Top 5-Star Hotels in Exeter

Fantastic from the second we came in the door to the time we left. We could not fault anything lovely experience The rooms, bar and dining area are gorgeous, with every detail perfectly thought out. They’re cosy, stylish, and just a great place to relax The service staff were all excellent, very attentive and polite, the food was delicious and the cocktails were yummy! Special thanks to Nick for taking such good care of us and advising us on our trip to Greece. We'll definitely be back!

Absolutely amazing hotel! We were so surprised on how much we enjoyed our stay here, seeing as the hotel was so affordable! Staff were lovely and always smiling. Check-in was super quick and easy and the 24 hour reception even had a little shop to buy food and drinks from! There was room service available and a bar/restaurant downstairs. We did not dine in the hotel so can’t comment on the food. We will 100% book here again if we’re back in Exeter!

I reviewed this hotel in December 2011, you can find it in the history. First things first. I am not a nit picking whinge screaming for the manager at the slightest issue. Far from it. But it really pains me to write this due to my stay. I work abroad now and a colleague and me were needed to be in Exeter and from 11 years ago thought of this hotel as ideal. How wrong can I have been and how deteriorated this place has become. Checkin ＞ Ok but staff obviously frustrated about the running around children and the noise, they were clearly embarrassed. 2 were kicking a football around the reception. Some mothers nearby didn't seem to even care. Room ＞ not at all good, worn out carpet, windows didn't open but for about 3 centimetres so it was very warm. Of course the AC was not working and i was told it was being looked into. Also no hangers in the cupboards at all took an hour after asking for some to arrive. Reception / Bar ＞ very odd indeed, 2 same dressed gentlemen always looked you up and down when walking through. You are also on video, they kept talking on their walkitalki devices when they weren't smoking outside!!!!! Look at my pictures, whats going on in this place? Public area / corridors ＞ not nice. Food and glasses left outside rooms 24 hours, some rooms seem to have a drum and bass convention going on. Oh and the smell of those vape things was awful. Maybe thats why we had to evacuate at 0100 in the morning with a fire alarm. I heard the fire guys discussion on it being from someone vaping. Security ＞ For who? OK there was the 2 strange videoing guys in the bar area, but my keycard stopped working 4 times in 7 days. You just go the reception and they say ”ah yes it happens, whats the room number” THAT IS ALL! I had a written note in my room one evening saying sorry to come in to the room but I left my HDMI connector in the room! Parking ＞ now its ridiculously expensive on what used to be included. Utter rip off. Its a ANPR system so beware. What i couldn't understand was that looking out of my widow there were 2 or 3 cars sometimes at night with people sleeping overnight in them. I checked the status on gov. website all no MOT or tax. Whats going on here? Overall a massive disappointment from 11 years ago and feel very sorry for the staff, they know whats going here and it shows in their manner Check out ＞ at last! But then i find 50 pounds of ”laundry” on my room, I asked to be removed. One night was over 200 pounds ”oh its just due to the system” Yeh right. Conclusion ＞ you are being taken for a ride here and I will take this with Accor the parent company. A shabby dirty hotel with a company with 2.2 billion in revenue and 10.7 billion in assets. An utter disgrace. I am requesting a massive / total refund. Thanks again to the staff, its obvious you are trying to make the best of an awful situation. Avoid. Sorry

Being used to the likes of other budget hotel chains when on business trips I was looking forward to my stay however feel let down given the prestigious reputation of the Mercure brand. The hotel building itself is beautiful and the room was modern in decor, however unfortunately the building fabric had not been modernised leading to an uncomfortable night. The room was very warm with a single window that only opened slightly and no air conditioning/fan provided. Even on a cold September night the room was uncomfortably warm into the early hours. My room was positioned opposite what seemed to be the kitchen/some sort of generator/heater which kicked in at 6am in the morning waking me up as the window had to remain open to keep the room cool. The range of breakfast was good (cooked breakfast, pastries, cereals, continental), but sadly the quality was quite poor. Despite being the first person at 8am on a Sunday the food was cold overall and the sausages and bacon were very tough and leathery. The staff on every interaction were helpful and polite, especially the receptionist when checking in. Overall a disappointing stay and sadly not the first poor experience at an Accor hotel.

