Name: Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel
Address: Southernhay East, Exeter, England, United Kingdom, Exeter, Devon, GB
Price range: $91–$280 per night
Rating: 7.93

What guests think

At Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel, travellers praise the central location near the cathedral and consistently friendly staff, but report mixed room quality, extra charges for parking and pool access, and recurring maintenance and temperature control issues affecting comfort.

Onsite facilities like the pool, sauna and gym are appreciated, though guests note occasional closures, cold water, or broken features, and some find common areas impressive while bedrooms can feel dated. Breakfast and dining feedback is mixed, with some praising quality and others citing lukewarm food, queues, or high prices. Best for travellers prioritising location and amenities over a flawless finish.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Many reviews note a £10 charge to use the pool/spa and a £15 daily parking fee, with spaces sometimes limited. Guests like the pool, sauna and gym, but mention cold water and occasional closures or broken features.

Related guest reviews

6

JANET

Sep 2, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

We've stayed at this property many times ove the years always look forward to using the pool and leisure facilities,unfortunately now as guests you have to pay £10 each to use them so now maybe time for a rethink location brilliant

6

Ross

Feb 27, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Room was cold, heating panel was broken. Parking was extra £15 as at a lot of hotels, pool was an extra £10 which is unusual and they had no steam room and jacuzzi was broken so an expensive swim. Hotel and breakfast were good apart from that but expensive when you add £25 for parking and pool, plus £18 for an average buffet breakfast to £101 for the room

8

Reena Rishi

Oct 20, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Disappointed that spa not included in the price. Very nice breakfast. Very nice hotel and very nice room - we were free upgraded to Privilege room which was brilliant , more space, lovely big windows with nice view, lovely furniture and drinks included too

6

susan

Aug 27, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Swimming pool good but shouldn’t have to pay. Sauna not working.

4

Peter

Aug 18, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

£10 per person per visit to go in the pool

8

Alice

Oct 14, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Lovely bathroom and shower. Disappointed that I booked this hotel because it has a pool but we had to pay extra to use it

8

Clare

Feb 13, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location - quiet yet v close to the centre. Great shower. Good hotel staff, could be better breakfast staff. Nice gym, pool, jacuzzi and sauna in morning when not too busy.

6

Natalia

Dec 27, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Good location. Took long time for the room to flget warm.and felt cold at night. Swimming pool was very cold

8

Jonathan

Nov 17, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great hotel in central but quiet location near Exeter Cathedral, with friendly & helpful staff. Disappointed with new charges of £10 per visit since April 2024 for hotel guests to use the pool & spa.

8

Ajay

Mar 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Very impressive lobby, dining area and bedroom, which had some nice touches. However, the hotel is let down by the lack of parking spaces, which are on a first come, first serve, basis. Also, overnight parking costs £15.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Cleanliness

Cleanliness is inconsistent: several guests found rooms spotless, while others reported stained or worn carpets, dust or mold, empty dispensers, and missed housekeeping details.

Related guest reviews

8

Sadie

Dec 30, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

This hotel was an excellent location for us near family for Xmas. Despite issues with facilities on check in (minor), the staff were amazing - fully accommodating and took care of us brilliantly. Cleanliness exemplary. Nice touches like santa in the foyer - luxurious styling, rooms have nice clean sheets, fluffy towels and robes, complimentary drinks, big TV, walk in shower - you could even open the windows a bit (I feel claustrophobic in hotel rooms when the windows don't open!). Excellent stay, thank you!

10

Michael

Sep 22, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Central location close to shops, cathedral and Exeter quay. Rooms were well appointed and spotlessly clean. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

8

BeverleyDavid

Feb 19, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Mattress worn out could feel the springs, carpet grubby, windows not sealing in the frame letting in cold air and noise, curtains covered in dirty brown stains, toilet bowl cracked to the inside and fixed with silicone filler, bathroom towels very worn and thin. Breakfast room clean and tidy with very good choice of food.

6

Andrew

Jan 23, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Hotel good location how ever room very dirty and tired looking if there for more than one night would have asked to be moved £15 pounds parking for one night outrageous staff friendly

6

Pauline

Apr 2, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Location was excellent, general areas really nice, pool quiet and clean, staff very good. Downsides - shower gel and shampoo were empty in the bathroom, lipsalve found on floor by window (made us question cleanliness - although all other areas appeared very clean), bar prices very high.

