We wanted a place near the sea, comfortable, clean, well kept, with good views and good food. And that's exactly what we found here.

There are some aspects to this place which some people will find a bit odd; indeed some of the reviews on here point them out. But we would say chill out a bit and go with the flow, the paintings in the restaurant and the blue chairs will grow on you after a day or two. Be friendly and get to know the owners and they too will grow on you quickly. It's a nice relaxed hotel to stay a few days.

We booked the Bay View room which does indeed have great views from the big windows. The furniture has been updated from what you see on the website. The bed was massive and very comfortable, the bathroom was also big and the whole place was very clean.

The very best part though is the food. All the meals were perfectly cooked with a nice balance of flavours, including a fabulous Red Mullet filet with a scallop starter, something that often is done badly in my experience. The chef even managed to cook a thick piece of liver to perfection another dish that is hard to get right. The sweets are very tasty and the local cheese plate a delight. Be aware though this isn’t hearty fare with side plates of vegetables and chips; it's more sophisticated than that. Which means smaller portions of high quality tasty food at a reasonable price which will leave you full but not bloated. If you want large portions then this isn’t the place for you. Incidentally the price includes coffee and homemade chocolates after the meal; I hate those places that give a price for dinner and then charge for things that are part of the meal for most people like coffee and veg.

So all in all a very nice hotel and a good experience. The owners it turned out are very nice people who tried hard to make our stay enjoyable. My wife really enjoyed it, didn't complain about anything and wants to return and she has only said that about two hotels in the past 30 years and that's good enough for me!

We read on the menu in our room that more simple food tastes could be accommodated willingly. In the dining room, my husband preferring simple food asked the barman if they could please make an omelette.

The reply was just "NO SIR" - no explanation and a taciturn, non explanatory response by the barman which spoiled our evening.

One would think that a good restaurant, that this is supposed to be, could do this. The food was expensive for the portion sizes and the service slow.

All other aspects of the visit were good - so probably worth staying at but eat elsewhere.

What is it with these north Devon hotels? Sometimes, the location just isn't enough. Take the Lynton Cottage. It's perched high above Lynmouth, the views are magnificent, and it's a mere stone's through from the wonderful little winding streets of Lynton. My boyfriend and I have just spent the weekend there. Upon arriving we walked into the foyer to be greeted by the chipped paint and tatty patterned carpets of a second rate old people’s care home. Our orange decorated and carpeted bedroom contained quite possibly the most uncomfortable, saggy and unsupportive bed I have ever encountered. I fear that I will be paying for this in osteopathy fees for some weeks to come. Having looked at the totally uninspiring dining room, not to mention the uninspiring and extremely limited menu, we cancelled our dinner reservation and wandered around the corner to the atmospheric ‘On The Steps’ restaurant, owned and run by a young, enthusiastic and personable couple. It was perhaps not haute cuisine, but the food was more than adequate, we were treated with respect and had a lot of fun.

Food at the Lynton Cottage is allegedly of huge importance, and it was with excitement that we bounded down the stairs on our first morning to taste the home made delights that we had been promised on the website. Our first encounter with the waitress, one of the co-owners, was when she requested what sort of toast we would like. We had notified the owners, both by telephone and by email, that I am ceoliac and therefore unable to eat any foods containing gluten, and had been assured that this ‘would not be a problem’. I therefore requested gluten free toast, at which point I was told that they couldn’t provide any gluten free bread. I was then offered some cereal which she assured me was gluten free. It wasn’t – thankfully I checked before starting to eat it. When it came to ordering a cooked breakfast, my request that I have certain things from two of the menu items so as to avoid anything gluten ridden was met with scorn and raised eyes. Indeed all of the staff at the hotel were unfriendly and unwelcoming. It made me feel as though we being a complete nuisance staying at the hotel and taking up their valuable time. We didn’t fair much better the second morning, my request for clean cutlery being met by the waitress not so much as acknowledging my request and storming off to the kitchen.

There are definitely some terrible problems with this place. It could quite clearly benefit from a make over, but also the interpersonal skills of the owners are severely lacking. I do wonder why they’re putting themselves through it. I did refer to Tripadvisor prior to booking. I guess I should have taken on board what everyone else said!

NOTE - This experience has also prompted me to write a review on Bandos, an Island in the Maldives that we visited in February. I have been meaning to do so for some time but kind of put it off ... The courtesy, kindness, understanding of my dietary needs and customer service we experienced during our stay there, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, was exceptional. It is astonishing that it so far surpasses our experience here in the South West of England.

Having just returned from our fifth visit I felt compelled to write a review.
The owners of the hotel, Heather, Dave, Allan and Bettina, work extremely hard to make every visit special. Whilst we were there they received a 5 star rating for cleanliness - there can't be many hotels in Devon that can boast this!
Apart from the stunning views from the Hotel, one of the reasons we revisit is the food. Well what can I say? It is just fabulous. Allan, the Chef (who is renowned locally) is worth his weight in gold - I'm not joking!
The standard is just so high. The presentation is beautiful AND he makes absolutely everything. If you love chocolate - just try one of his home-made chocolates after dinner mmm! I was tempted this visit by the vegetarian option for breakfast (no, I'm not a veggie) as it sounded interesting, well... I can't wait to go back to sample this again as it was delicious! I don't have enough room to rave anymore except to say that this Hotel really is one of Devon's best kept secrets which deserves to be shared. We will most definitely be visiting again.
Andrea, Berkshire