Blue Ball Inn
Top rated by guests





8.4Excellent
(634 Ratings)
"Warm welcome. Room was well presented and the food in the bar was brilliant."
Verified guestDon't miss out! Price and availability may change
4-Star Hotel
Guests love it hereGuests give this property a top rating
Great for petsBring all your friends and family, even the furry ones
High-end valueWell priced for this area
Located in Sidmouth and with Sandy Park Rugby Stadium reachable within 12 miles, Blue Ball Inn has a shared lounge, non-smoking rooms, free WiFi throughout the property and a bar. This 4-star hotel offers room service.
Business facilities
Free WiFi/internet
Free Parking
Non-smoking
Pets allowed
Gym
Bar
WiFi/Internet
Beach access
Shared living spaces
Accessible Parking
Housekeeping available
Tennis court
Cleaning products
$$$$
Top rated by guests
8.4Excellent
(634 Ratings)
"Warm welcome. Room was well presented and the food in the bar was brilliant."
Verified guestDon't miss out! Price and availability may change
Ratings and reviews
10.0 / 10.0
Warm welcome. Room was well presented and the food in the bar was brilliant.
The only issue I had was the shower needed to be a bit more powerful.
5.0 / 10.0
The breakfast was first class and staff were very friendly.
I didn’t like being told to order my main evening meal in the next five minutes. I wanted to have a couple of drinks and then order. When we were relaxed. Not good
9.0 / 10.0
Very comfortable rooms nice and clean. Staff were excellent, friendly, helpful. Especially the young man who booked us in and worked his socks off in the bar and helped serve at table in the restaurant. The guy who I assume was the landlord was very friendly all in all a great experience.
The restaurant is changing from the winter menu to the spring menu. There were several items not available. In itself this is not a problem but would have been helpful if like the breakfast menu unavailable items should be blanked out. It’s a really minor thing.
10.0 / 10.0
The property is clean and the staff are welcoming. The food is superb.
There was nothing we didn’t like about our stay.
5.0 / 10.0
The pub was lovely, cosy and quiet. Nice staff.
The room we were given wasn’t actually the one we booked as we booked the duluxe king and on realising that the room was quite abit smaller it seems we were given the double. I did mention this to the staff that evening but there was nothing they could do and to be fair it wasn’t their fault. Apparently someone else had also had the same problem so the website is misleading in what room is what.
The room was fine but the one we booked would have been preferable. The bath had a crack all down the side and impossible to lie out in as there’s no head room either end. The cleanliness behind the loo wasn’t great either and the ceiling fan didn’t look like it had ever been cleaned.
This wouldn’t have really mattered if we hadn’t booked a deluxe room so therefore it didn’t feel deluxe.
The staff were lovely. The evening meal was good but very disappointed so many things on the menu were unavailable ( at least 8 things!)
Could have been perfect but unfortunately this time it wasn’t.
9.0 / 10.0
Lovely place to stay, large bedroom, comfortable and clean. Staff were really personable and helpful.
Nothing
9.0 / 10.0
Excellent breakfast. Nothing was too much trouble for the owner and the staff went out of their way to make us welcome.
9.0 / 10.0
lovely room, excellent breakfast, 10 minutes drive to the seafront or the donkey sanctuary
none it was all good
10.0 / 10.0
Gorgeous room and decor, nice and quiet! Lovely location!
10.0 / 10.0
The cleanliness and attention to detail
Nothing! Absolutely fantastic stay
9.0 / 10.0
Everything was lovely for our short stay and the breakfast was far better than expected. Staff were very kind to our dog too - offering treats!
The hotel is quaint, welcoming & friendly. Though it is a period property our room could possibly have a better desk or dressing table than a small lever & bit wobbly side table. Otherwise the property was perfect.
7.0 / 10.0
Comfortable and warm. Excellent breakfast and breakfast staff very good.
WiFi is really poor, no reception in room even when on roaming. No written instructions about opening times as all on the website. A little difficult to access and read if you have no reception on your mobile phone!
