Rooms

A wide staircase takes you up to five airy bedrooms. Expect stripped oak floors, luxe wallpapers, arc lamps, handmade wooden beds, and clever blinds which lift from below. Mattresses are superb, sheets are Frette linen and there are heaps of pillows, as well as fluffy white towels and bathrobes. There's tea, coffee bags and a jar of sweet treats, and your milk of choice is provided for a morning cuppa. You also get all the gadgetry: Smart TVs and fast WiFi.

Bathrooms have REN products and good-quality showers and baths. You'll find at least five different products to try depending on whether you want to be revitalised, invigorated or relaxed.

Our favourite was Room 5, the Grand Double, with an enormous emperor-size bed, a velvet chaise longue, and a row of windows overlooking the lawn. The highlight was the fabulous bathroom with a lead-clad bath and huge rainshower.

Room 4, a Superior Double, lacks the garden view but has a super-king bed, a crystal chandelier, and a romantic roll-top bath in the bedroom - plus a separate walk-in shower in the bathroom.

The largest is Superior Double Room 3, tucked away in the eaves and accessed via a private staircase. It has a bedroom with a super-king bed that can be converted into twins, a separate sitting area, and a free-standing tub and big shower in the bathroom. It’s lovely, but the low beams mean tall guests will have to duck.

Rooms 1 and 2, the standard Doubles, are the smallest but they're equally stylish, each with quirky square tubs in their bathrooms. Dogs are welcome in these rooms (as well as in room 4).

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Central heating
• In-room treatments available
• Toiletries
• TV
• WiFi

Eating

Breakfast is excellent. Homemade mueslis in Kilner jars, warm pastries, thick yoghurt and a delicious selection of fruits. Then come the cooked options: expect menu heroes like a Full English, a sausage or bacon sandwich, avocado and poached egg on toast, or smoked salmon and scrambled eggs to set you up for the day.

No other formal meals are offered, though nibbles and light meals can be provided on weekday evenings (with 24 hrs notice). Choose from a selection of boards - cheese, meat or mixed - or opt for a gooey baked camembert with rosemary. There's also a well-stocked honesty bar for your evening tipple. We took ours out onto the lawn and watched the sun go down.

For dinner locally, head a few miles down the (winding) lane to the atmospheric Millbrook Inn in tiny South Pool, overlooking a charming brook. Also worth a visit are The Pig's Nose in East Prawle, The Seahorse in Dartmouth for seafood and grilled meat dishes, Emilia in Ashburton for yummy Italian fare, and Riverford Field Kitchen near Buckfastleigh, where all the produce is grown on site.

For lunch by the sea, don't miss the rustic and perennially popular Beach House, sitting in the dunes at South Milton Sands. From one busy little room, it serves everything from full English breakfasts to beefburgers and moules mariniere, as well as sweet treats, hot drinks and lighter snacks.

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast

Activities

• Stay put: the roaring fires, games and chest of DVDs invite you to hole up in winter
  
• Go walking: the area stretching east from Salcombe has some of the loveliest coastline in England. Start from East Prawle (10 minutes' drive)
  
• Head to the beach. The famous Slapton Sands, with its village cream teas and 2-mile stretch of pebbled beach, is a couple of miles away. There's also Blackpool Sands (nearer to Dartmouth) - voted one of the cleanest, most beautiful beaches in Britain
  
• Dozing on the Dart, lovely Totnes combines New Age quirkery with centuries of history. Visit the 15th-century St Mary's Church, the 11th-century Guildhall and the healing waters of Leech Wells
  
• Hire a motor launch to explore the Dart Estuary (the B&B can arrange)
  
• Cycle the nearby lanes and coastal pathways
  
• Further afield you can explore glorious Dartmoor National Park with its rugged gorges, pretty reservoirs and tumbling rivers. It contains the largest number of Bronze Age remains in Britain, and is famous for its granite tors, home to the annual Ten Tors challenge

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Sailing
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming

Kids

Children of all ages are welcome. Camp beds can be added to some rooms, there's a bunk room which can be booked for older kids, and baby cots are available in all. The garden has a trampoline, slide and swing, and there are flexible breakfast options for little ones - fun cereals and smaller portions. The whole house can be booked exclusively if you're planning a trip with extended family.

Best for:

All ages

Family friendly accommodation:

Rooms 3, 4 and 5 can each fit a camp bed for a child, and all rooms have space for a baby cot. There's also a bunk room which can sleep up to four kids (in the bunk bed and two camp beds), but note this can only be booked in conjunction with another room or if you're renting the whole house. All rooms have bathtubs as well as showers.

Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Hospital: 5 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Whitehouse is in the village of Chillington, near Kingsbridge, 2 miles from the South Devon coast. It's an hour by car from Exeter.

By Air:
Exeter Airport (43 miles / 74km away) is the closest, but if you're coming from abroad, you might find more flights to Bristol (105 miles / 168km away).

From the Airport
We'd recommend hiring a car and driving (see below).

By Car
The drive from London takes around 4.5 hours, via the M4, M5 and local roads; from Bristol it's around 2 hours. See our car rental recommendations.

By Rail
You can travel by rail from London, Bristol and other major cities to Totnes - see Seat 61 for more details. Taxis from Totnes take about 30 minutes and can be booked in advance via the hotel.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.