Hotel du Vin Exeter

We didn't stay here but we did have dinner. The service left a lot to be desired. Was with a large group and didn't get my dinner until everyone else was almost finished, and to add insult to injury the waiter attributed the issue (fault) to us, not him or his staff. Nicely done. Do you think I can recommend this place. You be the judge...

Hotel du Vin can be quite variable, but this is one of the good ones. The only real down side is the rooms at the front of the hotel can suffer from traffic noise. The super high ceilings and windows in the rooms are used really well to grand effect, and bring a sense of space beyond the actual size of the room.

Located near the quays, it's a short stroll down to loads of cafes, restaurants and nice walks along the waterside.

The restaurant is quite small, but opens out onto a lovely patio and gardens and features a fantastic nautical inspiration in the super high canvas sails of the ceiling, spanning out from a huge wooden mast and lit by what look like hundreds of buoys floating in the air.

We stayed here for one night in a Junior Suite. The room was really lovely and had lots of thoughtful touches and a comfy bed. You would need an eye mask in the summer as there are lots of windows and the light would wake you. The balconies were lovely and gave great views over the city. The breakfast and dinner were both delicious and the staff were friendly and helpful. The pool was nice as a bonus but definitely not big enough for lots of people or lots of swimming. The water jets look as if they will be nice but basically just spray tepid water up your back. They seemed very oddly designed. It was quite atmospheric swimming outside and looking at the autumn trees.
Overall, we had a lovely stay. The location was good for walking to Exeter Quay and Exeter High Street.

Great location in Exeter. We have stayed here at least 4 times over the years and slightly disappointed by our recent stay.
No one thing, more a cumulative effort of small things on what is normally a faultless and great value stay.
My observations are

1. Prices have increased with deals no longer being offered when we stayed.

2. Key to wrong room given to us initially.

3. It also appeared that they were short on staff as drinks took 20mins to be made and served.

Don't let me put you off, these are minor issues. I would recommend this place as some where special to go!

It was also great to have the swimming pool working again.

Location:
The Hotel Du Vin Exeter is well situated in the heart of the city.

Parking:
Parking spaces are limited to a handful of bays at the entrance of the hotel. Parking can be reserved for £15 per night on a first come first serve basis. However, next door to the building is a public car park with free overnight parking until 8am. I paid from 8am until check out at 11am (I actually paid until midday) for £5.80. the car park is open and unsecured so parking is at the risk of the owner.

The building:
The building itself is an old eye hospital, and it's from this that the hotel draws all of its charm. Each room is unique, especially within the eaves of the building on the third floor where the rooms have high ceiling and lots of interesting angles (see photos).

The room - king deluxe third floor:
The rooms have high ceilings and are spacious but remain charming and comfortable. As my room was on the third floor it was interestingly laid out and full of charm.
It consisted of a separate bathroom and toilet, and a bedroom with a small desk area. The bed was extremely comfortable and on the medium firm side (about half an inch of give and then firmed up, not springy, not mashmallowy). Unfortunately I had a bulb out in the window seat area and none of the lights or sockets worked on the left side of the bed. This left the room rather dark and meant I had to use the other side of the bed for my phone charger. This was okay as I was alone but might have caused problems had I been sharing the bed.
The bathrooms were well stocked with L'Occitane toiletries and the rainfall shower would wonderful. The only downside being the towel placement in the toilet, as it was situated over the toilet roll holder meaning it instantly soaked the roll when I washed my hands for dinner.

Amenities:
There is the usual iron and board, TV (disappointingly old model), Aircon, safe etc .. However the room also came with Nespresso maker, plus a selection of coffees and Ferrero Rochers, as well as Taylor's tea and coffee bags, and Cafe Express hot chocolate. Plenty to get you through the stay.

Overall. I think the room was wonderful and I enjoyed my stay. The little touches tipped it over the edge from a normal hotel stay to something a little more indulgent.

One negative for Hotel Du Vin, no loyalty scheme. This leave it's a solid last choice for future stays behind those which have them as I'm a business traveller and I stay in a lot of hotels.

The hotel is lovely! Staff are nice and polite. Rooms are small but very nice! I liked the breakfast esp the avocado and salsa with eggs on toast and Tabasco on the side! The French restaurant is also good though limited in its options for vegetarian dishes. The spa is calm and wonderful. Kelly did a massage for me and was experienced and very good! Happy to recommend a deep tissue massage with Kelly!!

For someone with a dairy intolerance the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating! The receptionist went out of their way to get some oat milk for me to have with my in room tea facilities and the restaurant staff were amazing! Just takes the pressure of me when i appreciate it can be time consuming when dealing with mass catering.
The hotel is in a great location, incredibly clean and i would definitely visit again. Thank you

The festive champagne afternoon tea was lovely. Great selection of sandwiches and cakes. Scones were a little dry and crumbled alot when cut into but apart from that, service was great.