Beyond the Hotel Room
There is nothing wrong with a hotel. Clean sheets, a decent shower, someone else making breakfast — hotels do a job, and they do it well. But if you are going away with friends, a hotel can also be the most forgettable part of the trip. You check in, you sleep, you check out. The accommodation becomes a footnote rather than a feature.
Unusual stays flip this entirely. When you are sleeping in a treehouse in the woods above the River Dart, or waking up in a geodesic dome on the edge of Dartmoor with the stars still visible through the ceiling, the accommodation is not just somewhere to sleep — it is the experience itself. And Devon, it turns out, has some of the best unusual stays in the country.
What makes these places particularly good for groups is the shared element. A shepherd's hut for two is romantic. But a cluster of safari tents around a communal fire pit, or a converted barn with a shared kitchen and a hot tub under the stars — that is where friendships deepen. There is something about cooking together in an unfamiliar kitchen, sitting around a fire in the dark, and waking up somewhere surprising that creates the kind of memories you actually keep.
We have spent time researching Devon's best unusual stays, with a focus on places that work for groups of friends. For each, we have included what it costs, how many it sleeps, what facilities are available, and — because this matters — where the nearest pub is.
Safari Tents and Lodges
Longlands, Combe Martin
Sleeps: Up to 6 per lodge, 30 across the site | Price: On application; whole-estate exclusive use is quoted at roughly £3,000-£4,000 per night | Minimum stay: Varies by season
Longlands is the kind of place that makes you wonder why glamping ever had a reputation for being uncomfortable. Set on 17 acres in a hidden valley on the western border of Exmoor, overlooking the North Devon coast, this is luxury glamping done properly.
There are five six-person safari lodges, each with a king bedroom, a twin room, and a cosy cupboard bed in the main living space. Inside you will find a full kitchen with a butcher's block, a wood burner, a sofa, games, and a dining table. Outside, a large covered deck faces west for sunset views over the sea. The site has a private boating lake stocked with over a hundred rainbow trout, two rowing skiffs, ancient woodland, streams, and enough space that you will barely see the other guests.
What elevates Longlands is the attention to detail. This is not a field with some tents in it — it is a thoughtfully designed retreat where everything has been considered.
Nearest pub: The Pack o' Cards in Combe Martin village, about a five-minute drive. The village also has several fish and chip shops and cafes. Ilfracombe's harbour, with its selection of restaurants, is 15 minutes away.
Best for: Groups who want luxury without pretension. Families and friends who want to be together but also have space. Anyone who wants to catch their own trout for supper.
Brownscombe, Compton (South Devon)
Sleeps: 2-6 per unit | Price: From approximately £180 per night | Minimum stay: Usually 2-3 nights
Brownscombe sits in a peaceful valley in the South Hams, on a farm that the family has worked for over 40 years. The site offers four luxury safari tents and three secluded cabins, all with private hot tubs. There is also the Roundhouse — tucked in the corner of a sheep field, southwest-facing, with a wood-fired hot tub and stunning views up the valley — and a private cottage.
The safari tents are beautifully fitted out with proper beds, kitchens, and the kind of furnishings that make you forget you are technically in a tent. The site offers spa treatments in a wellness room, home-cooked meals delivered to your door, open-air yoga sessions, and a games room. It is wholesome without being worthy, luxurious without being flashy.
Nearest pub: The Church House Inn in Marldon is about a 10-minute drive — a proper village pub with good food. Totnes, with its excellent independent restaurants and cafes, is about five miles away. Dartmouth is a short drive in the other direction.
Best for: Groups who want a mix of relaxation and adventure. The location is ideal for exploring both the coast and Dartmoor, and the hot tubs are perfect for those end-of-day conversations that turn into the best part of the trip.
If you are booking for a group of friends, look for sites that offer multiple units close together — like Brownscombe's cluster of safari tents. This gives everyone their own private space while keeping the communal feel. Nobody wants to share a bathroom with six people for a long weekend.
Treehouses
Dittisham Hideaway, near Dartmouth
Sleeps: Up to 2 adults and 3 children per treehouse | Price: £250-£450 per night | Minimum stay: 3 nights
Dittisham Hideaway is tucked into a private wooded valley about a mile from the River Dart, just outside the village of Dittisham and ten minutes from Dartmouth. The treehouses are the headline act — raised among the trees with private furnished decks, wood-fired cedar hot tubs, hammocks, outdoor chess sets, sun loungers, and barbecues.
Inside, the treehouses have underfloor heating, wood-burning stoves, fully equipped kitchens, two en-suite bathrooms with power showers, and the kind of Egyptian cotton bed linen that makes you want to stay in bed all morning. Wi-Fi is available, which depending on your philosophy is either essential or a missed opportunity to properly disconnect.
The site also offers luxury shepherd's lodges and a converted American Airstream, so a group could book multiple units and have their own little village in the woods. Three of the treehouses — Pheasant, Woodpecker, and Owl — are dog-friendly, which is worth knowing if your group includes four-legged members.
Nearest pub: The Ferry Boat Inn in Dittisham village is a short walk — a proper riverside pub with views over the Dart. Dartmouth, with its full range of restaurants including Mitch Tonks's Seahorse and the 14th-century Cherub Inn, is a ten-minute drive or a scenic ferry ride.
Best for: Couples or small groups who want something genuinely special. Book two or three treehouses and you have a private woodland retreat with your friends, which is about as good as accommodation gets.
