The Headland Hotel, Cornwall

Following on from yesterday's post about the first part of our trip to Cornwall, today I'd like to tell you all about the second part of our stay.

We moved around 20 minutes along the coast to the beautiful seaside town of Newquay, which along with St Ives is probably the most well-known of Cornwall's beach towns, Fistral Beach is one of the UK's most famous and it's easy to see why as it's simply stunning - the perfect location for sunseekers & surfers alike!

Overlooking Fistral Beach is the magnificent Headland Hotel, the vision of which drawns you in on the approach to the beach.

The part of the hotels history which drew me in the most personally was the fact that this is the very hotel which was used for the filming of the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches - this was a firm favourite movie of mine as a child and to actually get to visit the hotel were so much of it was filmed was movie-geek heaven!!

The hotels visitor information booklet is full of little anecdotes about the cast during filming, and makes great reading so if you do ever visit make sure to give it a look!

And so what did we make of our stay at The Headland?

Well to be perfectly honest...this is the first time in 2 years of reviewing hotels & holiday destinations that words truly fail me.

The hotel is, quite simply, breathtaking to behold.

It is grand yet elegant, classic & timeless in its decor, and offers the perfect location to truly relax in luxurious surroundings.

Most of the rooms offer a view of the sea or coastline as you can imagine from its positioning on the headland, the bedroom decor in our room was  simple - quite old-fashioned but in a lovely way which is so in keeping with the theme of the hotel (And impossible to truly do justice to in photographs unfortunately) but I believe that other rooms are decorated in different themes, so if you prefer something brighter this is certainly on offer.

The bathroom though was about as modern and efficient as I've ever seen in a hotel - it was large, with underfloor heating, twin sinks, a lovely deep bath with waterfall tap, and what my toddler son declared to be "The most giantest shower in the world" - which is probably the same description I'd give it!

Awaiting us were bathrobes and slippers for use during our stay, a selection of quality toiletries, a plate of strawberries and meringues with chocolate dipping sauce (win!) and a box of Cornish Fudge - what a truly lovely welcome!

The hotel has two dining areas - The Terrace restaurant which is more casual and the Main restaurant for more formal dining.

We were given dinner in the main Restaurant one evening - the view over the sea was spectacular and the restaurant itself was beautiful.

I had worried about dining with small children in such a grand restaurant, but I needn't have - mine were not the only children there that evening and the staff were very accommodating.

They took everything in their strides - they engaged with the children, brought crayons and colouring sheets for my toddler while he waited for his meal, and were altogether charming.

I was delighted to find that a note had been made of my gluten intolerance after I had requested gluten-free bread when ordering room service the previous evening - my waiter was aware of my intolerance without me even mentioning it, and guided me through the suitable options on the menu and what they could provide as alternatives - the gluten-free options were also clearly marked on the menu which was so refreshing to see.

The meal we had was absolutely faultless - Jon ordered the chicken liver pate to start and the duck for main and spoke very highly of both dishes, declaring it to be the best meal he has eaten at any of the many hotels we have reviewed so far and I would have to agree - I had the white onion soup to start and the steak with bearnaise sauce for main which just melted in the mouth and was cooked to perfection - I like my steaks well done and often find that chefs don't like to comply with this, but this was not an issue here - everything was perfect.

The childrens menu made a very refreshing change as it offered items other than the usual pizza and chicken nuggets - Tyne had the chicken breast with new potatoes and vegetables, which was absolutely gorgeous and something I would have been happy to be served myself. He thoroughly enjoyed it.

By the end of the meal, Tyne was feeling quite tired and we thought it was best to retire to the bedroom before a tantrum hit - I took the children up and Jon stayed to inform the waiter that we wouldnt be able to stay for dessert.

A few minutes later Jon arrived at our bedroom followed by a waiter carrying a tray of desserts for us - they had insisted we not miss out on dessert and simply brought them up for us, which I thought was very considerate. They were delicious and there was even chocolate ice cream for Tyne!

Breakfast at The Headland was, again, a real treat.

The tables were arranged so that each seat faced the large windows and everyone was able to enjoy the sea view, there was a continental and Cornish breakfast out for guests to help themselves to and a menu to choose from to - one morning I tried the vegetarian breakfast which came with the most delicious vegetarian sausage I've ever tasted. There were pancakes and porridge available for children too....It was lovely to see so many options for all diners.

Again the waitress knew of my gluten intolerance and brought me gluten-free toast without me having to ask.

It is service like this that I believe takes a hotel from good to outstanding, and the Headland's staff really do go above and beyond to ensure you have everything you could want and are well & truly looked after.

We made time for a visit to the hotel's pool and I'm glad we did as it was quite a treat! It was so serene with its mood lighting, there were jacuzzi corners and a waterfall which Tyne thought was fantastic, deckchairs around the edge for spectators or to just relax on, and a wall of fresh towels so that you didn't need to bring any down with you.

The changing rooms were spotless, and there were jacuzzis and steam rooms too.

One day I was invited to try a skin specific facial treatment at the stunning spa, and what an hour of heaven that was!

My therapist was friendly and welcoming, and put me at ease right away, the facial was so calming I think I actually drifted off and afterwards my skin felt so smooth and renewed - I didn't want to wear make up for the rest of the day!

I honestly cannot rave enough about The Headland Hotel - the hotel itself is stunning, the staff could not be friendlier or more helpful, the food was exceptionally good, and every little detail has been thought out to make your stay as comfortable and relaxing as possible.

Jon & I are already looking at dates to return for a child-free break to make full use of the beautiful spa!

If you're already looking to rebook before you've even left, you know a hotel is doing something very right!

And what is truly amazing is the pricing - with special offers currently on throughout June & July two people can enjoy a three night stay from as little as £270!

To find out more or browse the various packages on offer, please visit www.headlandhotel.co.uk

Whilst visiting The Headland Hotel we made some visits to some great local attractions - there is so much to see and do in and around Newquay for families so we didn't want to waste the opportunity to explore.

We visited Lappa Valley which is a train-lovers heaven - Tyne absolutely loved the chance to ride on a miniature stream train and other miniature railways, and of course he loved visiting Cornwalls biggest Thomas The Tank Shop too!

We also visited Holywell Bay Fun Park which is one of our favourite places to spend a few hours on a sunny day in Cornwall - it's selection of rides, bouncy castles, trampolines and amusements is so much fun!

We filmed a short video of our time at The Headland Hotel along with some of the local attractions we enjoyed such as Lappa Valley & Holywell Bay Fun Park, please take a look below:

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