When you have kids, the idea of a luxury hotel break often seems out of reach. But at the St Moritz Hotel in Cornwall it really is possible to have a luxurious break and still keep the children entertained at the same time.
AD: We were given a two night stay at St Mortiz Hotel in return for this honest review.
The St Moritz is a luxurious hotel perfectly located in the quiet hamlet of Trebetherick between the popular coastal villages of Polzeath and Rock on the north coast of Cornwall, just an hour and a half from where I am in Plymouth.
It has a mixture of luxury rooms, suites, apartments, penthouses and coastal villas so whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway by the sea, a family get-together or self-catering accommodation for a group of friends you’ll find something to suit you in North Cornwall.
With two restaurants, a spa, indoor and outdoor pool, leisure facilities and just a short walk to the coast, it really is a super find and great location for a few days of Cornish coast bliss.
We stayed for two nights during the Easter holidays with our three boys, aged 8, 6 and 6 – and they had so much fun!
Plenty of space for a family of five at the St Moritz Hotel
Hotel stays with three kids can often go one way or another. If you’re in the same boat as me, you’ll know what I mean. Get it wrong, and you’re all sharing beds, and squeezed in like sardines. But if you want to get it right – head to the St Moritz. It’s an ideal choice for families.
We stayed in one of their ground floor garden suites overlooking the formal gardens, outdoor pool and down to the sea, with a large patio area through two sets of French doors.
To give you some context, the suite was basically bigger than the first house I owned! From a stylish hallway area, you went into two large rooms, one of which was a lounge, dining area with a fabulous kitchen off it, and then the other is a massive bedroom with the bathroom. There was so much space, we couldn’t have been on top of each other if we’d tried.
The living area had a three seater sofa plus two chairs with a giant TV. Then further down towards the French doors there are two more comfy chairs and a little table – perfect for looking out to the patio and gardens. There’s the same in the bedroom too. A set of pull out bunk beds are attached to the wall between the lounge area and dining table, and we had an extra single bed put in the bedroom too, so the suite easily slept all five of us. We could have moved the single bed into the lounge area so that all three boys were in one room – making it more sociable for us after bedtime, but we didn’t even think about that until the day we checked out! But once they were all asleep, the bedroom was so big we could easily put the TV on and watch it from our king size bed and not disturb them.
The kitchen had all the mod cons that you’d need and expect, so if you did want to be totally self-sufficient you could make your own food there. The fridge contained complimentary milk and 2 bottles of water. And the mini bar was in there too if you needed anything. I might have had two cans of Sauvignon Blanc with our evening meal one night!
I loved our suite. It was perfect for what we needed, and despite us being there with children, it still felt super luxurious. The decor was stylish, there were lots of fabulous vases, ornaments and books dotted around (although you might want to move these if you have younger kids!), the bathroom had bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand wash and hand cream from the hotel’s spa, and get this, not only was there a hairdryer – but hair straighteners too. Talk about a treat! The boys were also given goodie bags each containing colouring and a kite.
St Moritz Hotel Shorecrest Restaurant was delicious
We ate in the hotel’s Shorecrest Restaurant in the hotel’s leisure building on our first night and it was absolutely delicious. It is the hotel’s main restaurant and offers fresh Cornish food and we were spoiled for choice. The kids menu offered all the usual meals they like such as pasta, fish and chips and burgers. My three opted for beef burgers and a chicken burger and they were huge, then two scoops of ice cream! Our choice was fantastic too. We could pick from the fine-dining dinner menu or the bar menu, or mix them up. I opted for the chicken liver parfait, monkfish and tiger prawn fragrant yellow curry, then sticky toffee pudding. It was first class!
My boys aren’t used to going to posh restaurants, so I’m always nervous about how it’s going to go. They have a tendency to be annoying when you don’t want them to be! But actually it was fine. We booked our table for 6pm so we were in there before most other diners, and the friendly staff were so helpful, bringing them colouring sheets and pencils to keep them entertained. Along with the mini stash of quiz books and card games I have with me for these kinds of situations!
The Shorecrest restaurant has an open-plan kitchen so you can see the chefs at work which the boys liked, and next to it is a large bar area with comfy sofas and chairs – and an awesome looking spirits and cocktails selection. Sadly no cocktails or glass of bubbles for me this time, although their wine was delicious.
Breakfast was hit for my three boys
We ate breakfast at the Shorecrest both mornings of our stay too, and the boys couldn’t believe their eyes at the food on offer. There was everything you could think of to help yourself to for a cooked or continental breakfast, as well as fruit, yoghurts, pastries and cereals. You could also order from a specials menu which Nick and I did each morning. I can definitely recommend the eggs royale, or the crushed avocado, spiced tomatoes and poached eggs.
My boys did their usual of helping themselves to a glass of fruit juice every ten minutes, then wondered why they needed a wee! Again the staff were amazing, and nothing was too much trouble for them. So it’s safe to say the food at the St Moritz Hotel was a hit!
