Salcombe, South Hams · Hotel
Waterfront four-star hotel above Salcombe harbour with a five-room spa, indoor pool and rooms looking straight down the estuary.
Harbour Hotel Salcombe sits on the water's edge just outside the centre of Salcombe, close enough to walk into town in a few minutes and far enough out to keep the views uninterrupted. The building steps down the hillside, which means most of the public rooms and a large proportion of the bedrooms look south over the Kingsbridge estuary and the boats moored below.
Rooms are done in a New England seaside style, pale timber and blue-grey paint, with the better categories taking in floor-to-ceiling windows and small balconies or terraces. Sizes vary considerably given the age and shape of the building, so it is worth being specific about what you want when booking rather than taking the entry-level rate and hoping. Family rooms and interconnecting options are available.
The spa is the main draw beyond the view: five treatment rooms, an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and a small gym, all of which make the hotel a reasonable proposition outside high summer when the weather turns. There is also a cinema room, and free parking, which in Salcombe is worth more than it sounds. The restaurant leans heavily on local seafood, with crab and scallops landed nearby.
It suits couples and small families who want a comfortable base in the most fashionable part of South Devon without self-catering. Salcombe's sandy beaches at North Sands and South Sands are a short walk or a ferry hop away, the town's sailing and paddleboarding operators are on the doorstep, and the coast path towards Bolt Head starts within a mile. It is not cheap, and August rates reflect that, but the location is about as good as Devon gets.