Daddyhole Road, Torquay, United Kingdom | (888) 710-7049
Victorian villa with period charm and regal heritage
Set on headland overlooking English Channel
Two acres of beautifully tended gardens
Elegant restaurant serving six-course dinners
Some rooms have superb sea views
Daily evening entertainment
Small gym on-site
Spa provides a full treatment menu, hydro pools, and a hot tub
Free Wi-Fi throughout
Some decor feels dated
Some ground-floor rooms are gloomy
Long walk into town center
The Headland is a mid-range, 78-room hotel housed in a charming Victorian summer home that retains plenty of its original period features. Its name is apt: The property is perched on a cliff top overlooking Tor Bay, and about a five-minute drive from Torquay town center. Rooms are well-maintained, if a little old-fashioned in parts, and while some feature sea views others can feel a little gloomy. Both restaurant and gardens are elegantly presented, though evening entertainment won't appeal to younger guests. The lack of an outdoor swimming pool is also a shortcoming, so if this is a deal-breaker check out The Osborne nearby which has two.
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Scene
Grand Victorian villa with royal heritage and beautiful sea-view gardens
Originally built
as a private summer house for Nicholas Romanov -- the last tsar of Russia --
this grand Victorian villa certainly boasts one Torquay's more impressive heritages.
As well as having regularly entertained royalty for much of its early history,
the property also is also awash with elegant 19th-century features from
beautiful original mosaic floors and carved wood columns to elegant arches and
ornate cornices. In 1998 the Overmead Hotel (as the Headland was previously
known) was bought by the Duchy Hotel group and later extended, renovated, and
reborn as its present incarnation in 2009. While some might find the decor a
little old-fashioned -- even dated -- in places, the surrounding two acres of
landscaped gardens are beautifully maintained and feature superb views out
towards the English Channel.
Location
Set on headland overlooking Tor Bay five minutes' drive from Torquay center
The hotel is
located at the end of a narrow road that winds to the top of the headland
overlooking the north end of Tor Bay. Torquay town center with its numerous
restaurants, pubs, and retail outlets is about a five-minute drive away or 20
minutes' on foot -- all downhill. Daddyhole Plain, a limestone plateau and
prominent local landmark, can be found right next to the hotel and offers
lovely coastal walks and sea views. The nearest beach -- Meadfoot Beach -- is less than half a mile
away while the main Torre Abbey Beach is a 10-minute
drive. Torquay train station, with trains that connect to the city of Exeter in
about 45 minutes, is also 10 minutes' drive away.
Rooms
Some rooms can feel gloomy while others have superb sea views.
The hotel has 78
rooms, most of which follow a traditional style with patterned
fabrics, carpeted floors, and beach-themed artworks. Amenities are pretty
standard -- flat-screen TVs, tea and coffee facilities, free Wi-Fi -- while some rooms boast excellent sea views. Bathrooms are adequate though some are on the
cramped side. Some of the ground floors rooms feel like they're in the basement
and can be a little gloomy. The two best rooms, however -- the Anastasia room and Tatiana Room -- feature spacious
bathrooms, six-foot beds, 42-inch TVs, and some of the hotel's best vistas. Elevators
are available to most, though not all, floors so those with mobility challenges should check
before booking.
Features
Elegant restaurant and evening entertainment
The hotel's particularly elegant Romanoff Restaurant serves a decent cooked breakfast in the morning as well as six-course evening dinners -- both breakfast and half-board rates are available. Evening entertainment is also put on daily, though tends to be of the bingo and cabaret variety and aimed more at older guests. The hotel spa, completed in early 2016, includes hydro pools, a sauna, steam room, hot tub, lounge with coastal views, and treatment rooms. A fitness center is available for guests' use.