4

Daniel

Apr 16, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Initial impressions were good, with a pleasant room. Looking forward to a dip in the pool, it soon became apparent that the leisure facilities cost an additional £10 per person which although on the hotel's Expedia page it was in details which needed scrolling down to. In addition we discovered that the jacuzzi wasn't working. The safe in the room was locked and there was a toenail from a previous occupant on the floor along with multiple crumbs around the table area which suggested that the room hadn't been properly cleaned. The safe issue was sorted quickly and housekeeping came to clean, whilst we enjoyed a complimentary drink. On return to the room 20 minutes later the toenail and crumbs remained in place, which according to the recepttstaff was due to "new vacuum cleaners." We were then moved to a prestige room which, although clean wasn't as nice as the previous room. Breakfast the following morning was haphazard. After being told to sit where we wanted we had to discover from other guests that tea and freshly cooked eggs had to be ordered as this wasn't explained, the remainder of the buffet was average at best. For the same price as charged in the hotel breakfast was available at The Ivy, 5 minutes walk away. Hotel staff tried to make our situation better and waived the car park fee, but on reflection I will not be staying here again and cannot recommend to other visitors

6

shirley

Feb 5, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Room definitely needed an update .The carpet was so stained l didn’t want to walk on it !!

6

neil

Nov 6, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Mold in shower should have been addressed and no bottled water in room plus breakfast service very poor and little options available when we experienced it. Location good and bar area nice

8

Rachael

Aug 29, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

This hotel looks very impressive when you enter. The staff were all very nice and the common areas / restaurant all looked good. Our room was a great size with king sized bed and sofa bed. Unfortunately one of the curtains was hanging off and the air con didn’t work, luckily we had a fan and the windows opened. The bedrooms need some maintenance and deep cleaning. I would stay again but this hotel could be so much nicer. We used the pool and had breakfast, both very good.

6

Catherine

Jul 21, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Dust, cobwebs, blood spots on carpet in the room. No water bottles. Excellent staff.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Rooms

Rooms range from spacious and comfortable to tired and dated, with recurring maintenance issues such as faulty air conditioning or heating, problematic TVs/remotes, and older windows. Noise can be an issue near the entrance or at interconnecting doors; some beds feel hard.

Related guest reviews

8

Oliver

Feb 17, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Good hotel! Very well located. Lovely staff. Clean & tidy. Great for a couple going away. What stopped it from being perfect: Heating in room kept going off (did provide portable heater on request. Complimentary water in lobby was often empty or there was empty glasses. Parking was £15 per night, that was a niggle of mine. Tv had a lot of channels which didn’t work. Even the basic ones!

4

Nigel

Sep 14, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Stayed here for mant years in business trips. Room was very tired and dated, 3rd floor. Used to be a good standard hotel.

8

Jason

Dec 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Hotel is lovely, and service is first class, however it really could do with new windows, current ones are not double glazed, we were at the front near to the entrance so we had a lot of noise from people smoking and taxis dropping people off. Windows look very shabby too

6

Nigel

Sep 12, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Stayed here many times. Been give room 385. Very tired and not up to the standard expected for £130 a night. Decor is poor and windows are leaking

10

Kirsty

Dec 9, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Hotel was good, room great size and great location. Unfortunately our room was directly above the main entrance, and as there was a party on, the main smoking area was directly under our window- was extremely noisy until past one in the morning. We also had a blue light shining up on the outside the entrance directly into our room, aircon did not work so room was very hot

6

Joy

Jul 28, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

There was no air-conditioning and our windows were bolted shut during a sweltering weekend. Thankfully the staff were more than accommodating and assisted with a dusty fan and unbolting the window. Reception during check in made our stay pleasant and was more than welcoming and went out of their way with complimentary goods.

8

Nicols

Jul 20, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Everything was good about this hotel except for the bed which my husband and I found extremely uncomfortable. The duvet was too warm and the air con didn’t work whilst we were staying at the hotel. The staff said it was a known issue.

6

Maria

May 17, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was quite dark so you had to put all the lights on in the day time. The hairdryer was broken. There was no soap in the dispenser in the shower. The bed base had a rip in it. Not worth £206 per night!

