Gara Rock

Location

Shabby furniture, tired building, clear lack of maintenance and neglect. Very narrow access road with no passing places. Very average food in the restaurant for high prices. Very poor value for money and deceitful description and photos. A real shame as the location is stunning.

The room was excellent and very comfortable, the staff were freindly and professional.

Very disappointed with the restuarant, as right next to the sea and barely any fish on the menu and what I had as a main course of Mackeral was very poor for the cost. The following night the backed cod sold out.

Location was spectacular. Remote and peaceful. Immediate access to the South West Coastal path. We had a junior suite with very generous living-dining space as well as bedroom and bathroom. Extremely peaceful. Also access to Salcombe via a lovely 30min walk and a 5min ferry ride. Staff were all lovely and so friendly. Great spa facility. Restaurant menu had a good variety and high quality - amazing views. Also very impressed by the breakfast - wide selection of options - above and beyond previous experiences.

Amazing location, comfortable and well appointed room. Breakfast and dinner were great in equal measures, both enjoyed with the panoramic view of the coastline. Staff were always helpful and the facilities are first class.

Being picky, I think we had elephants in the room above us.

Breakfast choices were good and fresh

the evning menu was not varied enough for vegetarians or for those wanting lighter bites.

Our family loved our stay at Gara Rock - although the weather wasn't the greatest, there was still plenty to do at the hotel and its surrounds. The pool and spa area was a hit with the kids and the restaurant a favourite with the adults.

Be prepared for country roads - it takes a while to get used to the hedged roads but the staff were super helpful with hints about the best routes to take.

Location

Unfortunately this is a long review because there were so many issues at this hotel. Some may think they are just little things, but it’s the little things that make the difference between an average hotel and a good one. We were really looking forward to our 5-night stay at Gara Rock having known about the hotel for some time and followed it on Instagram. It’s in a lovely spot right on the coast with easy access to the coastal path. There is nothing else walkable nearby (shops, pubs etc) but we knew this in advance and wanted a few days relaxing and not doing not much of anything. First impressions were of nice lounge, bar and restaurant facilities but it’s not a place to come to if you don’t like very narrow roads with few passing places. An immediate disappointment was upon check-in when we asked for a daily newspaper we were told they couldn’t provide them as they are so remote nobody will deliver them. Part of our relaxing stay would have been to sit with the paper and a coffee for an hour or two in the morning. They have staff coming to work here from around the area and surely it wouldn’t be hard to have an arrangement with a newsagent or garage to take newspapers on a sale or return basis (which all newspapers are) and be picked up by the member of staff on their way to work? Yes it’s all available online these days but some of us still like to read a newspaper. In general the staff were helpful and accommodating, however a few did have an attitude problem, acting like you are being a nuisance for asking them something - in particular on the reception desk and the spa desk. As one example we asked reception twice for a pole to open the Velux bathroom window as it was too high for anyone to reach and also the extractor fan wasn’t working. We were dismissively told there was a pole in the room but we explained we had searched and there was not one.