Where to Stay in Exeter: Hotels, B&Bs and Riverside Stays

Working out where to stay in Exeter usually comes down to two questions. Do you want to be near the Cathedral or near the river? And how much do you want to spend on breakfast? The city is compact, which helps: most of the listed accommodation here is within a fifteen-minute walk of the High Street, and the wider Greater Exeter options trade easy access for more space and a view.

The cathedral end: Hotel du Vin and the Magdalen Chapter

Hotel du Vin Exeter (still widely referred to by its previous name, the Magdalen Chapter) is the obvious anchor at the top of the price bracket. The building is a converted Victorian eye infirmary, with 59 individually decorated rooms, a walled garden, an outdoor pool open all year, and a library with around 750 books. The restaurant trades on a theatre-style open kitchen, and the cocktail bar is one of the few in town worth a destination visit. Rooms sit firmly in the £££ bracket, and parking moved to a flat £25 per night from May 2026, so factor that into your stay.

Around the Cathedral itself, a handful of small townhouse hotels and B&Bs do brisk business through the summer. Booking three to four weeks ahead is sensible for July, August, and any home game weekend at Sandy Park.

Riverside rooms at the Mill on the Exe

If you would rather wake up to water than to stained glass, the Mill on the Exe on Bonhay Road has eleven rooms above the pub. The location is excellent: ten minutes’ walk into town, paddleboarders going past at breakfast, and dinner served downstairs from noon until 9pm. Rooms are ££, and St Austell Brewery has kept the interiors comfortable rather than fashionable. Light sleepers should ask for a room away from the bar side at weekends, since the garden is popular.

Further down the river, accommodation on the Quay itself is mostly self-catering apartments rather than hotels, but they suit small groups or longer stays. Look for places near Haven Banks if you want to be on the water without being above a kitchen.

Mid-range and budget: Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express

Exeter has more Premier Inns than is strictly elegant, but they do the job. The Premier Inn Exeter City Centre on Bartholomew Street West is the most useful: ten minutes’ walk to the Cathedral, Thyme restaurant on site, and rooms with the chain’s newer fit-out. Two more Premier Inns sit out by the M5 (Junction 29) and around St David’s, which work better for families with cars.

The Holiday Inn Express options follow a similar pattern. The city centre branch is convenient for walking; the M5 branch is useful if you are touring the wider region and only sleeping in Exeter. Family rooms at the Express East locations take two adults and two children under twelve, with breakfast included.

Greater Exeter: the case for staying out of town

If you are happy to drive ten to twenty minutes, the options widen considerably. Lympstone Manor, Michael Caines’ country house hotel on the Exe Estuary near Exmouth, has 21 rooms, a Michelin-starred restaurant, a 10.8-acre vineyard, and views across the estuary towards the Jurassic Coast. It is the only stay in the area where the room itself is part of the trip; expect £££ pricing well into four-figure weekend bills, and book at least a month ahead.

In Topsham, the Salutation Inn has six rooms above a pub that has been welcoming travellers for nearly 300 years. The Bridge Inn does not offer rooms, but plenty of B&Bs along Fore Street Topsham do, often with estuary views.

Self-catering near the city

For groups or longer stays, self-catering is well served. Marsdens, Classic Cottages, and Holidaycottages all list properties within a few miles of central Exeter, from converted barns near Exwick to townhouses in Heavitree. Expect three-night minimums in peak season, and a Friday-to-Friday changeover at most farm-stay cottages.

Choosing the right base

For a weekend of food and culture, stay within the city walls. For a slower pace with walks before breakfast, look at Topsham or the eastern hill villages. For a milestone trip, Lympstone Manor is the answer. And for a family on a budget, the Premier Inns near the rugby and the M5 still work out cheaper than most Airbnbs once you factor in breakfast.

Across all of these, the question of where to stay in Exeter usually answers itself once you have set the budget and decided whether the river or the Cathedral matters more.

For more on the area, see our Central Exeter and Greater Exeter accommodation guides.