A recent weekend took us way down South to Cornwall where we learnt one or to things about the unpredictability of the UK weather. The clear skies and sunshine seemed to disappear once we turned onto the narrow country lanes where we were hit with thick fog. With no signal on mobiles and a Sat Nav that took us to “our destination” that was quite simply not our destination we were wondering if we’d actually have to sleep in the car…
Luckily as soon as we stepped into our hotel the stress drifted away. Our home for the night was The Scarlet, a luxury eco-hotel located in the beautiful Mawgan Porth. Upon entering we were greeted by a happy chap who within seconds had scooped our luggage to the side and whisked us off on a tour of the place while our room was prepared.
The hotel is uber chic with colourful designer furniture, stunning views, quirky touches such as the ‘pods’ which hang from the ceiling like cocoons with blankets and pillows inside for you to crawl in and zone out. There is also an indoor pool which has glass walls so that you can look out over the beach and cliffs whilst you swim, an outdoor pool, two log fired cliff-top hot tubs – which unfortunately due to the wind weren’t in action during our stay and a roof terrace with blankets available to keep out the chill.
Our room, ‘Number 3’ was rather special with an open plan bathroom with deep bath – although the toilet and shower were separate and behind closed doors – a sofa, huge bed, hooded robes, Tri Dosha products and a private balcony with views out over the cliffs.
The Scarlet has many great touches, one of our favourite was the offer of a cup of tea or coffee brought to your room at anytime, a treat before breakfast and sometimes just what you need before facing other guests. Speaking of breakfast, we took a seat by the window looking out at the waves whilst we prepared ourselves for a feast of local produce. The full Cornish got top marks with white pudding, thick sausage, bacon, eggs, mushroom and tomato. As with all Cornish breakfasts there were no beans…being Northern it’s hard to accept that fact. Homemade Brown toast, a range of jams and best of all, a bottle of fresh apple juice from a local orchard which was a welcome change from orange juice.
It’s hard not to love The Scarlet, as a hotel it really does have everything you need and more for a super comfy stay whether it’s the gourmet fish restaurant, taking the dog Jasper for a walk or nabbing a book from the library and crawling inside a pod. What’s more it is one of the most eco-friendly hotels in the UK and has a green outlook on its whole approach. Oh and it’s adults only. The kind of place you could easily stay for a week and forget the outside world existed.
Prices start from £190 per room for b&b.
Scarlet Hotel, Tredragon Road, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, TR8 4DQ
http://scarlethotel.co.uk