6

Andy

Oct 4, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

TV did not work, only realised at 10.40pm Reception offered to come along however we were ready for bed so didn’t want anyone in the room at that time Fan in the bathroom ran all night and didn’t switch off …. which was very noisy TV not working and a fan not switching off should be found prior to a guests stay Reception on checking out of the property showed zero interest or empathy

8

Robert

Feb 5, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

We were only there for 1 night, room was nice and big and had a good sized bathroom. The only downside is the room was next to the stairwell door which banged loundly everytime someone used it. If we had a second night booked I would have asked to move

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Service

Service is generally friendly and helpful, with staff often resolving issues and making thoughtful gestures. However, room-readiness delays and occasional unresponsive or curt interactions are noted.

Related guest reviews

10

Louise

May 21, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Reception staff couldn’t have been more welcoming, great check in with friendly staff. Hotel room clean. Thank you for a great stay.

10

Marcus

May 9, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

We had booked two rooms as we were in Exeter to celebrate the 18th birthdays of our children and upon arrival the desk team were very apologetic that our rooms weren't ready. We were instantly given some vouchers to get ourselves drinks at the bar, and when we mentioned it was also the 18th birthday of our twins they were also given vouchers. Upon entering their room our children were greeted by a card, small box of chocolates and vouchers for a glass of Prosecco each which was a lovely touch and demonstrates the personal care given by the team despite the Mercure being part of a large chain. This was our third stay, and certainly won't be our last.

10

Claire

Feb 5, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We had a warm welcome. Our room was on the small side for a twin and there was a huge tv completely in front of the mirror! The bathroom felt recently decorated and was very clean. We had bad neighbours fighting during the night but the staff managed to sort the problem out after an hour.(3-4am!) Paige helped us with a misunderstanding over the swimming pool in the morning and we enjoyed a warm clean swim. The spa man was friendly. Paige gave us another room for our second night which was much quieter and we slept very well. We will return and hope Paige will be there to look after us again.

10

debra

Jun 23, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Made very welcome by Martin who recognised us as returning guests. i had forgotten to mention my dog allergy and without question, he changed our room to a lovely one on the third floor. Very grateful and will be back again soon! Thank you!

6

Melinda

Jul 18, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

I stayed here in 2021 when I dropped my child off at uni. It was late at night, but my room wasn't ready. I had to sit in the lobby for 3 hours. Came back in 2024 to pick up my child from uni and my room wasn't ready. Waited in the lobby for 2.5 hours. At least they are consistent. Also- both times staff made me feel it was my fault somehow. Despite that, the location is convenient and the rooms are clean.

6

Darren

Dec 23, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

I completed online check in before arrival but reception still insisted I did manual checkin - defeats object really.

8

PHILIP

Nov 23, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

We enjoyed our stay overall. It was a little spoiled that the AC was not working in the first room we were allocated. I had paid for an upgrade too. We were moved to another room without any fuss and I was refunded on checkout. The hotel is well located, close to the Cathedral and a 5 minute walk to the quayside. We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The hotel was clean and comfortable. A special mention to Alice & Peter who helped us when we had to move rooms. We will return to the Mercure, hopefully for a little longer, soon. We highly recommend this hotel.

10

Terrie

Feb 25, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

From arriving to leaving I could not fault the staff. Reception staff helpful and friendly and the restaurant staff were friendly and quick to clear away plates etc. (I personally hate having a plate in-front of me once I’m done) the rooms were clean and comfy. Great location for the shops and sites of Exeter. I look forward to visiting again.

6

Adam

Feb 26, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Having stayed here on and off over the last 10 years, it’s sad to see the quality and standards of the hotel and some of the staff declining. Room carpet was filthy, when I asked if they could find me a TV remote control, which had more working buttons, as I was unable to adjust the volume or select some of the channels, it took around six hours for housekeeping to bring me one which didn’t work, followed by another three which didn’t work, and then maintenance bought a selection and the best they could do was one I could change channel and volume, but could only turn it off by switching it off at the plug on the wall behind the TV I dined in the bar on my second night and went around three tables, trying to find a salt grinder with anything in. When I ask the staff if they could fill one up for me, they just went round all the other tables until they found one with anything in and just left all the empty ones for everyone else to deal with. It just feels like people don’t care and I’m not being managed to make the guest experience a good one

6

Rachel

Dec 31, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Easy checkin process. The pool was clean and not too busy. Breakfast was ok, but the coffee machine was broken, the first morning coffee was in a thermal catering flask which was not great, the waitress replaced it with a Starbucks coffee. The following morning the machine was still not working I asked the waiter if they had fresh coffee he was rude but eventually we were brought a pot of coffee. The room was clean and spacious.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Location

Central, walkable location near Exeter Cathedral, shops and the Quay; convenient for city visits.

