Eclectic, colorful foodie B&B in rural East Devon
Glebe House / Southleigh / Devon / UK
This hotel, or B&B, I first heard of through one of my favorite channels when collecting hotels that could become future Selected by RG hotels, in global outlet Conde Nast Traveller. Every year they do a Hot List of the best new hotels in the world where Glebe House featured in 2022. And for me it was enough to see the first photo (which was a similar one to the head photo in my post) to know that I needed to come and stay here.
So what is this place? In an article I read it said that it’s ”a restaurant with rooms” and it is a good way to start to describe it, but trust me when I say that it is so much more.
Glebe House is owned and run by couple Hugo and Olive. They lived a hectic, young professionals kind of life in London working with insurance and advertising respectively but both were longing for something else. An opportunity came up to take over Hugo’s parents B&B in East Devon and they decided to take the plunge. Instead of ”only” updating the B&B the decided to model it on an Italian agriturismo, basically a farm with hotel rooms where (almost) everything is grown, cooked and baked on site. So a lot of time, money and effort when into to doing the actual transformation of the place as well as to learn the skills of the trade. And I can just say that the result is amazing.
The B&B is sitting on a hill in East Devon, an area of outstanding natural beauty overlooking the Coly Valley. Olive, who led the creation of the interior, worked together with Studio Alexandra and the result is a quirky, playful look with a lot of colors and unique wallpapers. A goal was to create something that looked great but also had a gentle impact on the environment.
There are only 5 rooms in this late-Georgian manor house but the restaurant has 30 covers, so also non-residents are welcome to join and enjoy the amazing Italian-inspired cuisine. Our room, the Rose Room was really spacious with a huge canopy bed standing in the middle of the room like a piece of art, accompanied by a free-standing bathroom, a fire place, an eclectic selection of antiques, geometric tiles and colorful wallpaper (in the bathroom). Basically a really unique hotel, a British agriturismo among the lush hills of South England.
This is the “road” leading up to Glebe House. It is difficult when looking at this photo to understand just how narrow the road actually is. We are talking bike lane size.
Almost there…
When the car is parked you enter through this little path in the garden.
And behold! This is Glebe House in all its late-Georgian glory, sitting high up on a hill overlooking the Coly Valley.
You enter through an atrium where you’ll get a first taste of the eclectic interior design…
…and I love the massive grape vine creating a green ceiling.
I am a fan of hotels that use real keys for their rooms. And how pretty is the key chain?
We stayed in the Rose Room. A massive room with a regal canopy bed, fit for a king. Or two kings in our case.
Love that we had a freestanding fire place in our room.
This is something I see more and more of, bath tubs being placed in the actual room and not in the bath room. I must say that I am a fan since I like to have someone to talk to while I’m soaking.
Our en-suite bathroom was really cute (and spacious) with vintage floor tiles and quirky wallpaper.
Yay for refillable, organic bathroom products.
Some reading material to welcome you to Glebe House and an inspiring Walk Book (which we used and you can see photos from below).
My favorite part of the B&B, the lounge. I love the colors, the mix of furniture, the playfulness and the casual, eclectic look. The interior was created together with design firm Studio Alexandra and the result is pure magic.
One of the windows of our room, almost fully covered by ivy.
One of my favorite things about Glebe House is the garden. It is a real piece of work.
The grounds belonging to Glebe House are huge. This spot such a great place for an afternoon drink before dinner. To sit here with a book, listening to the sounds of nature and enjoying the view was such a treat.
Maybe a little surprising but there is a fairly large pool at the back of the B&B guarded by these lions.
Breakfast. I know this might not look so enticing but let me tell you, it is home made, warm rhubarb mash. It was divine!
I am such a fan of all the mismatching plates, bowls and cutlery used.
M enjoying a misty morning with a coffee “al fresco” after breakfast.
Most of the tableware is by local potter Michael Emmett.
There is so much to see and do in the region. We drove to Weymouth, a cute seaside town a short drive away…
…where we met up with a friend with a boat. This is our pal Jack taking us around the bay showing us the dramatic Jurassic Coast from the sea.
And up close, it looks something like this. This is from a place called Beer, just down the road from the hotel.
M doing one of the hikes from the book in our room at the hotel. It took us up- and downhill along the coast, from Beer to Branscombe and back again. We did the hike on a very hot and humid day. And like always, M is wearing the perfect hiking shoes, green rubber Birkenstocks…
We stopped for a sample or two along the hike.
And when we came back to the hotel we got a proper reward, a stiff Negroni and some R&R in the garden before the dinner.
And the sun is slowly setting behind the rolling hills of Devon and I am already dreaming of the rhubarb mash I will stuff my face with for breakfast.
RG inside info
This place is perfect if you…
…love to stay at small hotels in a rural setting where the design is playfully eclectic and where good food is taken super serious. If you appreciate that what you eat is grown, cooked and baked on-site and you like calmness. Then this is so your place.
My favorite thing about this place…
…is that there is something of a challenge to get here (at least for us), driving along narrow country lanes. It makes the arrival even more sweet. And especially when the final destination looks as good as the Glebe House. Another thing I really love was (obviously) the food. I would like to have the cooked rhubarb mash for breakfast every day with my granola.
What not to miss when staying here is…
…to do at least one of the hike from the book that you’ll find in your room. The nature in East Devon is breathtaking. I also recommend a stop in Weymouth. There is something with these classic British seaside resorts that makes me so happy with Fish&Chips stands and beachside tivolis.
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