Swanky property adjoins rugby club
A major new hotel has opened on the outskirts of Exeter.
The Courtyard Exeter Sandy Park Hotel has sprung up during the covid pandemic and on Friday opened its doors to the public.
The £40 million development is the latest part of Sandy Park's growth.
The East Stand opened at the beginning of the year. The West Grandstand was widened about five years ago, meaning the stadium now accommodates more than 14,000 spectators.
Now some of them - not all 14,000 clearly - can bed down in a glitzy hotel, linked to the ground by a dedicated footbridge.
The hotel has a restaurant and cocktail bar, which are not quite yet open, on the top floor of the hotel with a 360-degree views across the Exe estuary and over the rolling hills of the South Devon countryside.
With 250 rooms, a fitness centre and a match-day bar, the hotel is run by the Marriot Group, an international hotel firm.
Left to right: Keiron Northcott, Steve Byrne, Toni Percival, Chris Over, Kirsty Holburd, Alan Quantick, Lisa Duncan, Mark Champion, Brian Lodge, Tony Rowe, Natasha Pavis, Mark Isaacs