Geodesic Domes
Dartmoor Domes, Lee Moor
Sleeps: 2-5 per dome | Price: From approximately £100 per night | Minimum stay: Usually 2 nights
Dartmoor Domes offers four geodesic domes on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, each with a skylight that lets you stargaze from bed. This is dark sky country — minimal light pollution means the stars are genuinely spectacular, and the dome design makes the most of it.
Haytor and Hound Tor Domes are designed for couples and come with wood-fired hot tubs. Great Staple Dome sleeps four, and Sheepstor Dome sleeps up to five, making them suitable for small families or groups of friends. Each dome has a king-size bed with an Emma mattress, a wood-burning stove, a solar fan, a private kitchen, toilet, and shower facilities, plus an outdoor area with a fire pit and barbecue.
The whole setup is more comfortable than it might sound. These are not flimsy tents — they are solid, insulated structures with proper amenities. The difference is that when you lie in bed at night, you can see the Milky Way through the ceiling.
Nearest pub: The Dartmoor Union in Holbeton is about a 15-minute drive. For a wider selection, Plymouth is roughly 20 minutes away. The Rock Inn at Haytor Vale, that wonderful coaching inn we have written about in our Devon road trip guide, is about 25 minutes north.
Best for: Couples or small groups who want something affordable but memorable. The dark sky location makes this particularly good for winter stays when the stargazing is at its best.
Shepherd's Huts
Shepherd's huts are the most traditional form of glamping, and there is something appealing about their simplicity. A good bed, a small kitchen, a wood burner, and the moor outside the door. If you find large glamping sites a bit much, this stripped-back approach might be exactly what you want.
We are not naming a specific hut here at the moment. The Dartmoor operator we used to recommend now trades as Dartmoor Domes and offers domes only, and single-hut sites change hands often enough that any name we print has a short shelf life. Search and book through the aggregators below instead, and check the operator's own site before you pay.
Devon has dozens of shepherd's hut options scattered across the county, from the Blackdown Hills to the North Devon coast. Websites like Canopy and Stars and Hipcamp are the best places to search and compare — filter by location, group size, and amenities to find the right fit for your trip. If you are exploring Dartmoor with friends, a shepherd's hut makes an excellent base.
Yurts
Yurtcamp Devon, Liverton — currently closed
We used to send groups here, and we are leaving the entry in place because people still search for it. Yurtcamp has been sold and is closed while the sale completes. The new owners have said they intend to reopen in 2027, and until then no bookings or viewings are being taken. If you had it in mind for a group trip, plan around it rather than waiting.
Devon Yurt Holidays, Borough Farm
Sleeps: 2-4 per yurt | Price: From approximately £120 per night | Minimum stay: Usually 3 nights
A more intimate option: two secluded yurts set in 18 acres of countryside, each with its own private garden or paddock, barbecue, fire pit, flushing loo, hammock, outdoor bath or shower, and a private log-fired hot tub. This is a step up from basic yurt camping — the facilities are genuinely luxurious, and the privacy means you are not sharing the experience with strangers.
Nearest pub: The local area has traditional Devon pubs within walking distance, and the walks to reach them are part of the appeal.
Best for: Two couples or a small group who want privacy, comfort, and a hot tub under the stars without the premium price tag of a boutique hotel.
Luxury Retreats for Groups Who Want Everything
Bovey Castle, North Bovey
Sleeps: Various — hotel rooms plus self-catering lodges across the estate | Price: Check current rates; this is the expensive end of the list | Minimum stay: 1 night
If your group's definition of unusual stays leans more towards "outrageously grand" than "back to nature," Bovey Castle is a five-star resort set in a 275-acre estate on Dartmoor. The hotel is a large early 20th-century mansion with the Elan Spa, a golf course, and enough on-site activities — falconry, archery, clay pigeon shooting, fly fishing, off-road driving — to fill a week. It was named England's Best Large Hotel at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2026.
The self-catering lodges dotted around the estate are particularly good for groups of friends. You get the privacy and independence of your own space with access to all the hotel's facilities. It is not cheap, but split between a group of six or eight, a night or two becomes surprisingly reasonable.
Nearest pub: The Ring of Bells in North Bovey is practically next door — a thatched 13th-century pub that feels like stepping into a period drama. Chagford, with its excellent food scene, is about ten minutes away.
Best for: Groups celebrating something — a birthday, a reunion, a "we survived another year" trip. The kind of place where you dress up for dinner and it does not feel ridiculous.
The Social Case for Unusual Stays
We talk a lot about how shared experiences build friendships, and unusual accommodation is one of the most effective shortcuts. When you stay in a hotel, the room is just a room. When you stay in a treehouse or a dome or a safari tent, the accommodation becomes a story — something you describe to people afterwards, something that becomes part of your shared history as a group.
There is also the practical element. Unusual stays tend to have communal spaces — fire pits, shared kitchens, outdoor hot tubs — that encourage exactly the kind of unplanned conversation that deepens friendships. You do not schedule a meaningful chat. It happens at 11pm around a fire when nobody wants to be the first to go to bed.
When booking for a group, assign someone to handle the logistics — one person books, everyone pays their share upfront. The fastest way to kill a group trip is to have eight people trying to agree on dates and budgets via the group chat. Pick a date, pick a place, send a payment link, and go.
Devon's unusual stays range from £80 a night for a simple yurt to £450 for a luxury treehouse. Whatever your budget, whatever your group size, there is something here that will turn a weekend away into the kind of trip people actually remember. And if you are looking for things to do during your stay, Devon has more than enough to fill any itinerary.
The hardest part, as always, is picking a date.