It retains its original staircases, stone windows, oak panelling and flagstone floors.

The hotel has 19 en-suite rooms with four-poster beds and is said to be haunted by the ghost of a monk who appears in the old kitchen.

There is a smugglers tunnel linking the inn to Elberry Cove, which lies about half a mile away.

In a recent planning application regarding works at number 2 Warborough Road, it is documented that one of the deep shafts is capped underneath the property's garden.

Churston Court was purchased by a local hotelier, the owner of the Grand Hotel in nearby Torquay.