A Stay In A Luxury Apartment With Cofton Holidays

Devon is a place I haven't been to for years. It's my mum's favourite area in the UK so I was looking forward to spending a few days there recently. If you are like me, you may have difficulty choosing where to stay, and I think long and hard about picking the perfect accommodation, but luckily Cofton Holidays came to the rescue and invited me to try out their newly refurbished luxury apartments at Eastdon House in Dawlish, Devon.

The main accommodation is in the Cofton Holiday Park, with camping and caravan pitches as well as static caravans. They also offer holiday accommodation and apartments in Eastdon House, approximately two and a half miles away. If you stay at Eastdon House you get the space and luxury of having your own apartment as well as being able to use the facilities of the holiday park such as the swimming pools and entertainment in the Warren retreat, their show bar.

Our drive to the park took us longer than expected due to delays on the motorway, but all the stresses of the journey slipped away when we were greeted by the big smiles of the reception staff. Check-in was straightforward and easy and we were given a parking permit, details of the park facilities, a wristband that allows you access to the holiday park and a key for our apartment.




Eastdon House 

Our apartment was a short drive away and ten minutes later we were coming up the drive.

As we drove up to the apartment we were immediately impressed. Eastdon House is a beautiful white Georgian building and is surrounding by lush green countryside, with the odd cow dotting the landscape. We parked outside and made our way into the building. 


As you come into the main hall the decor struck me as beautiful with tiled floors in an authentic Georgian design. The carpet was new and everything was freshly painted. Our room was on the upper floor and the building didn't have a lift due to restrictions. We were given an old-fashioned key on a wooden tag and this immediately gave the apartment an air of luxury and age.



Hallway

Lounge 

We opened the apartment door, onto a small hallway and this lead into the lounge. Wow, was my immediate thought, what a lovely room! The lounge was a good size and beautifully decorated in simple tones and the plush grey carpet felt soft underfoot.

Information 

In the room were two large Chesterfield style sofas in grey with a small table in the centre of the room. A large flat-screen TV was by the window. We found out later that this was a smart TV so if you have an account with Netflix or Amazon Prime you could use those services when you are here. Underneath the TV was a variety of board games such as Scrabble and a Blu Ray Player. I also noticed binoculars - what a fabulous touch.

As you came over to the window you could trees and countryside for miles, and a view of the Exe Estuary from one window.



View from our bedroom


Kitchen
The kitchen was off the lounge, and was small but exceptionally decorated and had everything you could need including a fridge freezer, full-size cooker, toaster, kettle, microwave and dishwasher.


Tea and coffee 

They even left us a pint of milk perfect for that welcoming cup of tea. Washing up liquid, tea towels, a dishcloth and enough dishwasher tablets were left for a week.  


In the lounge, a welcome hamper was also a fabulous touch and contained local chocolate and orange fudge, shortbread biscuits, tea, cider and marmalade all from Devon. A very useful selection of tourist information contained a book on birds as well as a map of the area. 


Welcome hamper 


Bathroom




Double bedroom


1st twin bedroom


The beautiful stained glass window


2nd twin bedroom

Going down the hall there was a full-sized bathroom to the left with a bath and rainfall shower. Everything was immaculate. Complimentary toiletries were enough for a couple of days and hand wash was also provided. The towels left were so soft, and comprised of one bath towel each, one small towel and also face clothes. The bathroom suite was named 'Heritage 'and it fitted the design of the building perfectly. The grey and white tiles on the floor added a chic feel too. My only note is that If you were staying for a few days you would need to bring extra toiletries.

There were two twin bedded rooms as well as one with a great big king size bed. The beds were super comfy, and when reading about the apartments I noticed the sheets are made of Egyptian cotton, Each room has a TV and a wardrobe or chest of drawers, A Pure Bluetooth Clock radio with a USB docking station is in each of the rooms and in one of the bedrooms was a high chair and travel cot. In the master bedroom was a hairdryer too.


Exe Estuary

Eastdon House is about two miles away from the main park but close enough to walk via the woodland walk.

View from the woodland walk 

It's a little steep but we enjoyed seeing the wildlife, with lots of birds and rabbits along the way. Alternatively, jump in the car and you can get to the holiday park in about ten minutes.

What struck me about the holiday park straight away is the beauty of the place. It's set in the gorgeous countryside and the park is very green with trees lining the site. The park caters for tents, mobile homes and static caravans and had some apartments and lodges too.


Touring and tent pitch

The hub of activity of the park is centred around the reception area. The receptionists were cheery and helpful and can help you book a tour, cycle hire or SUP stand up paddle boarding for example.

Next to the reception is a shop selling a wide variety of items, including food and drink, toiletries, camping equipment and souvenirs of the area. You can also buy gas canisters here which is useful to know if you need them for camping Prices weren't inflated either, which is a bonus, with shampoo and Radox shower gel available for a pound.

Swan Inn 

In this area is the Swan Inn pub. The pub serves classic pub food and has real ales, ciders and wine. They serve light meals like homemade fish finger ciabatta as well as chilli beef jacket potato and bigger dishes such as steak and burgers. 


Harissa chicken burger
We ate there one night and Mr W's chargrilled Harissa chicken burger was excellent and served with skin-on fries. He really liked the roast red pepper and brie that they added inside the burger, as it was a little different and a delicious combination.



I ordered the steak, and while the salad was really fresh and came with dressing, and the fries tasty I felt the steak could have been more tender and needed seasoning.


