At the weekend, we were invited to stay for a couple of days at The Esplanade Hotel located on Fistral Beach, Newquay, to spend time together as a family enjoying the family friendly facilities and beautiful sandy beach.
Our family room was located at the front of the hotel, with a large bay window and fantastic view across Fistral Beach. The children slept in bunk beds which they loved (fortunately staying for two nights meant that they could have a turn each!) and they were delighted to find a towel animal and goody bag waiting for them on their beds. Our bed was large and comfortable, the room was spacious, and everything was spotless.
There was plenty of storage space, and I loved the table and chairs in front of the window where you could sit and gaze out. I also appreciate a well stocked tea and coffee making selection, especially when it includes hot chocolate and biscuits, and of course complimentary wi-fi is always a plus! It was also a lovely touch to have a phone call shortly after we had arrived in our room - there's often something that you forgot to ask at check in.
Below was the view from our large bay window - amazing! I loved watching the tide going in and out through the day, seeing the surfers and the people strolling on the beach, and falling asleep to the sound of the waves. We also had a great view of a firework display which I believe was linked to the Night Surf competition taking place on the beach while we were there.
The hotel is located on Fistral Beach, and it takes minutes to cross the road and descend the steps to the sand. The hotel's slogan is "The beach is our playground" and it describes it perfectly - the beach really did feel like an extension of the hotel. As well as spending time there during the day it was close enough to pop down in the evenings for a walk and some rock climbing. I've always found the scenery in Cornwall to be stunning and I love the contrast between the yellow sand and rugged rocks, perfect for sandcastles as well as climbing and rockpooling.
Fistral Beach is well known for surfing, and the hotel houses the Quiksilver Surf School with coaching and facilities. Our children aren't confident enough in the water to try surfing yet, but the hotel offers surf adventure breaks with accommodation and surfing lessons.
We ate dinner at the hotel one evening and enjoyed two breakfasts. There was a great selection to choose from at dinner, and the children's menu in particular was very good. Our children are fussy eaters and there was a nice selection including some simpler food that appealed to them like vegetable sticks, and they loved having their ice cream dessert served in a bucket! The breakfast selection was also very good for us all, with hot and cold buffet items and plenty of choice.
There are also plenty of dining options locally, we enjoyed a lovely pizza lunch at The Stable which is a short walk from the hotel at the other side of the beach with fantastic views, and we ate dinner at The Fort Inn in town which has a great indoor play area for the children.
There are plenty of facilities in the hotel for families. The lovely indoor swimming pool is absolutely immaculate, with changing cubicles, showers and lockers. The pool has a very shallow splash pool at one end and a larger deeper pool for swimming. It was out of depth for our children so you'd want to bring armbands and so on for non swimmers. There is also a hot tub and sauna and extra towels are provided in the pool area.
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The hotel also has an indoor soft play area with toys, a pool table, and an outdoor play area with a themed pirate ship to play on. We brought buckets and spades for the beach with us, but I was impressed to find a large chest filled with beach accessories that you could borrow, as well as board games for when it's more of an indoor day.
There is a free car park at the hotel, and then additional free parking on the road opposite. You can reserve a parking space in the hotel car park for £10 a day which will be marked with your family name. If you are visiting at a peak time I'd definitely recommend considering this, as I can see that the car park would get busy, especially as it is also used by the surf school.
There is plenty to do in the local area. We spent a fantastic day at the Eden Project which is about a half hour drive away, and we also visited Pirate's Quest in Newquay - full reviews to follow shortly!
We had a fantastic stay at the Esplanade Hotel and a really lovely weekend away in Cornwall, and I really can't think of anything negative to say. The hotel's location so close to the beach is absolutely perfect, and we made some lovely family memories together on the beach. It's also a great location for exploring beautiful Cornwall, and the high standard of the hotel made for a wonderful weekend break.
Our two night stay at the Esplanade Hotel, along with dinner and breakfast, was complimentary in exchange for a review on my blog.
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