Combe House Devon

We stayed at the Pig in preparation for the Budleigh Salterton literary festival. First, the hotel is absolutely beautiful, with exceptional and stylish room arrangement both in the public rooms and also in the hotel bedrooms. The property has been, as estate agents say, sympathetically renovated, managing to retain country house flair alongside a rustic and environmentally friendly aesthetic. There was a glorious wood fire as we arrived on a sousing wet day: so comfortable and comforting. There are several lounges, all of them arranged to allow some sense of privacy. Our bedroom was in the former stable block, and it was comfortably arranged, with excellent bedlinen and a wonderful shower with proper water pressure. Both dinner and breakfast were superb, well above the norm. The bread was outstanding and came from a local bakery, and the restaurant prides itself on sourcing everything from nearby. The results were delicious. The breakfast buffet is ample. My only reservation is the insistence on keeping radio 2 turned on in all of the public areas. We actually asked for it to be turned off at breakfast, as we were the only ones present at 7:30 AM, and were told that it had to be left on on the orders of the owner. We had noticed its intrusive presence in the evening, as we were enjoying drinks, and it was also loud and unpleasant at dinner. I don't want to get too snippy, but I think the owner should contemplate the phrase "the customer is always right". Many of the guests were elderly, and might well suffer from hearing difficulties, although neither of us as yet have that problem. It's just unnecessary, and slightly overshadowed the beautiful peace of the hotel's locale. Otherwise, a fantastic find!