9.0 / 10.0
A lovely building with a welcoming bar in a rural location. Plenty of free parking directly opposite. Comfortable room.
The bar closed at around 9:45pm which was fair enough on a cold midweek evening.
9.0 / 10.0
Warm and cosy staff were all lovely
Menu and food were great
Nothing would stay again for sure
10.0 / 10.0
Could do with a few comfortable sofas in the bar areas
Maybe a zebra crossing outside as car park is other side of a busy road.
9.0 / 10.0
Staff were friendly and attentive biut not intrusive. One small issue that I had was resolved very quickly
Everything was fine
8.0 / 10.0
Large room, very large bed. The staff were very friendly and helpful and interacted with the guests, which was great.
For some reason, our room was very hot even when the radiator was turned off, which affected our sleep.
We found the food in the restaurant very good although the steak was over priced for what it was.
9.0 / 10.0
Very good
10.0 / 10.0
Really lovely friendly staff and room was cosy clean and comfortable. Lovely food. Dog friendly
All good little expensive
8.0 / 10.0
Good cooked breakfast and overall a reasonable selection of food. The salmon and scrambled egg was lovely! The full english was great and filling! Coffee was filter and excellent. Two new twin beds and duvets were very comfortable. TV very good.
electric fittings and bedside lamps were old but worked. Most lights were LED.
9.0 / 10.0
breakfast good and lots of choice, location good
the wifi was very poor and kept dropping even in the main areas
9.0 / 10.0
Breakfast fine varied and appropriate for age.
9.0 / 10.0
Not the hotel's fault but the traffic was noisy.
All OK
9.0 / 10.0
Had to wait a long time for breakfast & my poached eggs were too well cooked but I was offered some more which I declined.
A ground floor room! My husband is well into his 90s & had difficulty on the stairs. I did request this & actually had a reply saying request accepted but there had been a mix up somewhere along the line.
8.0 / 10.0
Quiet & cosy feel
Crossing the road outside for parking
8.0 / 10.0
Breakfast okay good selection
Would have used the bar more if wine wasn't so expensive
5.0 / 10.0
Cooked breakfast choice
No toast available for marmalade etc No fruit or yoghurt available.
8.0 / 10.0
Lovely stay! Comfy bed and great shower. Good sized room.
I didn’t love my breakfast but my partner’s food looked good!
10.0 / 10.0
The room was excellent very clean homely
We had four nights it was perfect me and my friend just want a short break just recharge
Great breakfast menu
6.0 / 10.0
On the plus side, the decor and general ambiance was lovely with original artwork on the walls and nice quality fixtures. The breakfast was excellent and very generous and one particular member of staff was friendly and helpful. I am not in the habit of leaving poor reviews and feel slightly mean giving the Blue Ball a less than totally positive review, however I felt there were a few shortcomings which adversely affected my stay.
There was an annoying electrical hum in my room and the first morning there was no hot water (the following day, the shower was still not great). When I mentioned these, I felt met with little concern, and it was evident that there wasn’t a daily cleaning service and no one appeared to have been up to my room to check the noise - my cup and glass from the night before were still there and the room had not been refreshed. One of the reasons I chose the hotel was the fact that it was rated highly for lone travellers, however I didn’t feel particularly well looked after in the restaurant – the service was slow and no-one came over to wipe my table, which had been recently vacated by the previous diners, despite the fact I had pointed out that it needed cleaning.
I understand the hotel was short staffed, however I wasn’t even offered a complimentary drink to compensate for all the issues I experienced. Frankly, I expect a little more from a four-star hotel.
7.0 / 10.0
Friendly staff. Comfortable bed and spacious room and bathroom.
Our stay was three days, but at no time did we have hot water in the shower. We understand that these problems happen, but having advised the staff on two occasions, we got no acknowledgement from the management of the issue or made aware of any attempts to alleviate the situation. We paid a significant rate ( Sidmouth folk festival) and could have expected more from management.
