Last week, we were lucky enough to be invited to spend the night at The Esplanade Hotel in the Cornish seaside town of Newquay.
Overlooking the world-famous surfer's paradise, Fistral Beach, the hotel is ideally located - benefitting from the most stunning views across the golden sands and clear blue waters of Cornwall which, on a sunny day, could quite easily be mistaken for somewhere far more exotic.
Upon arrival to the hotel we were greeted by the very friendly and welcoming staff who got us checked in to our room, and presented our 3 children with an array of goodies...some colour-your-own drawsting bags, various craft bits and bobs and - much to their delight - a build-your-own-bear set each! What a fabulous way to win over little ones from the very beginning!
The Bedrooms
While the children got to work stuffing their new teddies, Jon & I explored the bedroom. We were very impressed! We stayed in a family sea view room which consisted of a rather generously sized bed, and 2 sets of bunk beds for the children. There was lots of free floor space in the room, which provided an ideal space for the children to play or sit down to watch TV on the flatscreen provided.
There was also plenty of storage space, some robes and slippers for each of us, and a beautiful view over Fistral Beach.
Everything was tastefully decorated in a seaside style, and spotlessly clean too. I loved all of the little family friendly touches - such as the provision of hot chocolate, marshmallows and even squash sachets for the little ones as well as the usual tea and coffee facilities. Even the bathroom was equipped with Childs Farm children's toiletries as well as GAIA Skincare products for the grown-ups.
On-Site Facilities
After getting settled into our rooms, we decided to head down to the pool area. Since Covid regulations came into existence we've found visiting swimming pools on holiday quite difficult, as our children always want to stay in for ages but most places require advanced booking and timed 1 hour slots - so we were delighted to find this wasn't the case at The Esplanade.
Although visitors to the pool area are currently capped at 14, you simply call down to reception when you'd like to go and if there's space available - you can go on in for as long as you like! We never had an issue getting in whenever we wanted to during our visit, and the children were delighted.
There was a shallow toddler pool as well as a regular swimming pool, plus a hot tub and sauna.
After a good long swim, we checked out the cinema room. The hotel plays 4 family-friendly movies per day in here, and again booking is not required - it's all included in the price of your stay, and you can just turn up to watch. We saw three movies during our 1 night stay, which shows how impressed we were - I can't understand why more hotels don't offer a cinema room as it's such an ideal rainy day activity option.
In addition to the pool and cinema room, there's also a Pirate themed outdoor play area and a small soft play area and games room too.
Dining
We had our evening meal at The Cove restaurant in the hotel. We were impressed by the friendly service from all of the waiting staff we encountered - often I can feel a little on edge when dining with the children, but the staff made us feel welcome and at ease. The kids were delighted to be able to make use of the soft play area while we waited between courses too, which certainly made things so much easier for us! We actually got to enjoy our drinks and have a chat while the little ones played...bliss!
The menu provided plenty of variety, especially for the children who were spoiled for choice with the options given to them. We ended up going with a selection of foods including pizzas, burgers, and chicken tenders...everybody enjoyed their meals and there were clean plates all round.
I opted for the steak with a side of onion rings, and it was one of the best I've ever had. I can be quite fussy with steak but it was so tender, and was cooked to perfection. It even came with a little pot of peppercorn sauce, which is usually a payable extra on most menus.
The highlight of the meal was definitely dessert - I had a delicious black forest crème brulee, while everybody else opted for cookie dough and ice cream which they absolutely raved about.
We also dined in The Cove restaurant for breakfast the following morning, and were just as impressed with this too. Again, there was lots of choice and two courses offered - with cereals, porridge, pastries and fruit salad for the first course followed by full English, pancakes and bacon or eggs benedict for the main course.
I'm not usually a fan of breakfast but I had a full English and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids were delighted with their pancakes too!
Surf School
As Quiksilver Surf School is connected to The Esplanade, my eldest son was given the chance to try out a beginners surf lesson.
At only 8 years old, he's never tried surfing before and he actually became quite nervous about it as his lesson drew closer. We thought we were going to have to cancel as he was quite convinced he didn't want to do it, but he went along with his Dad to have a look and he returned 2 hours later full of excitement, raving about what an amazing time he'd had and how he couldn't wait to go surfing again!
Tyne said that the staff were all super friendly, helpful and patient with him....they really made him feel at ease, and he's made me promise to take him back to Newquay so he can have more lessons with them! He's definitely caught the surfing bug!
Little Extras
In my opinion, it's the little things that really make all the difference when it comes to hotel stays. Let's face it, most hotels can provide clean accommodation and friendly staff but it's the little touches that make it a place to remember...and The Esplanade really gets this right!
From the dressing gowns provided to make your pool experience more comfortable, to the adorable milk & cookies left out at bedtime for little ones alongside a nightly bedtime story - they really have gone out of their way to make the hotel a welcoming environment for families.
There's a little book nook for children to borrow from during their stay, too.
Even ordering a drink from the hotel bar was easy, as The Esplanade app allows you to order directly to your table or room.
Our Rating
We had a fantastic time at The Esplanade - the location was perfect for exploring Newquay or just spending some time on the beach which was mere footsteps away from the hotel. The room and view was stunning, the food was faultless and the service from everybody was so friendly.
We really can't fault them on anything, and will absolutely be adding The Esplanade to our list of places to visit again.
To find out more or book your stay, please visit https://www.esplanadehotelnewquay.co.uk/
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