Hotels in Devon

Devon is big, and the single most useful decision you can make is which coast or which corner you commit to. Driving from Ilfracombe in the north to Salcombe in the south takes well over two hours on roads that clog in August, so a hotel chosen for price alone can cost you half your holiday in the car.

Families generally do best in Torbay or on the North Devon coast near Woolacombe and Croyde. Torquay and Paignton have the greatest concentration of mid-priced hotels with pools, parking and family rooms, plus attractions that work in bad weather and a bus and train network that lets you leave the car behind. Woolacombe and Braunton give you enormous beaches and surf schools, with more self-catering and holiday-park style accommodation than traditional hotels.

Couples tend to head for the South Hams. Salcombe, Dartmouth, Hope Cove and the villages around the Kingsbridge estuary have the county's best small hotels and restaurants with rooms, most of them with water views and prices to match. Expect to pay from around 180 to 300 pounds a night in season for a good double here, and considerably more for anything with a balcony over the water. Dartmouth is the better value of the two main towns and has more to do on a wet day.

Walkers should look at Tavistock, Chagford, Moretonhampstead or Ashburton on the Dartmoor fringe, where coaching inns and country house hotels are cheaper than the coast and put you minutes from open access land. Exmoor walkers are best served by Lynton, Lynmouth or Dulverton.

On timing, the county sells out early. If you want a specific property for July or August, book by January, and expect many coastal hotels to impose minimum stays of three or more nights in peak weeks and over bank holidays. Half term in late May and late October are the other pinch points. September is the sweet spot: rates drop from the second week, the sea is still warm, and availability opens up.