Coastal Luxury in Devon - Reviewed by One Off Places
The One Off Places family was lucky enough to have a weekend at the glorious Seacombe recently. One thing’s for sure - whatever you see on the website; it’s better. And for those of you who have seen the website, it looks pretty good on there already……It is positioned on the south Devon coast near Salcombe, between the villages of East Prawle and East Portlemouth, and just a few minutes walk from the beach.
We arrived in the dark on Friday night so had absolutely no sense of the setting of the house. We just knew we’d travelled down increasingly narrow Devon lanes, and then a farm track, in order to reach it. So we had the joy of discovering the house itself on Friday night, and then the joy of the sea views and setting when we woke up on Saturday morning!
The house itself is a labour of love - once a wooden shack, it is now an architectural beauty, and has won a number of awards to prove it, including the Best Home Competition and two RIBA awards. It is no exaggeration to say that every member of our group stopped in their tracks when we entered the house. Super sleek, modern, full of light, space and simply oozing style, yet friendly and cosy with it.
The house is built into the hill with huge glass windows to the south. There are three bedrooms on this level (as well as a charming little seating area perfectly positioned so you can while away some hours gazing out to sea), two of which are double ensuite, and a twin room (where are third single bed can be set up if needed). The kitchen diner and living room are downstairs, as well as a state of the art cinema room (which can sleep two more people if required). For those who enjoy the luxury touches, you’ll love the oak floors, the granite worktops, the surround sound music system. The cinema has a state of the art projector and screen with a blu-ray dvd player. We were thrilled when it started raining, giving us the perfect excuse to all snuggle up in the cinema for the afternoon!
Outside the walled garden is large, and there’s a field for croquet (and a croquet set, natch). Being there in winter, we didn’t hang out in the garden per se, but there are sunloungers, deckchairs, a large table and chairs, and a kitchen garden, and of course, the fabulous sea views that we keep going on about (with good reason).
Having the beach so close by is a joy, especially one as gorgeous as Seacombe Sands. You could quite easily just go to and from this little beach every day of your holiday. Sand, caves, rockpools, what more could you want. But for those who are staying longer and feeling adventurous, there are lots of other beaches in both directions along the coast path, wonderful walking, watersports in Salcombe and fishing opportunities nearby. We found ourselves at the Pig’s Nose Inn in East Prawle for lunch one day. It’s one of several charming country pubs in the vicinity.
We really did have the most wonderful weekend - the house spoils you and the views enchant you. We can’t recommend it highly enough.
And one final thing about the cinema room. One of the most exciting things for all of us (not just the children) was the fact that it is a ‘hidden’ room. Finding it for the first time brought out the child in all of us. We’re not going to tell you where it is. You’d better book a stay and go and find out for yourself.
Cost for one week varies from £750 in low season to £2700 in peak season. 3 night weekends are also available at 70% of the weekly rate.
For more info, to enquire and book: https://www.oneoffplaces.co.uk/seacombe
