On arrival we were warmly greeted by the Receptionist, Margaret, and we had help taking our luggage to our room. The Royal is a traditional old style hotel and some lovely old style architecture, but the decor did not feel dated. We had a standard room with massive comfy bed and large screen TV, and a modern and functional en suite shower room. We had a comfy lounge chair and a dining chair. Our room was at the back of the hotel overlooking the Tarka Trail and houses beyond. Very quiet and just what we needed for a 4 night stay visiting friends in the area. We had dinner in the hotel's Bistro and can highly recommend it - the Cajun Chicken was gorgeous!

Beautiful old classic hotel in great location just across the bridge from Bideford town centre. Very friendly, welcoming and attentive reception staff. Comfortable room overlooking the Tarka Trail and the hotel's former private station platform. Good supply of tea, coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits in room. Bed superb. Slept like a log. Reasonable breakfast.

Bathroom: broken tiles had not been replaced but missing bits just filled with grout. Sealant around bath had shrunk so there was a gap all along the bath top and the tiles. Hook on back of bathroom door very loose. Minor details but the hotel does brand itself as a luxury hotel so would expect there to be a greater attention to detail. Breakfast: plenty of cereals, prunes, fruit salad, grapefruit etc. DIY buffet (although menu suggested everything would be served to your table....that didn't happen). Toast or croissants. No evidence of any other pastries. No evidence of any meats, cheese, salads that one would expect with a continental breakfast.

Room was clean, easily accessible but could be a bit noisy because it is next to a main road, luckily the road is only really busy at peak times and has very little traffic at night and in the late evening. Breakfast was an additional expenditure, quite expensive at £16.50 (oddly the half breakfast was equally priced with the full breakfast) and table service could have been better. The bed was comfortable and we had a good night's sleep.

We couldn't have breakfast at the table we wanted because "we have laid it out for lunch" - this actually being four sets of cutlery. Also, where it says things were to be "served at the table" this actually meant that you had to serve yourself at the table, otherwise it was fine.

A very enjoyable experience from check in to check out. I was delighted to be upgraded from my single room to a lovely bigger room. A very nice surprise after a long plane and journey train journey. The room was beautifully furnished in a charming country feel. The bed was comfortable as with the pillows. I was thrilled that there was a bath as well as I love to have a shower in the morning and a bath at night. It’s as if this room was just made for me. All of the staff from reception to bar to restaurant were helpful and well trained, offering friendly service. A beautiful hotel with a very interesting history and a perfectly located. I will most certainly be returning to stay at this hotel when I visit my brother again .

The lift was a wee bit funny.

We stayed in Room 207 in the centre of the building - a ‘cosy double.’ It was comfortably furnished with upholstered chairs, plenty of storage, a large TV and a wide desk. The shower room was compact, though. The hotel car park was just across the road, and the Tarka Trail could be accessed immediately behind the hotel. Breakfast was good with plenty of choice - it’s better to book a B&B room, rather than to pay for breakfast on the day. The receptionist who welcomed us at just gone 9pm was on duty at 8am the following morning when I went down for breakfast - she was courteous, efficient and helpful. Dog friendly, although the £20 charge is a little high.

A lovely location in a nice area. Pleasant staff and good service.

Not much to complain about, however, our room had massive windows covering most of the wall and these did not open, so ventilation was limited and we felt a bit like goldfish in a glass bowl . As the room faced onto some houses & a public footpath I'm not quite sure who was watching who ( a little uncomfortable, don't you think ? ) ! The only other point was that the TV had very few channels ( not even all of the Freeview ones ! ) and the hotel seemed unable or unwilling to change this !

It was nice to be given a free upgrade, though the “better” room was actually smaller than the usual cheaper one. Unfortunately there was decorating going on in the corridor and a strong smell of paint in the room. The lovely lady on reception promptly moved us to a different, large room which we really appreciated. Our evening meal was good, and the staff serving us helpful and friendly. The hotel is extremely convenient when travelling to and from Lundy, has a car park and is a short walk across the old bridge into the town.

Nothing.

The Royal is a well kept typical lovely old hotel which harks back to the Victorian era, as you enter the reception area the stairs sweep majestically up and you get a feeling of something special. A friendly welcome from our receptionist and a simple booking form and you are ready to enjoy your evening. There is a lift if needed, but the stairs are wide enough and not too steep to make climbing them easy for those who are able. Our room didn’t have a view, but it was spacious, warm and clean with storage for clothes and a wardrobe, there is a kettle with tea, coffee and biscuits. The hotel is located on the quayside and is only a few minutes lovely walk over the bridge from Bideford town, there are also two pubs on the same side of the river within a couple of minutes from the Royal.

Our bathroom was fitted with a Saniflow toilet which was terribly noisy, if used during the night it would wake anyone in the next or above/below rooms! Also the water pressure in the shower was poor, it wouldn’t put us off staying again but it is worthy of a mention. We decided not to have breakfast as it was a staggering £16.50 per person, also some reviews were rather scathing of it.

The location is great, close to great walks and the town. The hotel has character and history and the staff are very welcoming.

The mattresses are very soft. Parking near the hotel is very limited although there is additional parking further up the hill, it would be more appropriate and considerate if the staff parked in the other car park leaving the nearer car park for customers with luggage to carry to use the closer parking. They have moved the lounge area upstairs to the 1st floor, it’s got not atmosphere, empty and I had to chase twice for us to get service for drinks and sandwiches! You feel forgotten. Two mornings the breakfast was extremely salty . The omelette on the2nd day was inedible.

The entire ground floor had been magically converted to look like the inside of a Scottish Highlands Castle. Tartan and tweed everywhere and a piper playing all the classics added to the ambience. The haggis, neaps and tatties were superb and the options available for Single Malts to wash it all down were plentiful. I've heard that there are ongoing plans for next year where the guests can witness the release of some juvenile haggis onto the Tarka Trail, to see how they might adapt to the local environment.

Nothing. It's always magical here.