions, but that did not compensate for dreadful cooking. Complained, and had the main course removed from bill. Desserts really good. Excellent Sticky Toffee Pudding. Strange. This review is done to try to show that a hotel that has great potential to be a really good country house hotel, is being completely let down. Booked it because it was a Best Western, and have always found the chain good value, but this needs serious reorganising to exploit it's considerable charms. I hope it gets the attention it demands. less

This was an impromptu stopover for a couple of nights. We picked the hotel due to the price on Hotels.com. We had to change rooms due to a fault with the toilet but the friendly staff gave us a bigger room with a lovely view. Our first night was a Sunday and the hotel was very quiet but despite this the service was friendly and good. We had a meal in the restaurant on the first evening and the home made chicken pie was delicious. For hotel prices it was quite reasonable. Getting to the hotel is a bit of a challenge as there only seems to be two very narrow lanes into the village. If you value your paintwork or have a wide car then be careful. less

Exeter is a great place to stop over on the way to Cornwall. This hotel proved to be a terrible place to pick. It looks great as you approach the building and the views are fantastic. I found it to be very dull though , it smells of stale beer and fried food. it is in desperate need of re decorating. The hotel just felt grubby and dirty. It became obvious that the hotel relies solely on the wedding trade and it felt like if you weren't there for a wedding then you weren't important. ( there was no wedding on when we were there, in fact we never saw another guest at all until check out). At checkout we were ignored while two of the receptionists continued to blow up balloons so I just plonked the keys on the desk and walked out. I definitely will not be going back. less

Great welcome from Paige when I arrived late having got lost. Kirsty (housekeeping) and all the staff were very friendly and helpful to me and to my dog. Amazing tranquil setting, very close to busy Exeter. Good vegan cooked breakfast with no fuss. Accommodation was clean, comfortable and pleasantly old school. Strongly recommended. less