We were disappointed by this "hotel." The greeting as we entered the front door and rang was by a huge dog (Gino) and the apparent owner coming down the stairs - there is no check-in desk. No words were spoken until we asked if we could check into the hotel, not knowing if this was the proprietor or not. Apparently it was and we got a key and shown to the room, which seemed much smaller than the pictures on the web site, but these things happen. We had a room with a balcony overlooking a car park (and thereafter the ocean), but it was very small with a small double bed. The bathroom was OK but distinct signs of mildew on the tiles. Later we experienced a storm in the night and the ceiling leaked dripping water onto the bedside table - the owner said he would take care of this but not sure if this happened or not.
Breakfast was good, especially when served by a cheerful young lady, although I believe this was her last week. One morning, when she was not there, we were greeted by the owner saying he was about the ring a bell upstairs because it was late (9:15) and breakfast is only served between 8:30 and 9:30 am. Several others appeared after us, so we presume this was directed at everyone - anyway, not very conducive to a relaxing start to the day.
The hotel listed a restaurant but really this was just a breakfast room as there were notices each day saying the "restaurant" was closed. Also, there is no bar, and there is just some 1930's music playing every evening in a deserted lounge with wartime memorabilia scattered around.
As a B&B this place worked OK, and others apparently had better experiences. It seems to trade a lot on the name of Doc Martin and the fact that some filming was done in the building or outside. There is a private car park but because we had a large rental car it was very difficult to park there, so we ended up paying 5 pounds a night at the public car park across the street, rather than pay for damage to a rental car.
If we returned to this area, which is very beautiful and I have spent many years there in the past, we would stay somewhere else. In addition the hotel was way overpriced for what it was.
On another note, we placed this review on trip advisor and we were scathingly libeled by the owner, as he did with other poor reviews. He, apparently, cannot take constructive criticism. read more
