In Newquay, Cornwall
I stayed at The Bay Hotel in Newquay for three nights from the 18th February in a family room. First of all I’m going to say it’s bloody good value for money!! I just couldn’t believe it – every time we sat down to eat we said, “I can’t believe this place is so cheap!” Off season it costs £23 per person per night, and that includes a self-service breakfast and a three course evening meal.
We weren’t going to Newquay for a holiday, so I looked around on the internet for the cheapest place to stay and I was amazed at how expensive the B&Bs are – most charge £30-40 and the cheapest I found was £20pppn, offering £10 for the kids. However The Bay Hotel takes the youngest child free and our other one at half price. Of course, these offers aren’t available in the school holidays though. And the price per adult does increase to £43 pounds in high season, but it’s still a very competitive rate.
Ok, so that’s the best thing about this hotel; but closely followed by its location. On Esplanade Road it looks right out over Fistral Bay – a beautiful view, and although we didn’t this time, when we stay again, we’ll definitely pay the extra to see that view from our room. As you would hope, the dining area and lounge look out over the bay as well.
We had a family room – spacious with bunk beds for the kids; plenty of storage space, a clean bathroom (with a bath) and even a nice big mirror for the kids to dance in front of. There was a telly, and kettle with tea, coffee and even Cadbury’s hot chocolate sachets which were replaced when used.
The service at reception, at the bar and in the dining room was always friendly. The breakfast were gorgeous – the usual bacon, fried eggs, lovely sausages, hash browns, and either baked beans or tomatoes. There was also cereal, musli, grapefruit and yoghurts to choose from. Delicious!
The evening meals were a bit hit and miss. The duck I had on the Friday evening was gorgeous, but the gravy with my other meals was just like school dinner gravy, and the odd course felt a bit cheap. But for the price we were paying, just to have an evening meal was a bonus and it was certainly nothing to complain about.
I would highly recommend this hotel for a budget stay in Newquay – there’s even an outdoor pool available in the summer. But you do have to avoid the sofa by the window near the wall – it feels like a hard plank of wood digging in your back. Actually all the arm chairs and sofas could do with replacing with something less ‘70s and more comfortable. And if I’m picky, the door between the smoking bar area and the lounge needed to have an automatic shutting mechanism as my obliging kids kept having to get up to shut it for me. But that’s just being picky. We will definitely be staying there again.
http://www.newquay-hotels.co.uk/bay/welcome.html
