En route to the top of the black and white marble staircase that spiralled dizzily to the top of the first floor, I passed a ceramic jaguar and leopard, two sets of chandeliers, ripple-shaped, wall-mounted art deco mirrors, an unquantifiable number of potted palms and a selection of framed monochrome images of the likes of Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and Fred Astaire. At this stage, I hadn`t even reached any of the seven, separately themed bedrooms.
“The house was built in 1936 by businessman Walter Price, who introduced sliced bread from the United States to Britain,” said David. “He also visited Pickfair, the home of the film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks in Beverley Hills – and decided to re-create it in south Devon.”
Styled on a Spanish theme around its magnificent central marbled floor tower, and hugging the banks of the River Yealm in Newton Ferrers, Casa Del Rio is one of the new wave of holiday properties that is helping the southwest to re-invent itself. Traditional coastal and rural haunts that have served the region well since the coming of the railways in the mid-19th century are now increasingly complemented by properties that combine luxury and distinctiveness by the shedload and occasional displays of quirkiness.
Casa Del Rio, for example, marketed by Westcountry self-catering specialists Helpful Holidays, not only has its own sailing yacht, speed boat and fast inflatable craft but also offers, new for 2005, a lovingly recreated 1930s-style cinema, complete with 30 re-claimed seats from the period.
The hotel industry is also redefining the conventional view of opulence. At Torquay marina, I stepped aboard the latest acquisition of Richardson Hotels of Distinction – the 90 foot motor yacht Grand Lady. During the summer, the craft plies the southern English coast and the Channel Islands with up to 10 guests at a time and a crew of four that includes a chef from the group`s AA rosetted Grand Hotel on Torquay harbour.
One of a collection of hotels, B&Bs and self-catering properties to be paraded in South West Tourism's recently established website, Sheer Indulgence, Grand Lady mimics the four-star opulence of her shore-based sister, with a master state cabin and four double-twin cabins, each with ensuite bathroom, radio and TV. The craft carries a jet-ski, RIB motor launch, water-skis and fishing gear, while the plush leather-upholstered and mahogany veneered saloon, with fully-stocked bar, dining and lounge areas providing the “social oasis” for voyages of up to 10 days at a time.
"The southwest is now successfully attracting the `high-end`, big spender,” says Sue Baldwin, of Sheer Indulgence. “The southwest is not Mauritius or Barbados. But there is a type of person who likes to be pampered with exceptional customer service, good food and unusual experiences – and the region offers all of that. People can now stay in anything from a motor yacht to a Grade One Listed building, with antiques, decanters of sherry and port, 24-hour room service, bath robes and spa treatments. Even with self-catering, you are looking at 5-star fixtures and fittings – and Bang Olufsen sound systems.”
Grand Lady is one example of the sheer diversity of the new generation of up-market holiday property. Distinctly Different, a Wiltshire-based marketing Group, offers 25 others. All of its self-catering and B&Bs have been converted from a previous use. The choice of sites is particularly colourful, ranging from an “extravagantly Gothic” former vicarage of “soaring pinnacles and chimneys” at Milborne Port, near Sherborne, Dorset to a Victorian magistrates court and police station at Temple Cloud in Somerset, where guests have the use of the cells and the 50-foot baronial-style courtroom.
Distinctly Different`s newest and most esoteric property is effectively a collection of garden sheds. The Garden Rooms at Tor Cottages at Chillaton, near Lifton in Devon comprises five outbuildings that have been extravagantly converted into decors that range from “New England folk style” to “Art Deco” and “traditional flouncy cottage.” One of the buildings was a fowl house in its previous incarnation, while another was the resting place for funeral horses and coffin biers.
Westcountry farms have also worked hard to place themselves at the `high end` of holiday accommodation. Farm Stay UK, a co-operative of nearly 1100 UK farmers that provide serviced and self-catering accommodation on working farms, has more than doubled its proportion of highest graded properties over the past five years. The 2005 Stay on a Farm brochure and web site shows pages of farms that now offer enhancements such as king-sized beds, indoor heated swimming pools and even spa baths and saunas.
“Our members strive to be as good as their neighbours – or better,” says Farm Stay`s Chief Executive, Nigel Embry. “It`s this friendly competitiveness that drives up standards.”
At the cream-painted, terracotta roof-tiled Casa Del Rio, I chose my room – a sprawling number with a king-sized bed, balcony and authentic 1930s black ceramic bathroom suite. I was also tempted by the Cabin Room – where bunk beds and portholes replicate the ambience of an ocean going liner.