Related guest reviews

10

Sharon

Aug 24, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

In a wonderful position and quiet even though it’s in the middle of the city almost.

10

Michael

Sep 22, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Central location close to shops, cathedral and Exeter quay. Rooms were well appointed and spotlessly clean. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

10

Nicola

Oct 26, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

I was a bit dubious when booking this hotel, having read some reviews, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The hotel was busy, but there was ample parking. Staff were friendly and helpful. Short walk from the Quay, Cathedral and town centre. Would definitely recommend and would definitely book to stay again.

10

Gregory

Apr 3, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great location fir Cathedral and City Center

8

Stephen

Nov 28, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great location close to the cathedral, clean and cosy rooms with a lovely warm reception.

8

Richard

Dec 30, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Great location for all the city bars, pubs and restaurants while being next to Exeter Cathedral. Nice comfortable stay.

8

Duncan

Nov 25, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great location. Accessible for city centre.

10

Paul

Sep 15, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location , parking , very clean hotel would recommend

8

Clare

Feb 13, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location - quiet yet v close to the centre. Great shower. Good hotel staff, could be better breakfast staff. Nice gym, pool, jacuzzi and sauna in morning when not too busy.

8

Ajay

Mar 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Very impressive lobby, dining area and bedroom, which had some nice touches. However, the hotel is let down by the lack of parking spaces, which are on a first come, first serve, basis. Also, overnight parking costs £15.

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Dining

Breakfast and dining feedback is mixed: some praise good quality, while others find items lukewarm, selection limited, queues, or prices high. Bar and restaurant experiences range from enjoyable to disappointing.

Related guest reviews

10

Helen

Dec 2, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Lovely well equipped gym. Good breakfast

8

T

Feb 4, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Excellent hotel,friendly and efficient staff Reception good.car parking good and plenty of spaces. Room good with excellent ensuite.shame about poor quality toilet rolls. Buffet breakfast very good.pleased with fresh brown bread for toast. Evening meal very poor. Luke warm fish and chips,chips not fully cooked.we were only ones in restaurant so no excuses.suggest avoiding restaurant.

10

Andrew

Mar 20, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Very convenient location, clean room with comfortable bed. Friendly staff. Breakfast disappointing - soggy toast and over cooked eggs - otherwise ok.

4

Scott

Nov 26, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

The team at the hotel are lovely and friendly, but they just couldn’t cope with the amount of guests that were booked in. Shame really. Massive queues everywhere at breakfast and on the second day they even ran out of sausages.

8

Barry

Aug 11, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Expensive overall, parking and restaurant costs far too much for quality of food and service offered

6

neil

Nov 6, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Mold in shower should have been addressed and no bottled water in room plus breakfast service very poor and little options available when we experienced it. Location good and bar area nice

10

James

Jan 19, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great stay. Room was quite large, r caption staff were extremely polite and the hotel had great facilities with a pool, gym and sauna. Breakfast was stock standard but definitely did the job.

8

Pamela

Jun 24, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Bed and pillows were very comfortable. The Breakfast although cooked well was only lukewarm which spoilt it. Pleasant hotel.

10

Maureen

Nov 30, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Very nice and welcoming and brilliant breakfast

10

Timothy

Oct 31, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Good hotel, really friendly staff, nice pool with sauna and hot tub. Good decor. Breakfast could be improved - range of hot food good but a bit cold one morning. Range for non-cooked breakfast was limited. Parking on site at £15 per night

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Month	Average price
January	$97
February	$98
March	$100
April	$101
May	$122
June	$131
July	$154
August	$112
September	$139
October	$118
November	$106
December	$107

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5 $159
6 $98	7 $280	8 $210	9 $210	10 $210	11 $246	12
13 $210	14 $213	15 $233	16 $213	17 $201	18 $170	19 $208
20 $91	21 $170	22 $186	23 $187	24 $155	25 $122	26 $197
27 $91	28 $103	29 $166	30 $135

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $94	2 $188	3 $178
4 $93	5 $104	6 $145	7 $145	8 $145	9 $141	10 $186
11 $95	12 $123	13 $145	14 $136	15 $95	16 $107	17 $162
18 $93	19 $104	20 $145	21 $128	22 $93	23 $120	24 $164
25 $91	26 $95	27 $145	28 $136	29 $94	30 $93	31 $148

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

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Good

Who stays here?

What guests think

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Check-in instructions

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