Blue Ball Inn

Reviews

• RT

  Richard Tinsley

  3 days ago
  5.0
  Excellent food and drinks, my 11 year old particularly loved that it was Steak 🥩 night on the Monday we were there, but was very sad when his steak was finished. Staff were fantastic, I fully indorse this excellent establishment.
• RH

  rebecca Harrison

  4 days ago
  5.0
  Walked from Sidmouth to Sidford, very hot day so finding this pub was perfect. Great pint, good food and very friendly service.
• IH

  Ian Holloway

  Aug 9, 2026
  5.0
  My family and I celebrated my mother's 80th birthday at the Blue Ball on the 7th of August it was absolutely fantastic I cannot thank the landlord enough he was an incredible host and made our day the staff were very accommodating and polite and absolutely awesome day
• RM

  Rachel Moody

  Aug 8, 2026
  1.0
  We booked to stay at the Blue Ball Inn in Sidmouth almost a year in advance so we could visit the annual Sidmouth Folk Festival. We booked via booking.com. On the day of arrival and after a nearly 300 mile journey we received a call from the owner and Manager, Mr Sam O’Riordan to ask if we were still planning on arriving, this was at 7pm, a delayed arrival due to transport delays on the motorway. I answered that we would arrive in the next few minutes. He explained, in a rather abrupt and brusque way that we could not access our room as they had not been paid. I advised that we had indeed paid, via booking.com as instructed by them almost a week prior. Again, in a rather curt and abrupt manner, he replied that we would have to provide proof of this before we were able to check in. We completely understand this, and it wasn’t so much what he was asking us to do but more the way in which he said it. Rather than a welcoming approach and offer of help to solve the issue he was almost argumentative in his demands. Great start! Problem overcome as we were able to provide confirmation via email from booking.com, and we were told that this was a common issue with booking.com when it came for them to pass the money over. Issue number 2. We had booked to stay for 5 nights for b and b at a cost of nearly £1000. Breakfast we understood was from 8am to 10am. On the 1st morning we arrived down for breakfast at 9:45, no problems and breakfast was very good. 2nd morning exactly the same, 9:45 lovely breakfast and no issues. However, on morning 3 we arrived for breakfast at 9:50 and at 9:55 the Manager, Mr Sam O Riordan came to inform us that they had stopped serving breakfast so he couldn’t/wouldn’t take our order. We pointed out that it was only 9:55 and his response, (in a way that we had heard before prior to our arrival was abrupt, curt, unprofessional and condescending,) was that he had turned all the appliances off and they had cooled down and would take a while to heat up again. Clearly we were an inconvenience to him, maybe he had far more important plans for the day then to concentrate on even a limited version of good customer service. He said we could have the cereal and pastries if we wished and ‘well I could make you a bacon sandwich…’. By this point, we were being listened to by the other guests in the dining room and we were not going to ask Mr O’Riordan to inconvenience himself when it was something he clearly didn’t want to do. No refund was offered for the missed breakfast, we were not late and we were sat down in the dining room at 9:50!. We left for the day we had planned. The following morning, new signage appeared stating that breakfast is served from 8am to 10am with last orders being taken at 9:30! This obviously was no use to us. After reading the others reviews about food stopping being served early on the whim of Mr O’Riordan I believe that this is what happened to us. The fact that we attended for breakfast towards the end of the allocated time was an inconvenience for him and clearly irritated him The real sad thing here is that all the other staff we had interactions with were very lovely, professional and helpful and the rooms are lovely too. (However, try to get a back room as the road noise at the front is very loud and disturbing especially when the windows have to be open due to the heat) We had every intention of booking a week stay for folk week next year even after the very initial phone call from Mr O’Riordan. We paid, not an insignificant amount for our 5 night stay and at least expected to be treated with a certain amount of courtesy. Instead, and unfortunately Mr O’Riordan let himself and his business down and we certainly will not be returning for a repeat experience. Message for Mr O’Riordan, it’s nice to be nice!
• ML

  Morgane Legrand

  Jul 25, 2026
  5.0
  Nous avons passé une nuit dans ce B&B récemment repris et nous avons adoré cet endroit : c'est joli, propre avec un bon restaurant et un beau jardin. Nos hôtes ont tout fait pour que nous nous sentions bien accueillis.

Frequently Asked Questions About Blue Ball Inn