Whilst there was double glazing, there is always a conflict between road noise and ventilation for rooms overlooking a main road - especially for summer months.
6.0 / 10.0
Pretty thatched inn with easy parking.
Very close to the road.
10.0 / 10.0
The bed was amazing, so comfy and great pillows. Shower was fantastic. Breakfast was a continental and a mixture of cooked meals. Staff were friendly and helpful. Convient for buses and the bed was so comfy.
Clean towels every day, tea/coffee supplies were stocked up every day. Bottle of water in room too.
4.0 / 10.0
Breakfast was adequate. Everything was freshly cooked the only thing that was missing was at the cold buffet. Fresh fruit and a choice of yogurts would have been appreciated. The food in the restaurant was very good and a good choice of menu and excellent service
We booked and paid for a King Superior Room with en-suite shower (as we require a walk-in shower cubicle due to us being in our eighties) . The room we were given had a bath with shower over. On close inspection of both the bedroom and bathroom we were extremely unhappy at the standard of cleanliness in both rooms. We have photographs to support this claim. We reported our findings to the Manager who arranged to have both rooms cleaned the following day. Which was done to our satisfaction.
6.0 / 10.0
Location for donkey sanctuary
Breakfast was fab
Last orders at bar was 9.40
Cleanliness could of been better
No hot water for shower on evening
8.0 / 10.0
Staff were very helpful
Great perfectly cook full breakfasts
And delicious evening meals
Served from 5 pm for early eaters.
To near to a busy road.
6.0 / 10.0
The Inn was large and the food was very good.
Our room on the ground floor at the front was right on the main A road and so was incredibly noisy. It was also a disabled room, so we had a large bathroom suitable for wheelchairs (we are not disabled). The shower curtain was filthy.
6.0 / 10.0
The pub has delicious food. Breakfast was included in our room price and it was first rate on both mornings. There was a wide choice of dishes from a traditional English fry-up to Chorizo Hash, from pancakes to coconut yoghurt with fruit and granola. We had dinner at the pub on our second night and it was lovely - perfectly cooked lamb and Sunday Roast Chicken. The pub is a 30 minute walk down The Byes/River Sid to Sidmouth - we walked then got the bus back.
The room was very disappointing especially given the relatively expensive price per night. I travel a lot for work and this one doesn't stack up at all versus others I've stayed at recently at much lesser cost. Furnishings and carpet were tired and worn out. The bathroom had a drainy smell and the fittings/decor were dated. Housekeeping across the two days was minimal with only the water was replaced on day 2, and no beds made etc. There was also even a previous guest's trousers left in the wardrobe. I'd say stick to what you're good at which is the food - and forego the rooms unless you're prepared to put much more effort into them, both with new decoration and facilities, and with proper housekeeping. Or price accordingly.
9.0 / 10.0
Great location for us, sensible walk down to the waters edge, good breakfast, comfortable rooms and good pub to eat in.
nothing really to complain about
8.0 / 10.0
Food (both breakfasts and dinners) were well-cooked and tasty. Service, including greeting on arrival, was generally very good. Room was comfortable.
One member of staff displayed a negative attitude when I asked for a server to take my order. I later learned that orders were normally placed at the bar by customers but I was not told. When I asked for the bill, there was no record of what I had ordered and I had to recite what we had eaten and drunk!
FAQs
Is parking included with this hotel?
Parking is not specified as an available amenity at Blue Ball Inn. For more information, we encourage you to contact the property about where to park.
Is there a pool at this hotel?
We didn’t find pool listed as an amenity for this hotel. It may be worth double checking if a pool is important for your stay.
Is Blue Ball Inn pet friendly?
Yes! This hotel is pet-friendly. For more information, we recommend contacting the booking provider about animal policies.
What amenities are available at Blue Ball Inn?
We found 14 amenities for this rental. This includes business facilities, free wifi/internet, free parking, non-smoking, and pets allowed.
