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Epchris House is a relaxed family-run licensed guest house with an on-site PADI Dive Centre, nestled at the foot of the Torrs in the Wilder Valley, one of Ilfracombe’s most beautiful and tranquil locations. Ilfracombe’s historic harbour, Damien Hirst’s Verity statue and the highly rated restaurants of picturesque Fore Street are just a 15 minute stroll and access to the dramatic South West Coast path is a mere 5 minute walk.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Romantic
Languages Spoken
English
Location
Torrs Park, Ilfracombe EX34 8AZ England
Epchris House
320 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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We arrived in illfracombe very tired after a long journey & luckily could check in a little early. We were met by a lovely lady owner who gave us a good briefing on the local area and pointed us in the right direction of some good Restaurants. Nothing was too much trouble and you got the impression that she was very happy to help with whatever you needed.
The room we had was at the front of the building and it was spacious and well equipped. It had a big bed, lots of storage and a table and chairs with a little sofa.
It was warm and comfortable and the breakfasts were delivered to your room each morning. The breakfast was more than generous with cereal, a choice of cooked items in a bap or a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel and then some pastries like croissants and pan au chocolate.
The only slight downside to the location was that it was up a very steep hill, so if you were not able bodied and didn’t want to use a car, it was not very accessible, but we got our steps in each day walking back and forward to the town!!
The views were spectacular from the guesthouse, and it also has a pool which would have been amazing in the summer :)
It was only a 15-20 min walk to the harbour area and a 5 min drive if you did decide to take your car.
The Covid situation was well catered for. Masks insisted on in all public areas and plenty of hand sanitiser. Your room could be cleaned on request, but they asked you to be away from the room if was, and if you didn’t choose to have your room cleaned you could request anything to be topped up or towels etc replenished. The lady who brought the breakfast each morning was lovely.
All in all we would thoroughly recommend this guest house. :)
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Booked 3 nights and booked the garden room as we wanted to have a good base to relax in. Warm welcome from the hosts Nixky and Rob. Well sorted with Covid. Room was stunning, large and immaculate and large bathroom. Gardens, terraced area and pool all lovely so shame we didnt have the weather to fully enjoy it. Breakfast was delivered to your room at a time of your choice. Ordered the night before and good selection and freshly prepared. They would have serviced the room wearing ppe but we chose not to worry. Coffee machine, fridge and mini bar all good. We used their honesty bar to purchase a couple of bottles of wine at just £10 each which we thought very reasonable. We walked into Ilfracombe and got a taxi back a couple of times and it was only £3-4. I would recommend booking restaurants before you travel die to restricted seating availability in most. We ate at a lovely Italian two nights? See separate review. The cleanliness was second to none and great quality toiletries etc. The room had a kitchenette added which would be handy if you wanted to self cater. I loved the balcony and view.
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Absolutely loved staying at Epchris House. The rooms were beautiful, spacious, and very clean ours also had a lovely view out across the garden. The breakfast delivered to your room was brilliant, never stayed anywhere where you could order and have it delivered like this, but we really enjoyed the experience. The choices for breakfast were great from light bites to full English. I can highly recommend the muesli pot which was delicious. There was a coffee pod machine, kettle and mini fridge (with fresh milk) in both of the rooms which our group had which meant you could have a decent cuppa at any time of the day. We enjoyed playing on the ping pong table and there were a couple of people having Padi diving lessons run by one of the owners so that’s a great option if you’d like to learn. There’s a small honesty bar which we used in the evening as we enjoyed sitting out on the veranda with a glass of wine. The garden is beautiful and there is a little path you can wind your way through if you want to explore.
Due to Covid you could let them know if you wanted your room refreshed but they’ll happily bring you new towels, tea bags etc. if you don’t. It’s about 15-20 mins walk down hill to the centre of town, obviously uphill on the way back but then as a local said to us everywhere’s on a hill in Ilfracombe. We loved everything about Epchris House and would love to come back.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Catherine Barker, Owner at Epchris House
Responded 8 Aug 2021
Thank you for taking the trouble to write us such a lovely review and we are delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us. We hope to see you again!
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Received a lovely warm welcome from Cath. We were in room 7 on top floor, had lovely decor, spotlessly clean, very spacious, everything we needed for drinks and toiletries and a fantastic view too. Breakfast was delivered to a room, which we’d chosen previous day, everything was beautifully presented and set us up for the day. We opted to park on the road as car park is a little steep, but once parked up centre if Ilfracombe is a short walk away. Highly recommended this great guest house.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Catherine Barker, Owner at Epchris House
Responded 17 Aug 2021
Many thanks for your lovely review, it's very much appreciated and we hope to see you again soon!
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We have just returned from a six night stay at Epchris House. We received a very warm welcome from Cath, the owner, who showed us to our delightful room which was spotlessly clean and had excellent facilities including a mini fridge that contained (fresh) milk and complimentary bottles of mineral water. The beds were very comfortable. The breakfasts were served to our room and were delicious and made from top quality ingredients. A hamper supplies your first preselected course which is delivered to your door followed by your preselected freshly cooked and piping hot breakfast at your chosen time slot. There is plenty of choice. There is a large lounge downstairs with a well stocked honesty bar and a table tennis table. Books and games are also available. We also enjoyed sitting on the sun terrace outside where you can also eat breakfast when the weather allows. Parking can be difficult due to a steep slope but we always found adequate parking on the road outside. All in all we had a wonderful stay. The Staff were extremely friendly and helpful and it was clear Cath and her team took great pride in all that they do. Highly recommended!
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Date of stay: September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Catherine Barker, Owner at Epchris House
Responded 5 Oct 2021
Thank you for taking the trouble to write us such a lovely review, it is hugely appreciated and we very much hope to see you again!
