Dunkery Beacon Country House, Wootton Courtenay, Nr Dunster, Somerset

Dunkery Beacon Country House is an attractive and impressive virtually detached property originally built as an Edwardian hunting lodge. This substantial and spacious property has been the subject of total refurbishment and renovation in recent years, whilst retaining much of the original character and consequently it is presented and furnished to an exceptionally high standard throughout. Dunkery Beacon Country House offers 8 luxuriously appointed Letting Bedrooms, including 3 Suites, a Guest Lounge, Breakfast Room, Separate Restaurant with Bar Area (currently not used), and a fully equipped Kitchen with ancillary facilities. The sizeable Owner’s Accommodation on the ground and first floor offers 2/3 Bedrooms together with a Family Room, Sitting Room and a Dining Room. The south facing property is set in grounds extending to over ½ acre incorporating landscaped lawned Gardens, driveway, gravelled Car Park Area, Veranda, Terrace Seating Area, and various useful Outbuildings. The business is currently run as a bed and breakfast on a lifestyle basis to suit individual needs and requirements, however it could easily be run as a country house hotel with a restaurant and bar, which it has previously been. A viewing is strongly recommended to fully appreciate all that this stunning business offers and the scope to adapt to a variety of lifestyles which exists.

SITUATION
Dunkery Beacon Country House is considered to have one of the best positions of any guest house/hotel on Exmoor with all of the public rooms, letting bedrooms, and the gardens being south facing and having truly breathtaking country views to Dunkery Beacon and beyond. The property is situated within the pretty Exmoor village of Wootton Courtenay which is located approximately 4 miles from Dunster, the historic medieval village with its magnificent castle, and less than 5 miles to the historic village of Porlock and the seaside town of Minehead on the West Somerset coast. Exmoor National Park is a popular year round tourist destination with many famous historic features and attractions and picturesque moorland scenery and wildlife, with miles of foot and bridle paths providing very good walking, horse riding and mountain biking country. Exmoor is also designated as a Dark Sky Reserve and perfect for stargazing. Situated near some of the prettiest villages and most dramatic coastline in Britain and with the moorland literally on the doorstep, Dunkery Beacon Country House is truly a very special place in which to live, work and stay.

DESCRIPTION
VERANDA to the front and the side with flagstone flooring leading to the ENTRANCE VESTIBULE with double doors leading through into;
RECEPTION HALL an attractive and welcoming reception area with a courtesy guest fridge and stairs to the upper floors.
RECEPTION OFFICE.
GUEST LOUNGE a light and attractive room with bay window enjoying breathtaking views over the garden and Exmoor. Carpeted flooring, feature fireplace with inset woodburning stove, and comfortable sofas and chairs.
Open plan through into BREAKFAST ROOM again an attractive room with far reaching views over Exmoor to the front, range of freestanding quality tables and chairs comfortably seating 16 guests.
RESTAURANT AND BAR AREA with carpeted flooring, Corner Bar Servery with counter, feature Inglenook fireplace seating area, part wood panelled walls, bay windows and door to front with independent access, freestanding solid wood tables and chairs comfortably seating16+ customers.
WINE CELLAR with tiled flooring, useful bottle and wine storage with racking, 2 double glass fronted bottle fridges, ice machine, and glasswasher and a door to outside.
KITCHEN with non-slip flooring, part stainless steel and part wipe clean clad walls, well-appointed and equipped to a high standard with a range of catering equipment to include:- extraction system with stainless steel canopy over and gas interlock, 6-burner induction range with double oven and grill, stainless steel shelving, 3 microwave ovens, stainless steel workbenches with shelving below, upright fridge, twin deep bowl stainless steel sink unit, warming cabinet, serving gantry with warming lamps, stainless steel racked shelving, under counter freezer, hot water still and coffee machine, LARDER and a DRY STORE.
WASH UP AREA with commercial dishwasher, stainless steel workbench deep bowl stainless steel sink unit.
UTILITY ROOM with LPG fired boiler, fridge, fridge/freezer, stainless steel sink unit, washing machine, tumble dryer, racked shelving and door to outside.
ACCESSIBLE WC.
HOUSEKEEPERS STORE door to outside courtyard opposite.
LADIES & GENTS WC’S on the first floor half landing.
DRYING ROOM on the first floor with hot water tanks and shelving.
LAUNDRY ROOM on the first floor, formerly a owner’s/letting bedroom.

