We stayed in two King rooms with balconies as a family and overall the hotel has a lot going for it. The location is fantastic — right in the heart of Exeter, perfect for walking everywhere. The hotel itself looks great, especially the sky bar on the top floor. The views are excellent, the drinks are very good, and the service up there was genuinely friendly and attentive. We also grabbed some nibbles in the downstairs restaurant and both the food and service were solid.
The rooms were clean, spacious, and the balconies were a nice touch. Everything felt modern and comfortable.
The only real downside — and it’s a big one — is the front desk service. For a hotel at this price point (and especially as an IHG property), it really let the whole place down. The staff were slow, not particularly knowledgeable (and I hate to add, not the ”quickest”), and quite short/rude at times. We were told when checking in that we’d get late checkout as IHG members, but when we returned later a different staff member had no idea what we were talking about and seemed confused about how to handle it. She eventually offered only one room until 12pm, which after a 3pm check-in really doesn’t feel like proper late checkout.
We travel a lot and the front desk experience here was noticeably below standard. The rest of the hotel (rooms, bar, restaurant, location) is genuinely good, but the poor front-of-house service is what we’ll remember most. Would I stay again? Probably, because of the location and the rooms, but I really hope they sort out the front desk training and attitude.