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Many of life's great experiences, however, Gidleigh park is a delight that requires some effort to achieve. The hotel's website says Gidleigh Park may be a hard place to find. We recommend that our guests do not rely on satellite navigation. It sounds as if it might be in the village of Gidleigh and with a postal address of 'Chagford' you'll not be surprised to learn that it's actually nowhere near here either. But the path of glory does lead through Chagford. Chagford is a very unusual village, which boasts two banks, three pubs and two. The big hardware shops. We were keen to get to Gidleigh park with haste, but who can resist the chance to browse not one but two hardware shops.
Gidleigh Park is arguably a perfect specimen of a small country house hotel. Rarely do you find a hotel of this sort that accomplishes its mission without any obvious failings. In my experience, country house hotels have at least one or two deficiencies a lovely hotel but a hopeless restaurant, or a great restaurant but terrible rooms and even worse service. Here there is nothing to dislike. The reason is probably that Gidleigh Park is owned by Andrew Brownsword, who not only knows exactly what he wants from a hotel but has the funds to make sure he gets it. Having earned one fortune from the sale of his greeting card company to Hallmark, he is now rapidly accumulating another in the hotel business.
Award winning Gidleigh Park is being used as a template for the other hotels in his group, called the Gidleigh Collection. They are The Bath Priory, Amberley Castle, Lower Slaughter Manor. The Slaughters and Bucklanr, with chef Michael Caines overseeing the food at all of the hotels, each has its own outstanding restaurant. Gidleigh, however, is the place to start.