We booked room no 118, the last one available we were told. We were expecting a little bit of luxury at a discounted price of £ 80/night .I had very good reports from my mother-in-low who stayed at Salcombe Harbour Hotel in the past, last time about two years ago.
I knew I was going to be disappointed just by seeing the outside of the hotel, filthy windows, peeling paint, rotten window frames. The best word to describe the room is filthy !And easy to spot the filth everywhere: the carpet ( horrible anyway but just by the bed there were signs it hasn’t been hovered for a very long time ),the armchairs ,the curtains ,the kettle, the sink( dirt around the taps ) and bath( even hair ! ),beautiful view over the river but hard to enjoy it if the windows are not clean .And very, very tired deco with horrible choice of colours. I have seen care home rooms that looked a lot nicer.
The dining room was not better either, very grubby carpet and dirty windows. Staff not trained and poor quality ingredients used for breakfast.
I know the hotel will close for refurbishment soon but I still can find no excuse for not being clean.
After all this I am very surprised by the number of good reviews given lately to this hotel .

we stayed for a weekend and enjoyed every minute. the staff were the friendliest i have come across in england, the hotel really does have one of the best views in devon, we hope to visit after the refurb but would definitley have come again if it had stayed the same.

We stayed 2 nights at what I thought was a pretty expensive price, but when you get up in the morning in an enormous room with views across the river through the full length mirrored (from the outside) picture windows, and can sit out on your balcony, you realise its worth it. We went on Dinner B& B which came out to £250 a night for two plus your wine and drinks of course.

Good food with some nice touches, wine not cheap but quality, service a bit lacking, if its 4 star they should know the difference between dry sherry and medium and sweet sherries, for heaven's sake, but staff attentive and friendly, many from Lithuania.

There is parking and your space will be labelled with your name, but they don't tell you that before you go. However, the parking spaces are fairly confined, I took my (as large as a big Mercedes but not huge) Cadillac Seville - we should have taken the wife's Mazda MX5 coupe. Of course the Devon roads are narrow as well so its best not to bring your car into most of the resorts, Salcombe included, although it is so attractive.

I used the large swimming pool both mornings. The changing areas are very small and tired, but I am aware that they are redeveloping the hotel over the next 6-9 months, upgrading all areas including bedrooms, so no doubt this will be covered. The only thing I was worried about on the plans in the foyer was whether all the rooms would still have the brilliant views they now have in future? It was good to swim and still see the tops of boats sailing by.

Somewhere to think about returning to when we have another special occasion. We have also stayed at their Christchurch Harbour hotel in Hampshire.

My husband and I stayed here for two nights for our 'Mini-moon', following our recent wedding and we were hoping for a little taste of modern luxury, considering the prices. However, we were a disappointed with the 'out of date' feel to the hotel and the room itself. The staff were friendly and very helpful at all times and the views from the room were breathtaking, which is obviously what you are paying for. The whole hotel needs an update we felt, especially the spa and pool area which did not tempt us to use it at all. The room itself needed redecorating, and the balcony area was quite poor. The breakfast was excellent, with a fantastic choice of menu, lovely staff and delicious food. We did enjoy our stay, and would visit Salcombe again as it is a lovely place, but would not stay at this hotel again, unless it was updated to justify the prices.