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We enjoyed our stay at Epchris House and found the hosts to be very friendly and welcoming. Our room was located on the top floor and had all the amenities that were required including the added bonus of a coffee machiene that was greatly used during the week. The view from the room was nice and overlooked the garden and swimming pool, we did have a tiny sea view to the left. Breakfast was lovely with a good selection pre ordered the night before, the waffles were a bonus and very tasty. Loved the idea of the hampers being delivered before the hot food. The honesty bar was well stocked and reasonably priced. Our only negatives with the room were that it was really hot even when using the fan and with the windows open, we managed to turn off the hot towel rail in the bathroom. The pillows were really bad, not plump and really not supportive for your neck, perhaps they need to be changed and upgraded? The configuration with the room especially the low beam was a problem during the night and perhaps should be mentioned when booking. The car park is a nightmare being accessed via a steep hill, we ended up parking at the top because we struggled to get back up.
We would return however we would not stay in a top floor room next time and would request a room lower down if this was possible.
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Date of stay: June 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What I mean by my title is that on one hand this is possibly the nicest guest house I have ever stayed in, we had a lovely room (no.3) the property has a lovely terrace, I had a gorgeous breakfast (Really recommend the breakfast parfait) run by lovely people. My conflict arises from the fact that if I give Epchris House the review they deserve they may be fully booked next time I want to visit and will not be able to get in!! Our room was very large, clean, a comfortable bed, light and airy. Our ensuite was a shower room but still plenty of space to move around. The terrace and gardens are lovely, if you have the weather to able to enjoy them as we did. Cath and Simon are great hosts, available when you need them but not intrusive in any way. If you are a diver which I am, Simon has a great set up with his own dive centre and is able to give training sessions in their pool, which is only used for diving. Epchris House is peaceful and calming, I cannot fault it and it would be churlish to try! I cannot recommend this place enough, even at the risk of my own demise next time I want to stay!!
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Date of stay: June 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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Response from Catherine Barker, Owner at Epchris House
Responded 3 Jul 2021
Hi Iain, many thanks for your lovely review and we very much hope to see you both again - there will always be room for you at Epchris!!
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We enjoyed our four night stay here, a comfortable B&B which appealed as it was in Ilfracombe, a place reminding us both of childhood holidays, and it was dog friendly.
We were in Room 1, a spacious and bright room with three large windows looking over the entrance.
Everybody was very friendly, making us feel relaxed and comfortable during this much needed break from home, our first since last summer.
It’s situated in a quiet part of the town, which we appreciated, although we were surprised at how some of the neighbouring buildings, once very grand, had been left to decay...
We ate out every night, although there was the option to have takeaways- crockery and cutlery was available. Fortunately we’d booked all our evening restaurants well in advance; most places were fully booked for the summer, and we saw quite a few walk-in guests turned away.
We enjoyed our breakfasts which were made with good quality ingredients. A cute little hamper was delivered to the room every morning followed by a cooked breakfast at a preselected time. If I’m honest, I missed having breakfast downstairs in a dining room. We’re not fans of room service as we never fancy sleeping in a room smelling of bacon. There was the option to eat on the patio facing the pretty gardens, but the blistering sun during our stay made it rather uncomfortable as there was no shade.
This said, we had a pleasant stay and would recommend it.
Sent from my iPad
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Date of stay: July 2021
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Catherine Barker, Owner at Epchris House
Responded 28 Jul 2021
Many thanks for your lovely review and glad you enjoyed your stay with us!
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We stayed at Epchris House for a long weekend in August, and had an absolutely fantastic stay.
We were given a friendly welcome, and were run through how things work due to Covid.
The room was spacious, comfortable and clean, as was the bathroom, and there was a mini fridge with a few soft and hard drinks, which we were able to stock up from the honesty bar downstairs.
The location is good too, slightly out of the centre of town but within walking distance.
The only thing that doesn't get top marks is the car park, as it's tricky to get down it if the spaces at the top are full. Not the end of the world, but my car doesn't have the turning circle to handle the tight downhill corner so it involved a bit of backwards and forwards.
Breakfast was delivered to our rooms rather than served downstairs, and considering it was effectively a takeaway breakfast it was really nice - not quite a full English but still great.
All in all it was a fantastic stay, and next time I'm back in Ilfracombe I'll stay here again, no question.
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Date of stay: August 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What an amazing place. Warm welcome from Nicky and our room was ready early for us which was great. Large well equipped room with all you needed. Breakfast was excellent although very different from normal.The hot bap was filled with top quality products and I can only assume pre covid the breakfast would have been outstanding. Brought to the door every day by Kat who was always bright and cheerful who got anything else you needed. Always got coffee capsules for the coffee machine in room which was good but I did miss a proper coffee but this was acceptable alternative. Beautiful views from room across the garden which was lovely. We walked to Ilfracombe front each day which was not to far and easy. We popped into Lidl on way back each day to get paper and yogurt to put in fridge. My husband always likes yogurt at breakfast when away but to be honest we didn't mention at all and were happy to get our own as so much thought had gone into breakfast.. I will certainly go back in the future and hopefully when covid has less hold. I did miss communal breakfast and meeting other guests but Epchris has taken great measures to give fantastic hospitality while keeping customers as safe as possible. Excellent value,great location and friendly owners and staff which is everything you need for a fantastic break. Thankyou Nicky and team.
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Ilfracombe area.
PRICE RANGE
£99 - £110 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandDevonIlfracombe
NUMBER OF ROOMS
9
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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Yes, it offers wheelchair access, reduced mobility rooms, and facilities for disabled guests. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.
