We’ve been coming to Cornwall every summer for over seven years… I know.. we love it! As a family of four, our two boys (aged eight and 11) want to do it all!
Body boarding, jetskiing, swimming, paddle padding, football you name it they are in! The older they go the more adventurous they get! So Cornwall has all the sports and more!
We’ve also been lucky enough to have heatwaves over the past two years whilst in Cornwall which has made our holidays even better! We always go end of July, beginning of August.
We’ve stayed at The Watergate Bay which is just fabulous and I guess that is our benchmark which if you’ve been, you’ll know that's high! We were recommended The Esplanade hotel and we went for it.
The Esplanade sits on top of the coast line at the far end of Fistral Beach just close to the Fistral Beach hotel and Spa, which is for when we have ditched the kids and it’s just the two of us. This is the Esplanade’s adult-only sister hotel.
You can use the spa here if you like, and get a discount on treatments and if you need some time away from the kids to do this, the Esplanade provides babysitting facilities which is Amazing!
Fistral beach is a long beach with amenities at the both ends, there is a small cafe at the closest end to the hotel and at the far end where we walked down to you can have fish and chips from Rick Steins which are lovely. There is something quite nice about a full day at the beach.. then watching the sunset eating fish and chips listening to some great music.
There is parking at the front of the hotel but if you want a guaranteed space you can pay £15 a day to secure a spot. You can also park on the road along the coast.
There’s a bunch of friendly receptionists who were happy to help, and in the lobby there is a children's area with books, games and colouring, great for younger kids whilst you check in.
There's a large amount of sofas at the front of the hotel by the window where you can see all of Fistral beach, which is just incredible and in the evenings you can sit and watch the amazing sunsets! This coastline is the best for them.
We booked a family standard room, which we were pleasantly surprised. This was a spacious room with a double bed and a bunk bed. There's plenty of storage, a good sized bathroom with a shower over the bath,
amazing-smelling Gaia products to use, so no toiletries needed. Along with Childs farm shampoo and wash for the little ones.
There were robes and slippers in the room for everyone! Much loved by my boys. Also there is a build a bear for every child who is booked in a family room. I would say a sea view is something I would go for if we came again after watching it from downstairs in the lobby - it’s quite a view.
The only downside to the rooms is there is no air conditioning, there is in the hotel, just not the rooms, though we did have a large fan which helped.
You can also bring dogs!! Dog-friendly rooms are available. You can also do surf and stay packages if you want to book the surf school.
The hotel runs a surf school where you can be taken down to the beach for a surf session with qualified instructors who can have you standing up before you can say gnarley!
There's also an indoor pool which is open 8am -10.30pm which is free to use for guests.
Our boys loved a night swim when we came back from dinner or a late beach day and would get in at 9pm which was often quiet.
There was a cinema which showed films throughout the day with the last showing at 8pm. A couple of nights my boys sat in here with the free cookies and milk that were left in reception for children to nibble on in the evening. A big highlight for my boys and something they would run back to the hotel for!
There was a schedule on the wall with activities that also ran throughout the week such as a caricaturist and a magician show in the evenings.
The hotel had a great restaurant called the cove which was where we had breakfast every morning to set us up for the day, and there was something for everyone. With a wide choice of continental breakfasts and also hot food such as pancakes or a full English, you were never going to go hungry. I think my boys pretty much ate pancakes and pastries for five days! Just to the side of the restaurant there was a play area with a soft play section, a pool table, arcades and a football table. This was in full view of the restaurant so perfect to keep your eyes on the little ones.
Lunch and dinner is also served here with great menus for both adults and kids. There is also an outdoor play area with a pirates ship and climbing equipment.
Elements cocktail bar is open from 4pm which allows children up until 8pm and then it’s adults only. They do some great cocktails and mocktails for the kids.
You can have afternoon tea and one for the kids too!
We truly enjoyed this hotel, it really catered for families, was located perfectly to walk down to the beach.
Even to walk in to Newquay only took 20 minutes through the golf course.
Another great selling point for this hotel is they take deposits, with you paying the final balance when you check in. I love this rather than paying upfront straight away. Especially when you book in advance
I would highly recommend this hotel. A great all-rounder and fantastic for kids!
REVIEWED BY ANDREA, a Preston-based mum to two boys aged seven and eleven
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