Gara Rock

We stayed at the Gara Rock for our 'mini-moon'. The hotel's setting is absolutely stunning. Sadly it just doesn't meet the grade of comparable hotels. Simple touches were lacking (e.g. over dinner having to ask each time for our wine to be topped up, our mains arriving just as my wife had left the table, breakfast plates arriving before our bowls were cleared so we end up holding them while they serve us, no proper wardrobe or clothes storage in the room, massive dead plant on our balcony). Not big things but important details. The evening meal I should say, was absolutely fantastic - friendly staff, faultless menu, quality local ingredients, really well cooked and presented. The gardens are also beautifully cared for. Our main issue was with the way they handled an unfortunate accident. As a member of staff carried in our luggage (the welcome email encourages you to leave your luggage in the car for them to collect), the handle broke on a gift bag containing a bottle of champagne and 30-40 unopened cards from our guests. Our plan to sit on the balcony, sip champagne in the sun and open them together went out the window as we had to quickly tear the envelopes off and put the cards in the sun to dry as ink began to run. The staff who dealt with it were extremely apologetic and themselves dealt with it really well. We understand it was an accident, but it was another detail lacking - when a guest has a gift bag which clearly has more in than it was designed to carry and was a precious cargo - hold it by the bottom, not the string handle (or leave it in the car). Damage done, the staff were kind, keen to help and quickly replaced our champagne, but the moment was gone. A bottle of dropped champagne alone we would have hoped to be replaced, but given the soaking of cards and gifts we expected to then hear from the hotel manager once we'd sorted ourselves out, to see how we were and what else they could do to help us enjoy our stay. But nothing. In the morning we asked for a late check out but as the room was booked again that night we were only able to stay a short while in the room (which was understandable). When we explained our disappointment on check out the general manager seemed to have no grasp of the impact the accident had had on our experience at the hotel. She actually laughed while my wife described how it had upset us. It had clearly not crossed her mind that an offer from the hotel (can we buy you cocktails?) the evening before would go such a long way and it seemed we should just be grateful for the replacement of the champagne. That the general manager had no grasp of the importance of a good experience at the hotel showed how that lack of attention to detail at Gara Rock clearly comes right from the top. In the end as we stood at the check out desk it came down to a "what do you want, then?" through her gritted teeth. And the bill for our evening meal and wine was waived. Had she offered that the evening before we'd probably h

The location is magnificent. The staff are very friendly, helpful and relaxed. The TV reception in the room was poor, the phone charger and the Marshall sound system did not work, the door to the garden was missing a handle and the curtains were missing curtain rails which made them look shabby and were difficult to pull. The common areas are very well kept and of a high standard. The restaurant could’ve more choice on the basic menu, we were there four days so we run out of things to eat. We walked to Salcombe to enjoy some different food as we were not into a tasting menu. We prefer the restaurant with the view where we ate a few years ago, which is now only used for the more formal dining experience so we felt we were pushed to the middle dining area which we didn’t like. It’d be better allowing diners to eat any where, no matter what menu they chose. Over all we had a fantastic experience, the food is a very good standard, the staff are very friendly and genuinely helpful and will be returning but we hope you can tidy / update the rooms and their facilities as above. Air conditioning would be nice.

Visited Gara Rock for the first time and just couldn’t fault the hotel , Made even more special being upgraded , Firstly the location is simply stunning , The staff very welcoming , we dined in both restaurants , again service impeccable and the food Just couldn’t fault it , will definitely be back and looking forward to visiting again soon . Highly recommended !!

Amazing location , food brilliant, staff lovely real luxury venue. Be warned the drive to the Gara is a little tricky with tiny of beat roads but worth the wait. I unfortunately had to leave after 1 night due to health issues but they facilitated this and credited my account to use in the future. Highly recommend

We visited Gara Rock for a Mini Moon last November. While the room was very well presented and comfortable the service didn’t match the price we paid at all. We had booked Gara Rock for the Spa and had 3 of our 4 treatments cancelled last minute. The restaurant was good, but the service was very hit and miss and incredibly overpriced for what it was. We wouldn’t return to Gara Rock based on our experience.

We went as a group of four for Sunday lunch. The hotel is in a spectacular location with stunning views of the South Hams coastline in virtually every direction, especially from the dining room. Staff were very welcoming and we enjoyed a very relaxing drink in the lounge before being shown through to lunch. The meal (roast beef) was excellent and the service was both friendly and attentive. Dylan did us proud!. After lunch we went for a short walk along the coast path before returning to the hotel for tea/coffee. All in all, we spent about four hours in and around the hotel and had a very enjoyable experience.

My wife and I went in with our daughter and her future fiancé. We were approached by Im assuming the manager halfway from the seating area ( which you pass as you come through the entrance ) and the bar, getting out of his chair near the bar and approached me saying HOW CAN I HELP YOU? ARE YOU A RESIDENT? In a tone of voice that was not at all welcoming. When I said is it ok two have 4 coffees and some cake, and have a chat about a wedding reception here, he mentioned that Tracy would be the one we will need to talk to, which I assumed he would have introduced us to. looking at the spectacular views while our coffee was being prepared we were again told to go and sit down. Which we did and started to walk towards the sofas when he again came up to us and said NO this is for residents only can you sit on the tables here ( no beautiful views here ). Of course I said that’s not a problem. We were hoping to talk to Tracy about a booking for a wedding reception but unfortunately the manager obviously looking at someone can think to himself that a certain person isn’t in a financial position to pay for a wedding reception. Mmm well how wrong he can be !!!

As previous guests we thought it would be nice to walk from the HBH for a drink at Gara rock with our parents, as they hadn’t been there before. We walked in and there was plenty of seating available.. When we asked whether we could stop and have a drink we were told that it’s not possible as the seating is reserved for arrival guests.. disappointing as previous guest to be met with this! Just think this is a bit ridiculous.. shame as it just puts a sour taste in your mouth for returning as future guests..

Stopped for a coffee break during a walk from Salcombe. There was no price list, which I believe is law and we were charged £10.13 for 2 coffees, which doesn’t make sense. The saving grace was the coffee was good.