Harbour Hotel Salcombe

“Ok for one day”

The best thing about the hotel is the location-perched above the Estuary with stunning views. Be warned access via the town is daunting with very narrow streets- leave your Chelsea Tractors at home.. parking is harrowing- the car park is finger shaped with next to no room.. they have a Porter to ma… more

The best thing about the hotel is the location-perched above the Estuary with stunning views. Be warned access via the town is daunting with very narrow streets- leave your Chelsea Tractors at home.. parking is harrowing- the car park is finger shaped with next to no room.. they have a Porter to manage parking and you have to hand your keys over to Reception because of double parking. There is nowhere outside to park either. Also not impress with Receptionist when checking in. On a call but did not acknowledge with a ‘won’t be long’. Then when she finished the call she communicated with someone behind me again with no acknowledgment. On the positive side the room was great with lovely aspect. The bathroom was also good and you can tell a classy hotel by the quality and size of the toilet paper. The oool is not that big-enough for 2 proper swimmers. We had dinner on our first night. Very good aspect and staff service. Food quality also good but 2 course meal with a bottle of wine £190. Second night we dined in the Victoria Inn -5 minute walk- and had a better 2 course meal with a bottle of wine for £85. It was packed so recommend booking.

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“Relaxing Weekend with Some Minor Disappointments”

I recently stayed at The Harbour Hotel for a weekend getaway, kindly gifted by my sister-in-law as an early birthday present. Overall, we had a lovely time but there were a few areas that left me feeling slightly disappointed given the hotel’s reputation. On a positive note, we had a cream tea at T… more

I recently stayed at The Harbour Hotel for a weekend getaway, kindly gifted by my sister-in-law as an early birthday present. Overall, we had a lovely time but there were a few areas that left me feeling slightly disappointed given the hotel’s reputation. On a positive note, we had a cream tea at The Jetty which was absolutely delightful and the cocktails were superb. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and enjoyed sitting outside, which made the experience even more special. However, the outdoor cleanliness did detract from this somewhat. Tables had visible marks, empty plates and glasses were left uncleared for a while and much of the outside glass appeared dirty. The furniture was tired and worn. While I understand the challenges of a waterside location, there was quite a lot of bird mess around, which didn’t seem to be cleaned as regularly as expected. Our room was spacious and comfortable, which we appreciated but again cleanliness and maintenance could have been better. The grout in the bathroom was stained and there was visible mould in the silicone. It just didn’t quite meet the standard I had anticipated. The spa area was another slight letdown. It was smaller than expected and unfortunately the upkeep didn’t reflect what I would expect from a highly rated spa hotel. Some lockers were missing locks, the toilet door didn’t close properly without force and the lock itself was fiddly. The showers had hair in them and the windows around the spa area was noticeably dirty both inside and out, there seemed to be missing tiles in the pool, no staff came and gave the spa area a check over once in around 45 - 60 minutes of being there. I’m usually used to spa facilities being checked regularly for empty glasses, rubbish, towels left, those sorts of things quite regularly but this didn’t happen. That said, dinner at The Jetty was excellent—the food looked beautiful, tasted great and the service was very good. While there were definitely highlights to our stay, I did feel that the overall experience didn’t quite live up to expectations, particularly in terms of cleanliness and maintenance. Given the hotel’s reputation, I had hoped for a higher standard in these areas.

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“Disappointed”

There are positives and negatives to this hotel but after all the hype we were a bit underwhelmed. Check in wasnt terribly welcoming, no smile, just doing her job, doing it professionally, but no warmth. The room ( estuary view) was lovely but not as clean as one would expect, especially the bathr… more

There are positives and negatives to this hotel but after all the hype we were a bit underwhelmed. Check in wasnt terribly welcoming, no smile, just doing her job, doing it professionally, but no warmth. The room ( estuary view) was lovely but not as clean as one would expect, especially the bathroom, cupboards didn't shut properly, no hooks for wet coats. Balcony furniture dirty. Nice to have coffee and tea in the room but biscuits not replenished. The Gin was a bonus but take your own tonic as the mini bar costs are steep. My main gripe, however, is breakfast. We had booked bed and breakfast but only discovered on arrival that only continental breakfast is included. if you want any hot food it's another £10 each! The continental selection was poor, tiny portions of cheese, processed ham, little fresh fruit, overcooked pastries, banana bread like cardboard, completely tasteless and very uninspiring bread. The 'coffee' is literally brown water. The staff in the restaurant are veering on sullen and the first morning our settings were cleared completely when we went to get toast! Apology accepted but not so much as a smile. After that we took it in turns to go up for food! The Jetty restaurant in the evening was exceptional, food was incredible but again there was little interaction from the staff, I felt they were going through the motions. The spa was lovely but our experience in there was completely ruined but a man taking a very loud work call for over 30 minutes. Not the hotel's fault but maybe the spa should be flagged up as a 'quiet zone' with phones on silent and no calls. The star of the hotel for us was Peter who manages the ( very tight) car park, moves your car for you and always has a smile, is very courteous and professional. The setting is lovely, the views are exceptional, lovely walks straight from the door but I think it could do better, especially considering its 5* rating and is high cost. Would we return? No.

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