Mary Tavy Inn

What can we say, this was one of the most delightful stays we've ever had - certainly the most beautiful, friendly inn we've stayed at in the UK, period. Being from suburban London, we were looking for somewhere remote and rustic within the moors to give us that true vibe of 'foggy, misty, countryside' Dartmoor. Boy did this meet and go beyond our expectations. After visiting Tavistock following a long 4 hour drive across endless motorway, finally arrived at Mary Tavy, gasping for a good old country cider. We entered the Tavy and instantly fell in love with the vibe - Highland Cows, rustic cosy decore - wow! One wall covered in Millwall memorabilia (a family run pub from London in Dartmoor - LOVED IT!!) On entering we were greeted by George, the most friendly, well energied Hotel Manager I think we've ever come across. He took our details, and showed us to our room. A gorgeous, cosy miniature-cottage type vibe with a warm room, spacious bathroom, and a wicked picture of ... A highland cow. Loved it! We went back into the bar, and ordered our first drinks - "Enjoy guys, these first ones are on the hotel as a welcome." From that point on this set the tone of our beautiful 2 night stay. The first morning we bumped into the owner - she was lovely - we heard the amazing backstory about the Highland Cow theme. The family and staff are so welcoming - to say the welcome drink set the tone, the staff made sure it continued throughout our stay. The second night waking up at 4am with a small bout of insomnia I headed outside - holy wow, the amount of stars were incredible (as a suburban London-ite I had only heard about the myths of starry night skies - turns out they are REAL!) Food, amazing. Staff, so friendly. This is a MUST STAY if you're visiting Dartmoor. So well placed for everywhere you'd ever need to go. We so happy we found a base for Dartmoor. We can't wait to go back.

It was a tight squeeze with the suitcase, so maybe the only thing we'd suggested is space somewhere to put your suitcase - it couldn't fit under the bed. But that's only a suggestion and by no means impacted our stay.

Just perfect, food fantastic, rooms superb, very friendly.

Wish we could have stayed longer

The twin beds were very comfortable. The running water was properly hot. The location was charming. The layout in the pub was excellent.

Unfortunately, Booking.com did not pass on the request for twin beds and so they later had to be separated. The evening meal on the day of our arrival was not enjoyable being either over-cooked of unsatisfactory portion size. Therefore, we ate elsewhere for dinner on the subsequent two days.

Great location, hot shower, nice quality sheets and comfortable bed. Evening meal in the pub was excellent (except the olives!)

Disappointed that the only coffee available at breakfast was instant. This is really unusual for a B&B these days! A simple cafetière would do the trick. Since the room was quite small and not much space to hang up waterproofs to dry, a drying rack would have been useful.