Review: the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport hotel

This is our review of the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport hotel.

The hotel website is here if you want to learn more or book.

This is, I admit, a bit of a niche review.  However, I liked this hotel and wanted to give it some PR.

I was in Exeter on Tuesday to speak at a Flybe conference.  It made sense to travel down the night before rather than have an exceptionally early start.

You might be surprised that Exeter Airport can support an on-site hotel.  The reason it works is that Flybe’s head office and training academy is at the airport, and I understand that the airline committed to a substantial annual commitment of room nights in order to ensure the hotel got built.

Getting to the Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport

This, I admit, was bizarre.

I met an Exeter-based HfP reader on the trip down, and when I asked him about getting to the hotel he warned me against walking.  He told me tales of a single-track country lane with minimal lighting.

This sounded a bit odd, given that the hotel is very close to the airport car park.  However, I jumped on the shuttle bus anyway as it was on the stand as I exited the terminal.  The reader was correct.  Everyone except me jumped out at the airport car park.  I was the sole passenger as the bus headed down a dark one-track country lane, which suddenly opens out to become the hotel.

If you take nothing else from this review, it is this: don’t try to walk it – especially in the dark.

I like Hampton by Hilton hotels.  It is surprisingly difficult to design a hotel which feels friendly and welcoming and can appeal to all ages, but is effectively a budget hotel.  A modern Hampton feels more laid back and less sterile than a Holiday Inn Express, whilst not falling into the trap of trying to “get down with cool kids” which is what puts some people off Marriott’s MOXY brand.

Above is my room, which was on the 2nd floor.  Note that there are quite a few ground floor rooms – if this would make you feel uncomfortable, don’t let reception give you a room number starting with ‘0’.

I don’t know why I got a twin room.  Flybe made my booking so I won’t blame the hotel.

There was a desk, I’m pleased to say, with decent wi-fi and enough plug sockets.  The TV was a little small by modern standards – I don’t normally watch TV in hotels these days, but as I was appearing on Sky News that evening I did have it on.

The bathroom was also more than adequate.  Toiletries are the ‘bolted to the wall big bottle’ types.

This is a stock photo of the main lobby area, because it was exceptionally busy with people eating and drinking when I arrived:

There was still plenty of space towards the back though:

There is no stand-alone restaurant but the bar – which is itself part of the lobby – serves a fairly long list of typical bar snacks.  Here is £10.95-worth of chicken goujons:

Breakfast was the standard three-star hotel buffet.  All guests at Hampton by Hilton hotels get free breakfast.  The highlight was a ‘make your own waffle’ machine which I felt obliged to try.

and

There’s not much else to add.  Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport is a new, clean, bright and light hotel and I certainly wouldn’t bother staying in the city centre if you are arriving late or taking an early flight.

Rooms here cost as little as £49 on a Sunday night and from £57 for the rest of the week.  Redemptions are capped at 20,000 points – potentially less when cash rates are very low – but given the cash price I would pay up and save your points for another day.

The Hampton by Hilton Exeter Airport website is here if you want to find out more.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

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Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
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The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)