Places to Stay With Evening Entertainment in Paignton

What "evening entertainment" actually means around Paignton

Six places to stay in this region are published on BritStays with evening entertainment listed as a facility. That single phrase covers a lot of ground — a hotel lounge with a singer and a late bar is a very different night out from a holiday park clubhouse with a kids' show at six and a quiz at nine. The facility lists give you a reasonable steer. Four of the six also have a bar and four have a restaurant, which tends to point towards on-site evenings you can settle into without driving anywhere. Three have WiFi, two have a gym, and three are pet friendly.

The set splits neatly by type: two hotels, two caravanning sites and two camping sites. That's useful, because the style of entertainment usually follows the type. Hotels such as the Esplanade Hotel and the Lyndhurst Hotel both list evening entertainment alongside a bar and a restaurant — the classic arrangement of dinner, then something in the lounge. Parks such as Woodlands Grove Caravan and Camping pair entertainment with a playground and takeaway food, which reads much more like a family clubhouse evening.

Coast or countryside: where to base yourself

Four of the six are in Paignton itself, with one in Brixham and one in Totnes. If you want to walk to your evening rather than drive to it, Paignton is the obvious base simply because the choice is widest there.

• Paignton — the bulk of the options, and the only town here with both hotels and parks, so you can choose your style of evening rather than take what's available.
• Brixham — Riviera Bay Holiday Park is the single listing, combining a swimming pool, a gym and evening entertainment. Good if you want the coast but prefer a quieter town to come back to.
• Totnes — Camp Dartington is the inland choice, with a gym and a bar alongside the entertainment. Better suited to a countryside trip where the evening is a social wind-down rather than the main event.

Families, couples and dog owners

For families, look at what sits beside the entertainment on the facility list. Woodlands Grove Caravan and Camping has a playground and takeaway food, which solves the two problems that derail family evenings — tired children and no one wanting to cook. Riviera Bay Holiday Park's swimming pool gives you an afternoon activity that leads naturally into an early dinner and a show.

Couples are usually better served by the hotels or by the parks with adult-facing extras. Hoburne Holiday Park lists a hot tub and a spa alongside its entertainment, so you can take or leave the clubhouse. The Esplanade Hotel and the Lyndhurst Hotel both offer the bar-and-restaurant combination that makes for an unhurried evening without a timetable.

Dog owners have a fair run of it: three of the six are pet friendly, so half the set is open to you. Do check the specific listing before booking, as entertainment venues within a site often have their own rules about dogs in bars and lounges, separate from whether the accommodation accepts them.

Filling the daylight hours

An evening-entertainment trip still needs a day plan. Paignton Zoo is the most convenient large outing if you're based in town, and Woodlands Family Theme Park suits families who want one big day out. For slower days, the National Trust properties are well spread: Coleton Fishacre, Greenway House and Bradley Manor. If castles appeal, Dartmouth Castle and Compton Castle both sit within reach. Wet-weather options include the Site of Old Torbay Aircraft Museum in Paignton, St. Lawrence Chapel and Church House in Devon, the Plym Valley Railway near Salcombe, and the Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum. Further afield, Shaldon Zoo (Shaldon Wildlife Trust) near Dawlish and The Tamar Valley Donkey Park near Looe are both day-trip distance rather than quick hops.

Getting there, and when to book

Two of the six are near a train station and four have EV charging nearby, so a car-free or electric trip is workable but not guaranteed — check the individual listing rather than assuming.

On timing: with only six properties in the region offering evening entertainment, and four of those concentrated in one town, availability is thinner than the overall number of places to stay in Devon suggests. Book school holidays and bank holiday weekends several months ahead, particularly for the parks. Entertainment programmes are usually seasonal, so if the shows are the reason you're coming, contact the site directly and ask what runs during your dates before you pay a deposit — a facility listed year-round doesn't always mean a nightly programme year-round.