From Generation to Generation with Matthew Grose: A Family Legacy at Thurlestone Hotel
21 August 2025
Step inside Thurlestone Hotel on Devon's coast and you’ll find more than just a place to stay... you’ll discover a living history.
Owned and cherished by the Grose family since 1896, the hotel is a rare example of true generational heritage, where every corner holds echoes of the past. At the helm today is Matthew Grose, the fifth generation to continue his family’s legacy, carefully balancing tradition with modern hospitality. From welcoming families who have returned for decades to celebrating the timeless beauty of the coast, Matthew carries forward a story that is as much about people as it is about place.
Your family has owned this hotel since 1896. Are there any traditions that have remained unchanged since this time?
In essence, there are many things that remain unchanged. My great-great-grandparents began the story when they had to leave the family farm in Cornwall due to a foot and mouth outbreak (among other reasons) and moved to South Devon. Margaret Amelia Grose, the family matriarch, saw an opportunity with the opening of the Thurlestone Golf Club way back in 1896 to open her farmhouse to paying guests visiting for a round on the new links course. She always treated the hotel guests as family and gave each one personalised hospitality and a warm welcome, an ethos that remains at the heart of what we do to this day. That said, we constantly strive to improve the hotel facilities each year and, as a result, the business has evolved from the family home to the sixty-five-bedroom hotel, spa and village pub that you see today. This year, we completed the build of our new Thurlestone Retreats, which offer a luxury self-catering option for those who appreciate a different style of holiday with all the benefits and facilities of a four-star hotel attached.
Are there any particular local beaches, walks, or landmarks that have become part of your guests’ holiday traditions?
There are so many local beaches and coves to visit in the area that many families staying with us will have their particular favourite spots. Thurlestone Sands, with the famous Thurlestone Rock, is well visited. Many choose to walk the South West Coast Path to Hope Cove and onwards to Salcombe, or alternatively drive to Bigbury on Sea and visit Burgh Island, with its sea tractor providing access at high tide. However, wherever they go during the day, the guests will inevitably return for a sundowner on the cocktail bar terrace overlooking the sea or a pint of real ale in our pub.
What do you hope future generations of your family, and your guests’ families will continue to cherish about Thurlestone?
I really hope that future generations of my family will feel the desire to continue what is the longest running family hotel ownership in England (I am generation number five), but there is no pressure on anyone, although my eldest son is working in the business and has done so since school age. For our future customers, I hope that there will always be a sense of traditional English hospitality, where family time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life becomes precious and can be savoured. Rock pooling and discovering smugglers’ coves is not just a Famous Five fiction, but can be a reality if you let your imagination run wild.
What’s the most rewarding part of running Thurlestone?
There are so many rewarding elements to my job, and most of the time it truly does not seem like a job to me. The team around me is supportive and happy, and the guests, many of whom have returned time and time again over the years, have become friends. The same family that has come every July since before I was born still comes, and we meet up at our regular cocktail party and chat about the fun we had growing up and messing about with each other on the beach or in the hotel grounds. I am truly proud of what my family have done here, and slightly humbled by the fact that I am trusted to continue the legacy.
For someone visiting Thurlestone Hotel for the first time, what are 3 things they should be sure to do?
There are so many things to do in the local area, which is why, I think, so many families have been returning for more than sixty years. There are activities suitable for different generations and tastes, but to pick three for a family with children, parents and grandparents, I think number one would be a morning by the outdoor pool followed by lunch at our al fresco Rock Pool Bistro. Number two would be to take a walk to Thurlestone Sands so that some of the party can rock pool or hire stand up paddle boards while the others relax on the beach, then finish with a picnic. Number three would be a full day of relaxation spent with a combination of some or all of a spa treatment, a swim in the indoor or outdoor pool, a bit of tennis, some friendly competition on our small golf course and, inevitably, if the weather allows, watching the sun go down from the cocktail bar terrace or over dinner in our panoramic Trevilder Restaurant.
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