Royal Beacon Hotel

The hotel’s in a great spot, with short walks to the beach, town and train station for trips to Exeter and elsewhere. Breakfast is included, with a full English or vegetarian option plus cereals, fruit and yoghurt. Dogs are welcome, though not in the main dining room. If you ask, they’ll set up a table in the lounge nearby, which was no trouble. There are no other meals available, but you can order a takeaway and ask for a table to be set up. The bar is well stocked, although there was no beer on tap when we visited. After a few days in Exmouth, we found this hotel a great value stay.

The staff were courteous and very helpful. The hotel itself feels dated and needs modernizing. It rained all day, so I stayed in to watch rugby, but the TV signal kept cutting out and needs sorting.

The welcome at reception was lovely, the room was a decent size and the location was good, but cleanliness needs a serious lift. The room and bathroom were dated, and the bathroom had not been cleaned properly. There was a used plaster stuck to the bin bag, left by a previous guest. When I showered, the water wouldn’t drain, so I checked the drain and found months’ worth of hair and soap scum. I know it’s a busy time of year and rooms have to be turned around quickly, but keeping on top of this would be a five-minute job and stop it becoming a problem for future guests.

The location is great, and the price is reasonable for the area. The staff were amazing, and there’s plenty of storage. But the hotel badly needs a full refurbishment. We were in the courtyard section, where the damp smell hit as soon as we walked in. Our room was very dirty, with short curly hairs on the bed, toilet seat and shower tray. There was also a random pill in a drawer. The mattress was stained so badly that it seemed beyond cleaning and needed replacing. The toilet seat was loose and didn’t fit, and the toilet flushed so loudly that I woke several times when other rooms used theirs. You could hear everything from other rooms. If you have young children, I’d avoid it for that reason alone. We visited in July and the room was far too hot. The windows only opened partway, which I understand, but the room wouldn’t cool down and there was no fan. The doors didn’t seem to fit their frames and rattled. The car park is very tight, and anything larger than a medium-sized family car would be a struggle. At checkout, we overheard two guests saying they’d both developed a rash during their stay, and staff brushed it off.