LETTING ACCOMMODATION
The business offers 8 individually designed and luxuriously appointed letting bedrooms, all with private facilities. The letting bedrooms, which all have stunning views over Exmoor National Park, can sleep up to 17 guests and includes 3 feature suites. Each of the individually styled and decorated rooms offer remote control flat screen HD TVs (some with DVD players), alarm clock radios, tea and coffee making facilities (Nespresso coffee machines in certain rooms), Egyptian cotton bedding, hairdryers and free wi-fi and briefly comprise:-
BEDROOM 5 – A twin/super king ground floor suite with zip and link beds, views over Exmoor, Separate Private Lounge and an En-Suite Shower Room. BEDROOM 7 – A kingsize four-poster first floor suite with views over Exmoor, Separate Private Lounge with sofa bed and an En-Suite Bathroom with a bath and a shower over. BEDROOM 10 – A kingsize four-poster first floor suite with 180º panoramic views over Exmoor, Seating Areas and an En-Suite Bathroom with a bath and a shower over. BEDROOM 11 – A cosy double first floor room with views over Exmoor and an En-Suite Shower Room. BEDROOM 12 – A kingsize double first floor room with views over Exmoor and an En-Suite Bathroom with a sunken bath and a shower over. BEDROOM 18 – A kingsize double second floor room with views over Exmoor and an En-Suite Shower Room. BEDROOM 19 – A twin second floor room with views over Exmoor and a Private Shower Room opposite. BEDROOM 20 – A kingsize luxury double second floor room with sleigh bed, views over Exmoor, Sitting Area and an En-Suite Shower Room.

OWNER’S ACCOMMODATION
There is flexible 2/3 bedroom owner’s accommodation on the ground and first floors. On the ground floor is the owner’s Family Room comprising an Open Plan Lounge and Dining Area with a wood burning stove and a door to the front garden, a further Dining Room with a door to the rear garden and a WC. On the first floor is a Sitting Room (potential 3rd Bedroom), a good-sized Double Bedroom with built in wardrobes and cupboards and an En-Suite Shower Room. There is also a further Double Bedroom with an aspect to the rear and an En-Suite Shower Room. The opportunity exists to re-configure the owner’s accommodation and to create additional bedrooms, depending on requirements, as Room 6/Laundry Room was also previously a bedroom.

EXTERNAL DETAILS
Dunkery Beacon Country House occupies a south facing site which extends to over ½ acre and is approached by a driveway with a gravelled CAR PARKING AREA adjacent to the entrance. To the front and side of the property are extensive and gently sloping lawned GARDENS with an abundance of well-established trees and shrubs. There is also a VERANDA and SEATING TERRACE AREA enjoying magnificent far-reaching views over Exmoor National Park. To the rear of the property is a TIMBER CHALET providing useful storage, with power and light and a chest freezer, a GREENHOUSE and a PRIVATE REAR PATIO TERRACE.

THE BUSINESS
Dunkery Beacon Country House has been the subject of an extensive programme of refurbishment and improvement to an exceptionally high standard throughout in recent years and is extremely well presented throughout. Owned by our clients since 2022, the business trades as a boutique country house bed & breakfast which is run on a lifestyle basis. To fit in with their semi-retirement plans, the owners choose to only let a maximum of 4 bedrooms at any one time and they only trade from March until the end of November, closing for 3 months including the Christmas and New Year period. Previously the business was traded as a country house hotel and restaurant, open to residents and non-residents alike. This proved to be very successful with an annual turnover in excess of £218,000 net of VAT. The high standards inherent throughout all aspects of the business ensure excellent levels of regular repeat trade and word of mouth recommendations and the business benefits from numerous excellent reviews on Tripadvisor and Google, with a superb rating of 9.2 on Booking.com. The businesses website allows direct bookings and provides further information. Manageable businesses in such a sought-after area are always in short supply and those which provide such an enviable lifestyle yet still offer genuine potential such as Dunkery Beacon Country House, are very rare indeed. Viewing is essential in order to fully appreciate all that this extremely versatile and impressive business and property offers.

TRADING INFORMATION
Through personal choice and in order to fit in with our client’s lifestyle and semi-retirement plans, trade has been deliberately restricted and kept below the VAT threshold. Historic accounts show significant trade levels when the business was run as a country house hotel and restaurant, and full detailed accounting information can be made available following a formal viewing appointment.

POTENTIAL
Dunkery Beacon Country House represents an excellent opportunity to purchase an extremely well regarded and well-established business which offers genuine potential for growth, particularly by offering winter breaks from December to March, and by letting all of the available rooms. There is also the potential to reintroduce the resident and non-resident restaurant and bar trade (the premises licence is still held) for which there is strong demand. There are also opportunities to reconfigure the accommodation to accommodate multi-generational living, depending on requirements.

EPC
C – 67.

SERVICES
We are advised that the property is connected to mains drainage, water and electricity. LPG is used for hot water and central heating.

BUSINESS RATES & COUNCIL TAX
Business Rates 2026 List: £10,000. We understand that 100% Small Business Rates Relief will be available to eligible parties. Council Tax Band A.

INVENTORY
To include all trade furnishings and equipment in accordance with an inventory to be supplied but excluding any owners’ personal effects.