The Leonardo Hotel Exeter feels brand new. The hotel itself had a total refurbishment in 2019 and once again very recently. This brand new renovation and relaunch of this venue’s seven meeting spaces has taken it to a whole new level!
Walking distance from central Exeter, 15 minutes to Exeter airport and less than a mile from Exeter’s main train station, the connections and location of this fab venue is undoubtedly a stand out. The hotel has 170 rooms through the refurbished building, with bedrooms ranging from standard doubles to Executive rooms with King sized beds.
The Venue has seven meeting spaces which have all been totally refreshed in this year's relaunch. Leonardo now has a designated events floor on their lower ground level - the whole area feels modern, fresh and extremely well thought out - it’s clear the team here did some serious planning and thinking about the genuine practicalities of an event-prof on a day-to-day basis!
As we approached the hotel, the first thing we thought was that this place looks brand new. Even from the outside. And it’s true! The hotel hasn’t yet celebrated its 20th birthday, meaning the building feels sleek, simple and homely thanks to it being purpose built back in 2007.
The venue doesn’t have onsite car parking - however, directly opposite the venue on the road is the Summerland Gate Car Park, which the team are able to offer day passes discounted to £10. Busses and Coaches bringing all of your delegates or team have space to drop outside, and can be parked for longer stays at Haven Banks, not far from the hotel.
When we stepped into the hotel we were greeted by a crackling fire and a reception desk on one side that’s open and staffed 24 hours a day. The walls were tastefully done with some fabulous artwork that blends well with the bright, modern vibe. One of the bonuses of this newer building is the allowance for tonnes of natural light not just in the Lobby, bar and restaurant, but also in all of the fantastic hotel rooms.
The rooms themselves are just fantastic, they’re laid out simply, but still have that Leonardo charm thanks to them being designed with the comfort-first philosophy the team here have. The rooms all feature free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TV’s - perfect for that post-event wind-down.
We’d be foolish not to note how close the venue is to some of Exeter's best attractions, Exeter Cathedral, Sandy Park (Exeter Chiefs’ stadium) and of course the iconic and beautiful Dartmoor National park - filled with mind blowing vistas Bronze Age stone circles and abandoned medieval farmhouses - this has been a bucket list visit for us for a while!
Address: Western Way, Exeter, EX1 2DB
Website: https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/
Sales Contact: Hannah Whitfield
Phone Number: +447973842153
Email Address: hannah_whitfield@leonardohotels.com
Distance from nearest airport: Exeter Airport - 4.4 miles, 15 minutes’ drive
Distance from nearest railway station: Exeter Central - 0.9 miles, 5 minutes’ drive.
Alternate Railway Station distance: Exeter St Davids - 1.3 miles, 7 minute drive.
Before exploring everything Exeter has to offer however - we instead headed for lunch first! We sat down in Leo's bar, and it was brilliant. We really mean it - this place was fab. They served gorgeous Illy coffee here which was the perfect complement to our hearty bite to eat. The space combines into a gorgeous open sprawl with the venue’s restaurant which can accommodate around 60 people. The space too feels fresh and updated thanks to being a focus of the 2019 renovation project! They serve food all day long, with Leonardo Breakfast being served in the morning, and the Leo’s Menu available from 6 - 10pm for a really special evening meal.
When it comes to private dining the hotel is your oyster. The restaurant can be used for your team |subject to availability) - but so can the venue’s seven meeting rooms, in nearly any arrangement. While it didn’t make our meeting space highlights - the venue’s Suite Three provides a really nice small-midsized space for private dining, with extra tables available for a buffet style survive if required!
The private dining rooms were just as flexible as the catering itself which could lend itself to so many specific dietary requirements - this was a real strong point that impressed us. The team here often cater for sports groups who have extremely niche needs when being cooked for - that flexibility was available in abundance and could be for your next event too!
We got chatting with the team here about all of the things this hotel has to offer - obviously, the brand new updated meeting spaces were very much the central focus of conversation, but we also had a great chat about team building. While the hotel doesn’t have specific facilities for team-building, they’ve got great relationships with local suppliers who really can do anything. The team recalled a very recent event where a team successfully hosted a crystal maze type of team building event in their meeting spaces - what a cool idea! We loved that this venue had the capability to be so flexible and adaptable - we saw first-hand that the team at Leonardo Exeter really welcomed new ideas with open arms!
Now we’re here - the brilliant and the brand new…. The meeting spaces! As we mentioned before - every room, as well as the designated floor itself has undergone a recent renovation which has seen them have an amazing glow-up into some really nifty spaces. The rooms are modern, carefully designed and extremely flexible. The team here told us that event-profs hiring the spaces often prefer to use more than one meeting space to enhance what they can do with their event. The Leonardo team were quick to mention that they can accommodate any solutions that professionals require for upcoming events - able to offer room hire only options, day delegate rates and various different types of catering options depending on the organisers need!
Another great touch is the brand new, designated registration desk area on the meeting floor. The Meeting foyer space connects all of the rooms together and here’s where you’ll find the perfect spot for delegates to check into your event!
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MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT: Suite 4
This is the Hotel’s largest room, and it really looks great with the latest refurbishment - the new style chairs and tables can be organised in so many ways across this brilliant space. This larger room struck us as a great spot for team training … if you didn’t fancy the crystal maze!
Location: Lower ground floor
Natural daylight: No
How big is the room: 70 Sq.m 10m x 7m
Theatre style layout – capacity: 70
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 50
Dinner – capacity: 60
Drinks reception – capacity: 70
AV equipment: Screen and projector - this is included in DDRs, and usually charged for room hire only bookings.
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MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT : Suite 2
A smaller, more intimate space, this medium sized meeting room can be set up classroom style, cabaret or even for dinner and drinks. The freshly painted walls in this room really bring it to life and allow for a space that feels super focused! A lovely room.
Location: Lower Ground
Natural daylight: No
How big is the room: 42 Sq.m 7m x 6m
Theatre style layout – capacity: 40
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 24
Dinner – capacity: 24
Drinks reception – capacity: 40
AV equipment: Screen and projector - included within DDR packages, usually chargeable for room hire only bookings.
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MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT: Suite 6
Suite six is rocking brand new carpentry thanks to the renovations. A smaller room perfect for interviewing or to be used as a breakout space alongside some of the other rooms here! The tables come ready with a Leonardo pen and pad so that guests can get down to business as soon as your event begins!
Location: Lower Ground
Natural daylight: No
How big is the room: 35 Sq.m 7m x 5m
Theatre style layout – capacity: 35
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 16
Dinner – capacity: 16
Drinks reception – capacity: 35
What AV equipment is included? Screen and projector - included within DDR, usually chargeable for room hire only booking,
Summary
What a fantastic stay we had at Leonardo Hotel Exeter. This is a really comfortable and well-designed venue that, evident in their renovation work over the past five years, has a really keen determination to improve and grow all the time. What stood out to us here was the service from the staff, whether that’s on the events side, catering side or even on reception - we were always met with service with a smile! The team told us about Leonardo’s 12-point service promise which really impressed us, the chain’s determination to provide some of the best events capabilities in the business, big and small - is perfectly evident here in this south west gem of a venue!