Places to Stay With a Restaurant in Devon

What “on-site restaurant” actually means in Devon

There are 43 places to stay with a restaurant published on BritStays in Devon, and they are not all hotels. The set splits into 14 camping sites, 14 hotels, 12 caravanning sites and 3 holiday parks, so roughly two-thirds of the list are parks and campsites where “restaurant” means a park dining room, clubhouse kitchen or farm bar serving food rather than a separate dining reservation. Twenty-nine of the 43 also list a bar, which is often the same room.

That matters when you are deciding how much cooking you want to do. Hidden Valley Park near Ilfracombe lists a bar, restaurant and toilets — a typical park set-up. Beer Head Caravan Park near Sidmouth pairs its restaurant with takeaway food, which is the more useful combination on a wet evening with tired children. Wray Valley Camping lists a restaurant and little else alongside it, so it is worth asking what is actually open and on which days before you rely on it.

Coast or countryside

The coastal towns dominate. Paignton has the most with 7, followed by Salcombe and Torquay with 4 each, then Dawlish, Woolacombe, Ilfracombe and Sidmouth with 3 apiece, with Exmouth also represented. Seventeen of the 43 list sea views, so a view is realistic but not guaranteed — check the listing rather than assuming the postcode does the work.

Inland, the pattern changes. Yeatheridge Farm Caravan & Camping Park at Crediton combines a swimming pool with a bar and restaurant; Caffyns Farm at Lynton lists a bar, restaurant and café; Camp Dartington at Totnes adds a gym and evening entertainment; and Langstone Manor Park has a pool, bar and restaurant. These suit walking and Dartmoor trips, where you want somewhere to eat without driving back out after dark. Five listings are tagged simply as Devon with no town, so read the description to work out whether you are near the sea or well inland.

Families, couples and dog owners

For families, the pool is often the deciding factor — 15 of the 43 have one. Lady's Mile Holiday Park and Cofton Holidays, both at Dawlish, list a swimming pool, hot tub and gym. Welcome Family Holiday Park at Dawlish Warren has a pool, clubhouse and evening entertainment, and Ladram Bay Holiday Park near Sidmouth lists a pool, hot tub and evening entertainment. If you want the children fed early and entertained afterwards, these are the type to shortlist.

Couples have two routes. The 14 hotels in the set are the obvious one, but a few camping and park options lean quieter and more grown-up: South Dean Camping near Ilfracombe lists a spa alongside its bar and restaurant, and Mill Farm at Salcombe keeps things simple with a restaurant, WiFi and parking. Fox and Hounds, listed under Devon, has a pool, bar and restaurant.

Dog owners are well served: 23 of the 43 are pet friendly, slightly more than half. The question to ask when you book is narrower than “do you take dogs?” — ask whether dogs are allowed inside the restaurant and bar, in a particular section only, or outside on the terrace. On parks the answer often differs between the clubhouse and the restaurant side.

Practicalities worth checking

• Parking is listed at 21 of the 43 — under half, so confirm it, particularly in Torquay and Salcombe.
• WiFi appears on 18 listings; assume patchy coverage on rural campsites unless it says otherwise.
• EV charging nearby is noted for 17, which is useful but means charging off-site rather than at your pitch or parking space.

Once you are there

Dartmoor National Park is the big draw for inland stays, with Tiverton Castle, Hemyock Castle and Escot House within reach of the mid-Devon sites. On the south coast, Dartmouth Castle, Coleton Fishacre and Bradley Manor make solid half-days, and Overbeck's Museum and Gardens suits a Salcombe base. Paignton Zoo is the reliable all-day option with children, and the Site of Old Torbay Aircraft Museum is also in Paignton. For rainy afternoons there is Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, Coldharbour Woolen Museum near Sidmouth, Plym Valley Railway, Church House, St. Lawrence Chapel and Dulverton Heritage Centre.

When to book

With only 43 options in the whole county, and smaller numbers once you filter — 15 with a pool, 17 with sea views, 23 pet friendly — the combinations go quickly. For the summer school holidays and the late May half term in Paignton, Woolacombe, Salcombe and Dawlish, book several months out. Shoulder season is easier, but that is exactly when park restaurants cut their days, so email and ask what will be open during your dates before you pay. Book a table for your arrival night at the same time as the stay, and check whether food service stops earlier than the bar.