Menu Swan Inn

The holiday park is family run and it's important for them to keep business local. So much of the food is locally sourced. I think this is a really great ethos to have don't you? It actually shows a map on the menu showing where the food comes from.



Warren Retreat

Next to the pub is the Warren Retreat which is a show bar with a small stage. When we stayed there was a Motown themed weekend and entertainment also included bingo. You can order food as well and on a Sunday they have a carvery, which I heard was good and worth booking.



Amelia's

Above the Warren Retreat is Amelia's. This is where we ate a number of meals. We thought the food here was good, and prices were ok, not super cheap but not expensive either.



Menu


Chicken tikka marsala

The chicken tikka marsala was the stand out dish to us, we all tried it and loved the flavour of the chicken which was marinated. The staff here were so lovely though and couldn't do enough for us. One day the dish I really wanted one of the chicken burgers which had sold out but they were very accommodating and adaptable and offered some different choices instead.


Soft play

This area is also licensed so you can have a glass of wine or a lager with your food. It also has a small unsupervised soft play area for little ones close to the restaurant tables. In the back of Amelia's is a jukebox and pool tables too. Something my Mother-In-Law and I noticed here is that the toilets were very clean, so a big thumbs up from us!


Outdoor pools


Indoor pool

In the holiday park, there are two small outdoor pools and an indoor pool.

They all looked really good and the indoor one was exceptionally smart and all are free to guests. If you want, you can also pay a nominal charge and come here as a day guest to use the pool. There is a small gym with fitness classes attached to the pool too including Zumba classes, cardio and step classes. I didn't realise about the classes until after I left but I would if I definitely try them out if I returned as I really enjoy Zumba.


Bowling

The park also has an amusement area with push penny games and bowling, which is worth spending some time in especially if you have kids. There is a woodland adventure area for kids as well as the chance to see donkeys as well.

Another feature of the park is the five coarse fishing lakes. You can hire equipment and have fishing lessons too. As it's close to the fish and chip shop you can have some on your way back to your accommodation!

Fishing lake

As you can see there is so much to do in the holiday park, and it has something for young and old alike. With prices for camping in June starting at £24 to approximately £100 a night for the luxury apartments, there are prices for everyone's budget too. Considering the apartments sleep 6, I personally felt that it wasn't expensive considering the quality of the apartment, the location and the facilities available to you. 



Cofton Holiday Park

There is so much to do in the area too. For tips and advice on places to stay, things to do, events, festivals and attr
actions in South Devon, go to www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk. If you are travelling with a young family, check out this review of Cofton Holidays by Laura from Side Street Style, to get a different perspective. We really enjoyed our stay in Eastdon House and being able to use the facilities of the holiday park was a bonus, especially at night when we ventured to the Swan Inn pub and Amelia's. If you are looking for luxury apartments in Dawlish or a holiday park with many facilities then you can do no wrong booking a stay here. Recommended.

Cofton Holidays
Starcross
Nr. Dawlish
South Devon
EX6 8RP
01626 241447

29 comments

  1. I love Devon, and we often stay in self catering places to keep the costs down. thanks for the review, this is definitely one for the list.

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    1. We thought it was good value considering it slept 6

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  2. My FIL lives in Cockwood so we know this area really well. It is definitely a hidden gem!

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  3. Now this looks like an absolutely beautiful looking place to stay. I do love Devon and really need to go back some time I may have to look into this as somewhere to stay!

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    1. It is close to shops, cafes and pubs and is walkable to Dawlish.

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  4. I haven't been to Devon ever before, but are heading there at the end of the month. Looks like a stunning place to stay

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  5. This looks so comfortable and looks like a lovely place to stay. I've never been to Devon, really need to change that.

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    Replies
    1. It's a lovely area, I highly recommend Dartmouth

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  6. What a fabulous looking luxury apartment this is, totally would love to stay here with our two kids as the place looks so spacious and there is enough facilities for them.

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  7. Love how this is just like your own home away from home, but you are actually on holiday. the pool looks fab x

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  8. Oh wow how gorgeous! With four children we much prefer to stay in an apartment than a hotel so we can have our home comforts. Looks great!

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  9. I like the interior! Luxury apartments are cheaper I guess so I'll go with apartment too!

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  10. Wow how lush does that apartment look! I always stay at hotels but it looks like you have so much more freedom with a apartment I haven't been to Devon since I was a kid, I really need to change that

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    1. I am a recent convert to apartments myself but there is so much more space than a hotel room.

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  11. What gorgeous looking accommodation, it looks so grand but at the same time really cosy. Perfect way to have space if you're travelling with kids too.

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    1. Yes it was lovely and newly decorated but cosy too.

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  12. Eastdon House looks really lovely. I tend to opt for apartments over hotels when travelling with the children and it's nice to know of places that go all out on the little extra touches like this! That view from the Woodland walk is beautiful too! :)

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  13. I loved following your stay on Instagram Stories. It's lovely that they left a hamper for you - it's little things like that, that make me want to book another stay!

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  14. The decor looks stunning and such a lot of room in there. I'm heading to Devon next weekend and I can't wait to explore x

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    Replies
    1. Powderham castle is lovely, Buckfast abbey is interesting too. We enjoyed a trip to Sharpham vineyard and Dartmouth too.

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  15. What a stunning place to stay. I haven't been to Dawlish since I was 16 years old and I would love to go back to show the girls. It looks perfect for families

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  16. It looks like a really nice place to stay. Relaxing too

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  17. We love Devon too and especially Dawlish Warren. Looks like a great location with good amenities for families x

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