The Idle Rocks

Fantastic location and food for...

Liked: Fantastic location right at the heart of St Mawes, directly on the waterfront in the harbour. The food was fantastic. The flowers and furnishings were lovely. The bedroom was spacious (room 3), with a lovely bath and shower overlooking the harbour. They have two paddle boards that we hired for free and used right outside the hotel in the harbour. There’s a hot outdoor shower in the alleyway on the side of the hotel just up from the water.You could swim in the harbour too which was nice (19C sea temperature in August). Free parking in either the main council parking (5 min walk), or the limited space car park 1 min away (with EV charger).Staff very friendly and welcoming.
Disliked: We used the hotels EV chargers, and I have never paid so much as I did here - £1.20/kWh!There are no other choices in St Mawes, so if you have to charge, you have to stomach the price gouging that is going on here.The charger is also slow, a shared 7kW AC charger, with 2 type 2 connectors, so if someone else is charging, then you are at 3.5kW.We stayed over August bank holiday, and the weather was warm (low 20s), and the room was quite warm with no draft even with the windows wide open. It would have been nice for air conditioning or at least a fan.This is why I have marked the value and the comfort down.

Spectacular View, Complicated Food

Liked: The location is perfection. Right on the harbour, stunning views. St Mawes is a small village but has everything one might need- chemist, coop, ice cream, Chippy, bakeries, access to the Coastal Trail, reasonable car park near the hotel, a swim-able beach- Idle Rock beach towels provided.
Disliked: We like to eat in the hotel for dinner- especially when the view is spectacular. The service staff were good but we found the "experience" of the food overly complicated for eating every night (we were there four nights). A few simple things, elegantly cooked without sauces would have been appreciated.

Exceptional

Exceptional experience

Liked: Fantastic location, room was clean and comfortable, staff extremely polite and helpful.
Disliked: Not applicable

I wish the staff were...

Liked: Views were lovely.
Disliked: I had a terrible check in experience. Parking was not explained prior to the visit and upon arrival I had no idea where to go. The hotel has no street parking and is situated in an extremely narrow road. This uncertainty, coupled with driving in an unfamiliar country, caused great upset. Lydia, the hotel staff, was rude and unfeeling, demonstrating irritation at my upset and her lack of empathy greatly frustrated my daughter. We were not provided with information about the hotel either, save for the fact that the restaurant was fully booked. I hadn’t realized how much a check in experience influences one’s perception of a facility!

Brilliant!

Liked: Beautiful room in gorgeous location with caring staff who know how to make you feel looked after without invading your experience. The restaurant is exceptional as well.Excellent!
Disliked: Nothing - We had an excellent stay from start to finish

Very good

You feel taken care of

Liked: The attention by staff - who are really nice and helpful. Particularly the ladies at the reception and Peter at the restaurant. They went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable and were really helpful with any requests
Disliked: The bedrooms were a bit dusty in the wardrobes and around the corners, but that is typical for the British hotels. Even the best 5 star hotels in the countryside have that “lived in” feel. The bathroom was exceptionally clean with the fresh towels every day. The staff would be cleaning the bedroom in the morning and tucking us in in the evening

Superb