ONE FINE BAY
Left to right: canine chum happy. Meanwhile, humans enjoy a large shower, huge bath, TV in every room, tea and coffee making facilities, a fridge, hairdryers.
It feels like a home from home – and with great food, too.
Doyle’s restaurant has two rosettes for a refined dining experience and is also the location for breakfast, with views across the golf course down to the sea. And the breakfasts, like the surroundings, are top notch.
In the evening, we ate in the Brasserie where you can, if you choose, take your dog for dinner.
The meals were first-rate, particularly the pan-fried skate wing, and chosen from a menu packed with fresh local produce and an impressive wine list to match.
You can work all that off in The
Alchemist spa – with treatment areas, sauna, steam room and pool – and the SALT gym, offering state of the art equipment and the option of personal training.
Woolacombe Bay also has other attractions and distractions, including a billiard room with a full-size snooker table, a table tennis area, an outside Lido during the warmer months with a fire pit for the evenings and tennis courts.
There’s also children’s entertainment and the hotel will arrange discounted sessions at the nearby surf school and stables, too.
As if all that weren’t enough, the hotel has its own 30-seater cinema, Neo, showing all the latest films on a high-tech system, in comfortable surroundings including plenty of sofas for two.
Are there any downsides? The wi-fi in the hotel is free but didn’t work very well in our suite – actually a blessing if you want to avoid work emails and prise your children from their social media accounts.
One of the bathroom windows in our suite was not frosted, but that was remedied by hanging a towel in front of it. Also, the kettle in our bedroom was on a low table – necessary to reach the wall socket but if you have small children you’ll want to shift some furniture around for safety.
Woolacombe itself has things to do for families, with a few varied shops and those beautiful beaches; the hills are a delight for walkers and nature lovers; the views are spectacular and can keep you distracted for hours.
In our two days in the area we also visited Ilfracombe harbour; Barnstaple, with its old pannier market and busy High Street; Bideford, home to Atllantic Village outlet shopping; the private, unique and ancient village of Clovelly – and the stunning rocky beach at Westward Ho!.
If you’re going to make the effort to get to the North Devon coast, and I can highly recommend you do, then I know just the place to stay.