United Kingdom Brixham The Smugglers Haunt Hotel The Best Hotel Deals

Reserve a room at the Smugglers Haunt Hotel for your holiday on the English Riviera. You’ll love this friendly Brixham hotel that recalls the days when smuggling was a common practice on the coast of Devon in the West Country. The Smugglers Haunt Hotel is a historic structure that was created by combining two 300-year-old cottages. Bob Elliot, a notorious Devonshire smuggler, lived in one of the cottages in the 1850s. When Revenue men were on his trail for smuggling tobacco, he snuck off the premises by having friends place him in a coffin and carry him out of the local coffin shop (which now serves as the hotel’s reception area). Buried and later exhumed by accomplices, he was spotted by coast guards, who thought they’d seen a ghost. Today the Smugglers Haunt Hotel is home to 14 guest rooms, a charming restaurant, and an extensive bar. The hotel is well located at the centre of Brixham, a traditional fishing town at the southern end of Torbay. From the Smugglers Haunt Hotel it’s a 5 minute walk to the quay where a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the Golden Hind, is permanently moored as a tourist attraction. Nearby are a modern marina, home to yachts and sailboats, and Breakwater Beach. A longer walk will get you to Shoalstone Beach and a free outdoor swimming pool, then to the coastal headland of Berry Head, where you’ll find a nature reserve, a former artillery house containing a small museum, and a 100-year-old lighthouse. Local attractions outside Brixham include the Churston Golf Club, the Quay West waterpark outside Paignton, and the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway.