So as you all know, just about a month ago now it was my first wedding anniversary and it just so happened that I took 2 weeks of holiday from my day job (and one from the blog!) either side of this to do some serious R&R, spend time with Pete and do some husband and wife type celebrating. For the last 5 months my day job has been particularly stressful, long hours and the blog to juggle so I was in serious need of the TLC.

The first week we went to London for a couple of days and did a bit of shopping, eating, generally grown up married time and the weather was glorious, much to our amazement. It was the second week however that we had some serious luxury planned for, to celebrate our anniversary we wanted to go away and with the ash cloud looming plus my general indecisiveness and lack of time to plan anything big we decided to go to Pete’s spiritual home… Cornwall.

I knew what I wanted… Napa Valley, but I didn’t think we would find it, until good old Mr and Mrs Smith came up trumps with The Scarlet, a hotel I had clocked in the Sunday Times Luxe supplement just recently. Now, ahem, luxe it most definitely was, with the associated price tag, however, we weren’t flying anywhere which left us more money to play with and it was seriously fabulous so I thought I would share it with you all in the hope that you all book a mini-moon/hen/get-sexy-getaway/anniversary jaunt and experience it for yourselves.

Heaven on Earth

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The Scarlet hotel is in Mawgan Porth, just north of Newquay on the dramatic north coast of Cornwall. I have been to Cornwall before but had never experienced the breathtaking scenery of the cliffs towering out of the crystal clear turquoise seas. It’s also around the corner from Newquay airport making it handy for travelling from further afield and it’s less than 20 minutes in the car from Newquay train station. We drove down from Manchester in about 5.5 hours.

Boasting 37 rooms the hotel is intimate and yet quite vast, with so many areas that even when quite full, we always found somewhere to be completely alone and peaceful. The entire hotel is built around the stunning view over Mawgan Porth beach, and our room, the most basic available, looked out through floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, onto our patio and the cliff top view.

Eco Chic

*The view greeting you as you enter the hotel, over Mawgan Porth Beach and the back of the hotel, showing the reed pool, light relax and restaurant terrace.

Built with a strong eco ethic and respect for the local surroundings, the hotel is contemporary but never austere. Bathrooms are open plan to allow you to stay connected to the views and your surroundings. Aside from the mind blowing bay that the hotel overlooks, there is a reed filtered fresh water pool complete with sea snails, a touch bracing, but an admirable gesture, never mind utterly refreshing in this kind of weather! Other Eco touches included organic toiletries, no plug in the sink, – instead a ‘shaving bowl’ is provided for when you need an actual sink full of water.

*The wood fired Hot Tubs

There is no climate control in the room, instead instructions to use the window for air conditioning in the warmer months strike me as very sensible and the piece de resistance are the wood fired hot tubs perched atop the steep incline of gardens down to the beach. Top tip here, as with all Mr and Mrs Smith bookings, book with them and get a sweetener, in this case a free session in the hot tub worth £35. At around 38 degrees they’re warm enough for even a winter get away! There are 101 Eco ways about the hotel in total, and yet the luxe feel still pervades.

A Design Hotel

I’ve already hinted at the hotels design credentials but it is actually included in the Design Hotels collection and it’s not hard to see why. Filled with beautiful artworks, statement design pieces of furniture and thought provoking sculptures the hotel is like living in a gallery. One of the things I love the most about visiting a new hotel is picking up some ideas for my home decor, whether it be a colour scheme or a design influence and the poor house budget is set to take a battering after me listing many of the artists featured there for future reference.

*The Lounge area (Top and Bottom) and the top terrace, with stunning views over the bay.

Food for the Soul

The hotel restaurant boasts a really fantastic menu for all three main daily meals, but for me the icing on the cake was breakfast. Aside from the standard issue tea or coffee plus toast and apple juice, there were 2 further courses to enjoy; The first lighter course comprised yummy treats like roasted cinnamon apples and fresh yogurt, poached pears with yogurt, stewed fruits, muesli, croissant baskets or porridge, followed by hot options like smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, kippers, eggs benedict or the Kernow full cooked breakfast. I was in my element .

*The Cloister Garden from above, one of the many areas to find some private space, and the sedum topped eco roof.

There is a full formal lunch option but The Scarlet has excelled itself in producing a well priced light bites menu, with the likes of deli meat platters, mini mezze and afternoon tea style scones with jam and cream. This can be taken ‘anytime, anywhere’ in the hotel and we had more than a few nibbles by the pool.

Despite the up-market vibe there were also some genius homely touches. Instead of having a tea tray in the room, the hotel provide a tea tray service at your discretion, up to twice a day. You simply call down to reception and ask for a tea or coffee tray to be brought to you where ever you are. More personal they feel than a tray in the room and another earth friendly measure, preventing overboiled kettles and making you feel truly spoilt as their guest.

Well that’s enough of that. I’m getting hungry! I hope I’ve whetted the appetites of those of you looking for a mini-moon destination, and simply given those of you anticipating your summer holiday or reveling in the good weather here a little travel related eye candy.

We’ll be showing the second part next week, including where I went and what we did while in Mawgan Porth.

Yours Truly and wishing I was there…

Rebecca
xoxo

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