Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa Taunton

Outdoors - Garden

Activities - Sauna, Fitness centre, Hot tub

Food & Drink - Bar, Restaurant (à la carte)

Services - Room service, 24-hour front desk, Concierge service, Shoeshine, Meeting/banquet facilities

General - Newspapers, Non-smoking rooms, Lift, Heating, Non-smoking throughout

The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa, Taunton | Hotel Review: By Fred Mawer, Telegraph

This Regency mansion is an affordable, good-quality country house hotel, offering attractive bedrooms, excellent food and a well-equipped spa. It’s just under 10 minutes' drive from Junction 25 of the M5 – a convenient stopover if you're heading down to Devon or Cornwall.

Location

Peaceful and rural. The hotel stands at the end of a long drive, in an elevated position in the countryside near Taunton, Somerset's county town. There are fields all around the property, and far-reaching views over the Vale of Taunton. It's a short drive to the Quantocks, the Blackdown Hills and Somerset Levels.

Style and Character

The imposing, cream-coloured mansion dates from the early 1800s, and is surrounded by four acres of mature, lawned grounds. Inside, the hotel has lots of period character. An unusual octagonal hall leads through to a sweeping staircase that rises above the reception area and is overseen by large classical statues set in niches.

Drinks are served in an elegant and comfy drawing room, with long sash windows, pillared fireplaces, and a grand piano in the corner, as well as out on the terrace overlooking the garden in the summer. Meals are taken in a fairly formal dining room, complete with a crystal chandelier, gilt-framed mirrors and white-clothed tables. The hotel is used for weddings on many weekends, especially during the summer months.

Service and Facilities

The Mount Somerset is part of the Eden Hotel Collection, a diverse group of individual English hotels. Uniformed staff are polite, friendly and very professional.

There's a compact spa in a separate building, with a sauna, steam room and hydrotherapy pool (all of which are available to guests at no extra charge) and three treatment rooms.

Rooms

The 19 rooms are spread over the original building and a sympathetic extension to the rear. Rooms are decorated with striped and floral wallpaper, plus stripe-and-check soft furnishings; they are eye-catching, and most are spacious.

Cheapest rooms (Classic) can be small. So consider booking a larger Deluxe Room, which will have a sofa, armchairs and a smart bathroom with mosaic tiling, a walk-in shower and Victorian-style bath; the two Garden Deluxe rooms also have a hot tub on their patio.

Splash out on a suite and you might get a carved four-poster bed or a vast bathroom with a shower designed for two to share. All rooms come with good extras, including fruit, shortbread, a jar of sweets and fresh milk for your tea. 

Food and Drink

The food here is impressive. My lunch (fantastic value at £19 for three courses) included superior canapés, house-baked sourdough bread, a well-balanced light plate of grilled plaice with Jersey royals and fennel, and to finish a delicious raspberry concoction of fool and sorbet with pistachio granola for crunch.

Leave room for the moreish, home-made petits fours, such as aniseed and raisin fudge and passion fruit lollipops. Dinners reach similar heights, with the Du Jour menu good value at £35 for three courses.

Breakfast is also excellent, with a tempting buffet that includes homemade smoothies, pastries and lots of appetisingly presented fruit. Some hot dishes incur a small supplement. 

Value for Money

Double rooms from £109 in low season; and from £129 in high. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi. The lead-in rates are excellent value.

Access for guests with disabilities

Yes. The main public rooms are accessible for guests with disabilities and there is one adapted bedroom.

Family-Friendly?

The atmosphere feels quite grown up and formal, but children are welcome; Z beds can be put in bedrooms and there is a pair of interconnecting rooms.

Telegraph rating: 8/10