It could once have been not unfairly described as ‘a bit of a dive’ but the
Watergate Bay has, over the past three years, has attempted to transform
itself from a tired Victorian seaside hotel into one of the coolest places
to stay in Cornwall.
Surprisingly the property, now know simply as The Hotel, has undergone this
reinvention while remaining within the same family. Bought by the Ashworths
in 1968, it was handed down to the sons Will and Henry in 1999. Henry went
on to open an Extreme Academy watersports centre next door and together the
brothers set about creating the sort of trendy hotel where urban surfer
would like to stay.
“They wanted to create a sort of ski lodge on the beach,” explained resort
director Mark Grebby. That’ll explain the log fire in the reception then.
For the rest the hotel has the feel of a luxury beach hut. Painted driftwood,
colourful surfboards and paintings of surfers adorn the otherwise neutral
walls. All the rooms are slightly different but mine, on the second floor of
the original building, was all cool blue fabrics, blonde wood floors and
white furniture. Very New Hampshire. There was a cushioned window with a
spectacular view of Watergate Bay and the bed was gloriously comfortable
thanks to the plush duvet and thick mattress topper. The bathroom had a
separate tub and walk-in power shower.
The cream retro Bakelite phone didn’t look out of place across the room from a
giant plasma TV but, just to be picky, I should point out that one of the
two bedside lamps didn’t work, I couldn’t fathom how to programme the
bedside alarm and the mini bar was curiously empty. Also, there was still a
strong smell of paint as this floor has only just been refurbished.
A separate Ocean Wing was added in 2004 with 18 rooms, some interconnecting,
with balconies and open views across the bay. There is also a
non-refurbished Coach House at the back of the hotel with single, double,
triple and quad rooms plus family suites which offer a cheaper alternative
for those who want to use the facilities of the Watergate Bay but can’t
afford to stay in the main building. This is a particularly good option for
families and the hotel has a supervised crèche, a daily activity programme
for children during the school holidays, a games room for teenagers, early
dining for youngsters plus baby listening.
Breakfast is buffet-style in the Brasserie, which has enormous plate glass
windows, though disappointingly it overlooks the car park. There is plenty
of choice from fruit salad to salmon and cream cheese to a full English, all
pretty well cooked and presented.
In the evening there’s a choice of dining in the Brasserie or the Living
Space, a funky bar that was created out of the original ballroom, which has
the advantage of an outdoor deck overlooking the bay.
We ate in the Brasserie, which offered an interesting three-course menu for
£23. The dishes were good and reasonably priced, I thought.
My only complaint was that the service throughout the hotel was a little
vague. Asked if it was possible to have an espresso at breakfast one
waitress said “Not today”; the bar man told us ‘it might be too late’ to get
coffee at 10.30pm; at dinner we were told we had to wait for our starters to
arrive before we could have some bread. I got the impression the (mostly
very young) staff were here to surf, not to work.
By far the best thing about The Hotel is its location, right on one of the
best beaches in Cornwall, and the fact that the owners managed to persuade
celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to open a branch of Fifteen at the other side of
their car park.
More points of view
For the most part, I certainly agree with the article. Having stayed there annually since 1998, I have noticed the immense changes that have gone on in the Hotel. They shouldn't, however, have got rid of the Maitredee, who ran the restaurant very well, and was there when I first stayed.
W, Oxford,