My wife and I have just returned from an excellent weekend in Somerset, where we stayed for two nights (Friday and Saturday) at the Best Western Shrubbery in Ilminster (not sure why it is flagged Taunton!). The purpose of our trip from Southend was to enjoy the culinary delights of the Exmoor Food Festival which runs for ten days at the beginning of October. We used our Tesco vouchers to pay for the room which was adequate, if a little on the small side. Being on the side of the building in Room 10 near the main road, we did hear some noise from the traffic going up and down the hill, but nothing too bad.

The main purpose of me taking the time to write this review was to sing the praises of the friendly staff who were wonderfully helpful during our stay. Nothing was too much trouble, including when we asked if we could have an old towel to take to the beach as the weather was glorious. The other point I wanted to mention was the excellent food in the restaurant - our compliments to the chef. On both evenings we went for the table d'hote which at £15 for three courses plus coffee and mints could not be beaten, We didn't even need to consider the parts of the menu that attracted a supplement and the wine was reasonably priced. On the Saturday night we got to sit by the window (which was wide open due to the fantastic Indian summer weather) and watch the Ilminster carnival procession. The floats were some of the biggest and brightest you will ever see - one can only imagine all the hours of effort that went into getting them ready for the parade.

We were a bit disappointed with our Exmoor Food Festival experiences - the farmers market at Minehead was on the Friday (we only arrived Friday evening) and the event at Dulverton was a bit of a non-event. As we had to travel back to Essex on the Sunday, we decided not to travel back across the moor to Lynmouth for the other event we had targetted, instead choosing to undertake a seven-mile stretch of the South West Coastal Path between Seaton and Lyme Regis. This is another area where the hotel scores heavily in my book - it is centrally located for parts of Somerset, east Devon and Dorset - we did some miles over the weekend in what is a really beautiful part of England. One attraction very close (well 2 miles) from the hotel that you must visit is the Perry Cider Mills - some great local produce - including cider - for sale. Thank you the Best Western Shrubbery for helping to make our weekend so enjoyable!