Story of Brightham House
Opened March 30th 2018
by owners
Scott & Alistair
A bustling boutique beauty of a B&B, celebrated for its unique Brighton-meets-Devon style and chilled vibe, Brightham House is located in An Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) between coastline and countryside.
The name of the gorgeous guesthouse, a characterful three-storey Victorian-style traditional build offering views across Malborough village and west over the hills to Hope Cove, is a portmanteau of the two places owners Scott Browning and Alistair Veness have called home – formerly Brighton in West Sussex and now South Hams in Devon.
The happy memories of living in both lovely locations – and iconic settings within, from kitsch-rich Brighton pier to the wilds of Dartmoor National Park – inspired Alistair’s design of the individually decorated guestrooms, which are sure to cast magical new memories for all that visit.
There’s no place like Brightham House
From the moment you arrive, the vintage funfair-esque entrance neon lights reveal, “There’s no place like Brightham House”. Go through to the luxe light and airy lounge where you might meet resident dogs and heart-stealers Lola & Poppy. From there, shimmy into the orangery dining area with its flavour of botanical tranquillity.
Venture upstairs and find among the eight rooms (twin, double, king & super king) the Pavilion Room, with elegant Art Deco accents, and the Preston Circus Room, channelling big top brilliance that combines playfulness and panache – a show for which Brightham House’s ringmasters have received a standing ovation more than once.
2022 was an amazing year when Brightham House where awarded three tourism awards. Firstly at Devon Tourism Awards where this amazing B&B took home silver for best B&B/Guest House of the year. Not stopping there they then went on to the South West regional awards coming 3rd for best bed & breakfast, which covers Devon, Dorset, Somerset & Cornwall. However out of all the regional winner Brightham House was chosen by Visit England to attend the national tourism final on Wednesday 8th June 2022. The evening was attended by all the top tourism boards, and presented by TV and BBC sports celebrity Clare Balding CBE. This was an extremely proud night for them and their B&B was crowned 3rd (Bronze) in the UK for the best bed and breakfast. What a fantastic achievement as they celebrated their 5th season.
AA Hotel & Hospitality Services announced the winners of this 2019/20 prestigious AA B&B Awards at an event held at St. Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster, on 30th April. The annual event, now in its 24th year, recognises the diversity and originality behind the nation’s most remarkable B&Bs and celebrates the people who dedicate their lives to running them.
Scott, originally from Exeter, and Alistair, who met his partner when living in Brighton, commented on pipping thousands of other British B&Bs to the post: “We are blown away to win, we can’t believe it. We are so overwhelmed, and very happy”.
Since bringing home their latest AA award, the friendly hosts have made some exciting additions to their Devonshire delight. A wood-fired hot tub and koi carp pond has joined their fabulous gym & wellbeing Centre in the courtyard for alfresco serenity while guests can enjoy a Salcombe G&T in the comfort of the small but perfectly formed 24-hour guest bar.
Teaming up with their local community and living sustainably is one of the pair’s passions and, as well as serving local ales and spirits, chef Scott’s dedicated to using locally sourced food for his 5-star breakfasts and pop-up ‘Italian Feast’ restaurant. Their meat and eggs come from Salcombe Meat Company just five minutes down the road. They even sell Salcombe souvenirs so guests can take a little slice of Brightham House heaven home.
Brightham House is a home from home yet an escape from the norm where the whimsical wows and the soul sings. With its attention to interior design detail and relaxed homely environment, it’s fair to say that Brightham House’s hosts have a hidden gem that will continue to sparkle in Devon’s treasure-trove for some time yet.
Watch us on catchup Channel 4’s 4 Four in a Bed, Scott and Alistair have not only thrown themselves into the hospitality industry but are also upcoming TV personalities. Alistair commented on going from 5-star guesthouse host to TV “star”: “When we were asked to appear on the programme we thought it would be a bit of a jolly, perhaps a holiday. But filming 14 hours a day for two weeks was certainly a challenge and a real change from running our B&B.
“We did get to meet some lovely people and visited three beautiful B&Bs in North Devon and two in Norfolk. You’ll have to look out for us in September to see how we did in the competition, hopefully we come across well and people enjoy the show. We can safely say we’ve ticked this experience off our bucket list!”