Great Western Coffee Shop

This summer, Mrs OH and I celebrate our silver wedding anniversary and I am planning a family event to highlight the occasion.  I am looking for a venue in the West Country on or about the Great Western mainline where the good lady and myself, along with our two adult children, could travel to ^ in the comfy seats of an HST ^ have an awesome family meal, overnight in special surroundings and return the following day.

I am shamelessly tapping into the collective wisdom of the Coffee Shop to see if there are personal recommendations for such a place ^ I admit to having never graced the Duchy of Cornwall ^ though that is not a definite requirement.

I can recommend the Luttrell Arms in Dunster.
Nearest GWR station is Taunton, but unfortunately it is not that near, over half an hour by taxi.

http://www.luttrellarms.co.uk/ (http://www.luttrellarms.co.uk/)

They have an excellent restaurant, and also less formal but still good quality bar meals.
I have enjoyed many meals there, and whilst I have never stayed overnight, my Sister and partner have stayed and speak very well of the hotel rooms.

I have no connection with them.

How about the Tregenna Castle hotel at St.Ives.  Stunning location and views and its an ex-GWR hotel  ;) :D
http://www.tregenna-castle.co.uk

Burgh Island hotel - hefty taxi fare from Plymouth or Totnes and far from cheap but well worth it once you get there!

Cracking golf course at Bigbury too if you can get permission from the Mrs!

http://www.burghisland.com/find_1.html

We went for a meal there and left disappointed.

We recently went to the carbis bay hotel for a meal with friends who were staying at the hotel. Food was some of the best I've had, and friends showed off their room which looked lovely.

It is less than 1-2 minutes walk from carbis bay station, right on the beach below the station.

What about the 1206 Mon-Fri from Paddington (1233 Reading)?

Table for 4, full silver service dining experience.

Local to me I would suggest the Royal Clarence Hotel on the Cathedral Yard in Exeter. The hotel restaurant is overseen by Michael Caines and when the family and I went there the food and service were exceptional. The view from the front of the hotel is not too shabby either.

http://www.abodeexeter.co.uk/ (http://www.abodeexeter.co.uk/)

Agree entirely that a Pullman meal should if possible be enjoyed en-route, though one would hope not to have to remain overnight on the train !

If the food isn't up to scratch at the Hotel, you could always eat at Porthminster Beach Cafe. Always eat there on our annual visits to St Ives and never fails to impress. 

There are also fewer nicer settings for a meal (on their outdoor dining area) if it's a nice Summer's day.

Go for a late lunch and make it last all afternoon is what we normally do.

If you want to go to St Ives go to the Pedn-Olva hotel.  It's right by the station, owned by St Austell Brewery, with fantastic views over the harbour and Porthminster beach from the bar and dining room.  Food is very good, and there's a great choice of interesting rooms.  We've stayed there several times. Far better than Tregenna Castle which is a very long steep walk up from the station and which we thought was disappointing.

I thank you all very much for some wonderful suggestions and I am actively following up on two of those as a result. Broadgage, thanks for reminding me of the Luttrell Arms ^ I had forgotten about that one and I have stayed there for a number of days some years ago and can attest to the fine dining and superb accommodation.  Some way from the GW main line as you say ^ but then it is quite close to the West Somerset Railway ^ and I^m quite partial to steam!

I hadn^t realised about the midday Pullman which is a reason to travel by itself ^ mentioned this to the better half and she commented that on any occasion it would make for a fine day out - quality lunch and the Dawlish sea wall, then back in time for tea and medals ^ as Blackadder was want to say. St Ives certainly appears to be a Cornish focus ^ my kids have gone there and speak highly of it.

All the best to you, and I appreciate all of your input.

As always there have been some good suggestions from forum members.

Have you considered Wales as opposed to the West Country? For example In Cardiff there hotels of price ranges to suit most budgets and some stunning scenery in and around the Cardiff area.

Just my 2c!

For multi-award winning food and luxury accommodation I'd highly recommend http://www.thehornofplenty.co.uk (http://www.thehornofplenty.co.uk), which is near Tavistock so would require changing at Plymouth and travelling the branch to Gunnislake from where it's five minutes by taxi.
A slight quirk is that although you'd travel over the border into Cornwall via the impressive Calstock viaduct the taxi would then take you back into Devon to the hotel :)

We had our wedding here last year, everything was absolutely spot on and our guests raved about the food - we're staying here again in two weeks time :)

Well the good lady and I have just returned from our Anniversary holiday at the Luttrell Arms in Dunster.  Absolutely fantastic: the rooms, service and food.  I would highly recommend this hotel to you. And thank-you to those who reminded me of its presence.

In the end we opted to drive at just under three hours but did take a ride on the West Somerset Railway - a very impressive undertaking. Also the Lynmouth Cliff Railway - great engineering principles: simple and strong.