The Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter was the oldest hotel in England. 7 September 1770, an advert was placed by Pierre Berlon, the French proprietor using the word hôtel for the first time in England.
Notable visitors;
The Duchess of Clarence (Queen Adelaide), wife of the future William IV, stayed there in July 1827 [this is the origins of the hotel name. Prior to this it appears to have had numerous names Phillips Hotel, Thompsons, Street Hotel, The Cadogen Hotel and just the Hotel.
Lord Nelson,
Franz Liszt,
Clark Gable and Gary Cooper,
Lord Louis Mountbatten,
Also Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, (father of Queen Victoria) although this was after his death! His body was brought to the Royal Clarence after he died at the nearby seaside town of Sidmouth
