Babbacombe Bay: The Perfect UK Minimoon Spot • Sistabliss Tribe

Rosie sat at a table, wearing a white dress and round sunglasses, beside pink flowers infront of a sea view.

If you follow @sistablisstribe on Instagram, you may have noticed… I GOT MARRIED! But more on that soon, right now let’s skip straight to the UK minimoon. What on earth is a minimoon you might ask? A term coined many moons ago (excuse the pun) but has become ever more popular since the pandemic rendered honeymoons virtually impossible. Simply put, a minimoon is a low key honeymoon, often on home turf, for a couple who are still determined to have their full honeymoon abroad in the future.

Due to the pandemic, we put a pin in our 3-week Bali adventure, and opted for a UK holiday to celebrate our nuptials. However we weren’t ready to give up sunshine and sea views, and so our hunt began for the ultimate UK minimoon. After many hours of research, narrowing our geographical range and shortlisting hotels, we had chosen our destination and accommodation.

Babbacombe Bay

Babbacombe Bay of South-East Devon sits on the English Riveria. From the top, Babbacombe is a typical Devonshire town with a strip of hotels and bars looking out to a spectacular view of the sea. A surprise awaits however, down the narrowing winding country roads to the foot of the cliffs.

Babbacombe beach is a remote little spot away from the hustle and bustle of the popular town above. It can be reached by car (although theres only a tiny carpark and not much space to manouver) and by foot. You can choose a steep walk down along the narrow roads or take the fenicular down to Oddicombe Beach and along a wooden bridge (which is sometimes closed). Its tricky access seems to make for a calm environment even on the hottest of weekends.

Here are rocks for swimming among, a jetti for fishing and diving off and a view that will convince you you’re in some exotic destination, as super yachts anchor just off shore to enjoy the still cove. Pretty dreamy for a UK minimoon!

Now you may be thinking, this all sounds great, but that access would be a right pain! Not if you stay in the right hotel…

Cary Arms & Spa

The Cary Arms & Spa is a beautiful Inn situated in Babbacombe Bay, nestled within the cliffside just a stones throw from the beach. Unless you knew this gem was here already or discovered it during a deep google dive, you would be unlikely to stumble across it by chance. I believe it’s for this reason, that such an unbelievably incredible spot remained relatively relaxed and fairly free of tourists during our visit.

The rooms

Let’s start with the accommodation itself. We booked fairly late in the day, just a few months prior to our stay before domestic travel was permitted. At this point, the most lavish options were booked, but we secured a Luxury Double Suite within the main Inn. It did not disappoint.

A spacious beautifully, but classically ‘Devon’, decorated room with special extras like Netflix, Amazon Echo and complimentary slow gin. A bathroom to die for, which doubled up as a dressing room for me. Thanks to huge mirrored wardrobes, I basically had my own catwalk! A big bath sat as a central feature in the bathroom, with a window just perfectly poised so i could watch the ocean without the guests outside getting a view they didn’t pay for.

But the real show stopper was the balcony and the view. As we walked out of the double doors for the first time, the breath disappeared from my lungs. Situated at the front of the inn overlooking the restaurants garden, the balcony has a panoramic view of the entire bay. Not forgetting front row seats to an epic sunset. We really didn’t expect to find such an oasis on our UK minimoon.

Sunset from our balcony, Cary Arms & Spa, Babbacombe Bay.

The hotel has a huge variety of accommodation options, from suites to beach huts and cottages. Offering something for a range of budgets and needs.

The restaurant & bar

We opted to take the laid back approach to our minimoon, having just spent the last two years planning every minute detail of our wedding. We booked our first nights meal in the hotel’s restaurant, so we didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere special on arrival. Following that we planned to find places during our explorations of the town to eat for the remaining days.

However that plan quickly went out the window. After enjoying our first dinner, breakfast and lunch at the hotel, we realised there really was zero chance we would find anywhere with better food, staff or setting – it was that perfect. So we ate every meal in the restaurant. Testing out different tables and enjoying the different views and surrounding flowers – of which there were an abundance in bloom.

We treated ourselves to steak on the first night, which at almost £30 a dish was a little pricier than we would usually spend on a meal – but it was worth every penny and one of the best meals i’ve ever eaten – even better than The Wolseley! Every meal after was also delicious, with perfect light bites for the afternoon and many tempting desserts to choose from.

The restaurant staff are a real asset here, so friendly and attentive, always happy to help with suggestions and custom changes.

I rate the restaurant a solid 9/10. The only reason to deduct one point, was the relatively small choice of main courses, which I expect would have been a little frustrating had we been there for a longer stay.

The spa

A spa was very high on my list of requirements for our UK minimoon, desperate to wash away the stress of wedding planning with the soothing bubbles of a jacuzzi. Due to the pandemic, guests could only book a 2 hour slot in the spa as opposed to the whole day. This meant however that there were only a maximum of 6 people in there at a time – bliss! At just £15 per person for 2 hours, we thought this was great value.

The spa facilities are inside, including a pool, sauna, steam room and shower. The sundeck complete with comfy loungers is outside with views of the sea which was just dreamy on such a beautifully sunny day.

The spa also had a wide variety of treatments on offer, which we didn’t test out. An excuse to go back again!

The location

As i’ve already expressed profusely, the location is magical. Situated at the end of a very narrow steep road, it isn’t the most accessible of locations, but that’s the price you pay for secluded beauty.

The hotel offers valet parking, which takes away the stress of finding the hotel carpark. Even the carpark has a stunning view of the bay! The hotel staff are so friendly and quick to help however they can. They even drove us and our luggage up to our car in their electric people carrier on the final day, as it was easier for us to get to the main road from the carpark than the hotel front.

Locally there is lots to do, with many equally picturesque coastal villages accessible by car. We had a day trip to Salcombe, where we walked round the town taking in the views and drinking by one of the many local beaches.

But if you wanted to stay put in Babbacombe Bay, you could easily never leave the cove, with everything you need right there. Including a quiet beach for sunbathing, kayak and boat hire, water sports and cafe for ice creams!

Will we return?

100%. We are already planning a trip for our 1 year anniversary to recapture the magic of our first trip together as Mr & Mrs. We have been highly recommending this spot to family and friends for both weekends away and even special meals out.