This historic hotel is situated opposite the Cathedral.Named after the Duchess of clarence whos husband became William 1V in 1827.It was the first hostelry in England to become a hotel in 1770.Highly recomended.
Beautiful building and fantastic setting around the Cathedral.
Having finally spent a night here I was slightly disappointed by my room and by the fact that the rooms are now all non-smoking (though smoking is permitted in the Champagne Bar), a fact which wasn't made clear on the website nor when I booked through Expedia where it gave me the option (noting that Expedia gave me a better rate than that quoted from the hotel directly!).
I had intended to have a bit of a "slob day" in Exeter with things to do the following day and so was looking forward to a long relaxing soak in the bath and perhaps a bit of writing here and elsewhere, dinner in house and an early-ish night. Having a non-smoking room kind of destroyed the pure "slob" aspect of my stay, the room had a shower rather than a bath and the workdesk was a bit on the small side for this standard of hotel. Having said that I had taken the cheapest room option but at over 100 pounds a night I would have expected slightly more space.
However, if you want a good quality, centrally located, Exeter hotel and opt for one of the more expensive rooms you could do far worse than stay here and whilst the hotel offers a range of dining alternatives; it's next door neighbour, The Well House (which is owned by the hotel) is one of my favourite pubs in Exeter with a good selection of local ales and excellent lunchtime food.
One thing that I was impressed with though was the standard of service, from reception, bar and restaurant - professional, a little formal but with a real desire to look after their customers.
The food operation is run by Michael Caines, who co-owns the hotel, and between the three main outlets: formal fine dining, the cafe bar and the next door pub, provides meals to suit every taste and budget.
