My friend and I were kindly invited to visit and stay at the brand-new Mercure Paignton Hotel, nestled right on the seafront of the English Riveria with sea views and dreamy coastal walks as in the heart of
the UNESCO Global Geopark.
The hotel is made up of 161 stylish bedrooms, a spacious glass-fronted restaurant and a two-tier outdoor terrace and bar. Although the weather wasn’t playing ball for our stay, the terrace planting and design would be idyllic in the Summer, sampling a glass of local wine or gin after a day of exploring the coastline. The entrance to the hotel is welcoming, with their friendly knowledgeable staff, on hand to get the most out of your stay. We settled into the lounge for a coffee while our room was getting all set up for us, watching the other visitors enjoying the space.
The rooms and the hotel have been all designed with elegant 1920s styling, making for a very chic stay as well as a restful one. The rooms were spacious, with the most comfortable beds and bedding promising for a good night’s sleep later on. The bath had so many toiletries and my favourite detail was not a conditioning shampoo but actually, a separate shampoo, conditioner and body wash which each smelt divine. Our room also had thick cloud bathrobes and slippers as well as Nespresso coffee machines, a mini fridge and other drinks set up.
As we could see it luring us across from our sea view bedroom window, we had to pay Paignton Pier a visit and play some of the arcade games. Was so much fun and we spent a while trying to win our fortune on the 2p Coin Pushers, shooting basketballs and whacking balls at clowns for the highly prized tickets for our prizes. There was a great selection for all ages and mini golf at the end of the pier but was a typical English day when we visited so stayed inside to avoid the rain.
We had dinner downstairs in the glass front Latitude 50 Bar and Restaurant, which highlights the best of the region’s produce. South West suppliers include Salcombe Gin and Bays Brewery, with fish freshly
sourced from nearby Brixham. With a range of dishes like pasta, salads, pizzas, dishes from the grill like 8oz Rump Steak with tomatoes, rocket, parmesan, basil dressing and more comfort dishes such as Ox Cheek slow cooked beef with horseradish mash, honey carrots, you’ll be stuck for choice.
We shared the Antipasti Platter to start with marinated mushrooms, charcuterie, a selection of fresh slices of bread and hot arancini with stringy mozzarella middle as well as balsamic glaze for dunking.
I went for the Chicken & Mushroom with pancetta parmesan sauce served with crispy thyme polenta and steamed kale. The chicken was tender and paired with the richness of the sauce, a great dish after a day of exploring. We paired our main courses with Panzanella salad, Tomatoes, toasted focaccia and basil and the Chilli Butternut which was deliciously roasted and caramelized for a great autumnal side. We were defeated to order a dessert, which was a shame as there were some very tempting ones on offer like Chocolate & Hazelnut Delice and Panna Cotta with Blackberries and Biscotti.
We had a wonderful stay, with a restful evening and a great night’s sleep. It was nice to discover a new area for us in South Devon as well as having a luxurious hotel to come back to at the end of the day. Thank you Mecure Paignton for having us and we are looking forward to returning in the future.
*Our stay and food were kindly gifted by Mercure Paignton, however all views and comments are my own*
Pinterest!
Save this article to Pinterest, and pin the below image!
