An Autumn Weekend Break at the Moorland Garden Hotel in South Devon

Devon is a wonderful choice for a weekend or longer break. With its beautiful rural scenery, seaside resort towns, national parks and rolling hills, it is a very popular tourist destination. Last weekend saw us heading to the Moorland Garden Hotel in South Devon for a short break. First impressions on arrival at the hotel were excellent. Set in nine acres of stunning and tranquil moorland garden, the hotel looked perfect for a leisure break - a secluded and charming retreat in an untamed and unspoilt corner of beautiful Dartmoor.

After taking in the beauty of the well maintained garden, we headed inside. The Moorland Garden Hotel was recently awarded four stars by AA, with their restaurant (The Wildflower Restaurant) also being awarded a Rosette. So, we were really looking forward to a very relaxing and restorative weekend. Once inside, we were given a hearty reception and handed the keys to our room. We had been allocated a suite, The Lily of the Valley suite, for our stay. The room was spacious with an en-suite bathroom. The best thing about the room was the view. The windows in the room looked out into the tranquil and well maintained moorland garden. With its beautiful expansive lawn, the garden was a treat to our tired eyes (we had driven for over 5 hours to reach Devon). We really could not have asked for more.

The room had all the trappings of a luxurious hotel. It was comfortable, tastefully decorated, had nice furnishings and was equipped with a flat screen TV and tea/coffee making facilities. Complimentary Wi-Fi was provided and there was a selection of magazines and books in the room. Welcoming us to the hotel and wishing us a memorable stay was a hand-written note from the hotel team. It is these seemingly small touches that make all the difference in a hotel stay.

The hotel has 44 bedrooms in all and though all the rooms are different in terms of layout, what they have in common is the use of resplendent fabrics and wall coverings making each room a welcoming and luxurious space. The Lily of the Valley suite has hand-painted black and green floral wallpaper which in my opinion enhanced the visual appeal of the room.

There is lot to see nearby including the spectacular Dartmoor National Park. Buckland Abbey is around 10 minutes drive from the hotel. Also within easy reach are the Dartmoor Prison Museum, The Garden House, Burrator Reservoir, Dartmoor Zoo and the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth which holds the distinction of being UK's largest aquarium. Day one saw us spending a couple of wonderful hours at The Garden House enjoying the colourful blooms. On day two we headed to Plymouth to visit the National Marine Aquarium. All the remainder of our stay was spent exploring the moors - we managed to visit a reservoir, a dam and one of the tors nearby. Watch out for more on this in another blog post. Coming back to The Garden House - it was lovely walking down the winding paths through the immaculately maintained gardens. Within a few hours we had worked up a good appetite which was good as we were booked in for dinner at The Wildflower Restaurant.

Dinner at the Wildflower Restaurant was incredibly delicious. The restaurant has a traditional British menu and makes use of high quality locally sourced produce. If you have any special dietary requirements and let the hotel know in advance then the chef will take that into consideration. The restaurant was recently awarded a rosette from the AA and was also commended at the Devon Tourism Awards 2014 in the Taste of Devon category. Both well deserved as the food was delicious. We enjoyed our main course of Tomato Tart Tatin a lot - the grilled halloumi wrapped in courgette was simply delicious.

In addition to the food, I also liked the layout of the restaurant - large windows with views of the moorland garden. So beautiful! In warmer weather conditions you can have your meal in the restaurants al fresco dining terrace. Dinner is served between 6:30-9:30pm daily and a three course dinner will cost you £29.95. If you prefer a less formal menu for dinner or lunch, then The Dartmoor Bar and Lounge would be a good option. While it does not offer lovely garden views like the restaurant, the atmosphere is lovely and you have some good food choices like the Dartmoor Ploughman, real ale battered fish and chips and the popular Homity Pie with sweet potato fries. The bar is open for lunch from 12:00-2:15pm and for dinner from 6:00-9:30pm.

All in all, we had an incredibly wonderful stay at the Moorland Garden Hotel and would highly recommend it for a relaxing break in Devon. We are not done with Dartmoor though and perhaps we’ll just head back to the Moorland Garden Hotel in Spring or Summer to explore the area further.

What do you think of the Moorland Garden Hotel? Do you like its tranquil setting?

You can book your stay at the hotel here: www.moorlandgardenhotel.co.uk
Moorland Garden Hotel Yelverton, Near Plymouth, South Devon, PL20 6DA
Tel: 01822 852 245

*We were hosted by the Moorland Garden Hotel however all opinions are our own.