Good location and nice decoration however, the room was a little dusty! Complimentary stocking of mini fridge was nice. Staff went above and beyond with their service and the breakfast was great :)

Well-presented and comfortable. Alas we stayed during a heatwave; as there is no air-conditioning we were forced to leave the window open and endure constant traffic noise in our room at the front. There was no sense of being welcomed at check-in; the formalities were completed in an indifferent manner. Breakfast service was efficient although with one exception waiting staff were sullen. Overall the staff would do well to remember that they work in the hospitality industry rather than a hostel. The hotel is in a good position relative to the city centre. If we return then we will request a room at the rear.

We stayed because our husbands were going to the rugby and the girls having a trip into Exeter. Location of the hotel was perfect not a long walk to the train station for us to get into town. On arrival at 12.30 reception was full queues of people trying to check in or leave bags. A man was sent out to take our car registration and names and then we could wait in the bar until they were ready for us. The boys waited in the bar and we headed off. They were checked in before 3 when they had to leave for the rugby which was good but to be honest we knew we were early and would have been happy leaving the luggage. We were told out of the 3 couples we had an upgrade to what turned out to be an accessible room and to be honest it isn’t an upgrade. I would have preferred the room we had booked which certainly wasn’t accessible. One of the other couples was over charged by £70 on check in - which we did sort out on our return. Whilst shopping we checked to see if our mobile key was ready but no we had to go to check in and do that on return to the hotel so they could Id us seems to defeat the object. On arrival back joined a queue again to activate the mobile key. It seems to be the longest slowest check of any hotel I have stayed in. When we finally got to the front we were given a normal key as it might take a while for the mobile one to work. Good job because it took nearly an hour to activate and then when I tried it it wouldn’t work with my phone. We then went to the bar before dinner again it was packed we managed to get a table but only 2 servers so wait for drinks was a little long. Price was ok. We had a table booked in the view for dinner and the food was lovely and reasonably priced. Again restaurant was very busy but the staff were lovely. Couldn’t have water. On the table as the waitress informed us they had run out of jugs, we said we would wait but she said no they had no jugs? She had to keep topping up from a bottle and she wasn’t allowed to leave the bottle on the table. Perhaps a trip to the next door IKEA May have sorted that. The main meal came with various items missing off of each plate, salsa, salad and chips. Overall was nice though. Breakfast was an another matter, we sat in the bar as the restaurant was packed. The design of the restaurant for breakfast is awful. People queueing for hot food past the croissants and bread and toaster so someone is always in the way. The fruit and cold meat and cheeses on the end of the hot line so missed by a lot of people. Only Greek or soya p,Ian yoghurt noth8ng flavoured, ran out of compote and fruit. Had to ask for the orange juice to be topped up. Just very disorganised and badly set out. Now I know it was a busy rugby weekend but the hotel are obviously fully aware of this. The staff were pleasant and the food in the evening lovely, in the morning ok. The room was clean and lovely - definitely not an upgrade though so please don’t make out it was. I would stay again if husband was going t

It's very good. It's worth recommending. It's very good. My friends like it very much. Next time, I'll take my family to check in. Breakfast is rich, transportation is convenient, and the couple's attitude is also very good.

Booked this as a stopover on our way down to Padstow. What a fantastic find! Staff were second to none, Jane and Scott so helpful, couldn’t do enough for us. Best pancakes ever for breakfast but plenty of choice. My husband was taken ill on our last morning and Mike, the General Manager, was both helpful and kind. Great room for us and our dog with amazing view of the river. Plenty of tables outside to fully appreciate the view.

We enjoyed the convenience of staying in a spacious, comfortable room just upstairs from an excellent pub/restaurant. City Gate is a short walk from the Exeter St. David train station and from Exeter’s city center, making it wonderfully convenient for those traveling by rail, like we were. We would highly recommend the City Gate Hotel to anyone seeking an affordable, convenient stay in Exeter.