The hotel also has another restaurant down by the outdoor swimming pool and beach huts called the Seaside Café which is open in the summer season serving stone-baked pizzas as well fresh-caught seafood and local, seasonal produce, all served informally in a beautiful setting. It’s next to the pool and has amazing views across the Camel Estuary and Stepper Point, so ideal for a spot of lunch whilst playing in the pool. The Easter drizzle didn’t make it too appealing for us to dive in the pool, but the day we left the sun came out and it looked stunning.
New pool and wellbeing space set to open at St Moritz
Talking of pools, wherever you go away with kids you want a pool, right? I know we certainly do. The indoor pool at the St Moritz Hotel is currently undergoing a massive refurbishment, to create a new luxury wellbeing space with outdoor hydro pool, swimming pool, sauna, steam rooms and more, coming in Summer 2024.
But in the meantime guests are able to use the pool at The Point – a golf course, health club and holiday place just 5 minutes around the corner. So this was perfect. And what made it even better (well, at least for one of my twins!) was that the St Moritz offer a free shuttle minibus to take you there. Despite us having our van with us and it being 5 minutes down the road, one of my boys was set on going in the minibus, so the two of us did that, whilst the other three drove in the van. Our driver was so friendly and helpful, telling us all about the area on our way. Isaac was over the moon with his little minibus outing!
If you’re wondering what else there is to occupy the children, then have a look at what the hotel’s Mini Moritz has to offer. They have a small playroom just behind reception with games and toys in, but also have a schedule of activities in the school holidays from scavenger hunts to arts and crafts or cake decorating. Or if your kids are over 7, they can join in the fun with the Wavehunters Surf School. In the reception area there are also lots of buckets and spades, fishing nets and bodyboards to borrow.
St Moritz Hotel is surrounded by stunning beaches
We headed out to Polzeath beach and fortunately timed it with the drizzle clearing for a couple of hours. Conveniently there was an ice cream van on the beach which the boys made the most of, and despite being fully-clothed and wearing wellies, they decided to go for a full on paddle pretty much up to their thighs! Other beaches that were recommended are Daymer Bay and Greenaway beach.
Then the next day we took their bikes and rode 11 miles on the Camel Trail – a cycle path which takes you from Wadebridge to Padstow. There was a lot of me shouting ‘keep left!’ followed by more ice cream in Padstow to fuel the return journey. So if you have room for the bikes it’s definitely worth taking them. If not there are loads of places to hire them.
Cowshed Spa is icing on the cake at St Moritz Hotel
If you’re still not convinced this all sounds luxurious enough for you, then this next bit will help. St Moritz Hotel has a Cowshed Spa – the only Cowshed Spa outside of the renowned Soho House Properties. And let me tell you, it’s enough to make you want to ditch the kids and husband and pay it a visit – which is exactly what I did. Whether you want a quick-fix beauty treatment or a full on addition to your own self-care ritual, the Cowshed Spa is where you need to be.
I was lucky enough to have an hour’s full body massage treatment at the Cowshed Spa during our stay. And boy was it good! I pretty much floated out the door afterwards. My therapist was brilliant and the whole place was just beautiful with wonderfully stylish treatment rooms. If you are able to dump the children whilst you’re at the St Moritz Hotel I can definitely recommend heading to the spa. (Although there’s a gym too but funnily enough I avoided that!) I also had a goodie bag of Cowshed products left for me in our suite so I can relive it now I’m home too – the smells are just divine.
If you’re looking for a family-friendly hotel in Cornwall, then the St Moritz might not be the first to spring into your head, but it’s definitely worth a look. It’s not as geared up for kids as other family-friendly hotels we’ve been to, in terms of the facilities it offers such as a soft play, or outside play parks. But this really didn’t matter. With a fabulous area of Cornwall to explore, and staff who bent over backwards to make sure we were all happy, there was plenty to keep the boys entertained. Even a drizzly game of tag in the gardens was enough to keep them happy.
We will definitely be back. The fact we’ll obviously need to check out the brand new pool once it’s finished is a perfect excuse. Oh, and it would be rude not to have another spa treatment whilst I’m there…
To find out more about the St Moritz Hotel, click here. You can also see more of my photos on my Instagram page and in a stories highlight on my profile.
How did I do?
If you liked this post, then you might want to have a look at some more in my Travel Section and get some other ideas for UK family holidays and days out. These might be handy:
- 10 best UK family holidays ideal for young children
- Making the most of your holiday to Cornwall
- Best UK campsites for children
- 11 best holidays in Devon
- Best places to stay with kids in London
- 15 best family days out in Devon
- 13 best family days out in Cornwall
Or if you’ve got a holiday booked but can’t face the packing, check out this helpful list – Packing List For Babies and Toddlers. And if you fancy a giggle but still on the subject of UK family holidays, read this – Five Ways A Holiday Is Never The Same After Kids. If you STILL want more after that head over to my Mum Life section for funny rants about all sorts of parenting things. And if you’re local to me in Plymouth, keep up to date with the latest in my Local Stuff section.
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