The Scarlet Hotel : A little piece of paradise on the Cornish Coast

The Scarlet Hotel : A little piece of paradise on the Cornish Coast

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Arriving at the Scarlet Hotel

As soon as I arrived at the Scarlet Hotel it just felt special. It is situated minutes from the Mawgan Porth Beach.

When you arrive at the scarlet hotel by car you will notice the tiny car park which under normal circumstances would cause me to panic as I can not park in the space big enough for a double decker bus but here they have valet parking. So all the stress of parking is taken away.

When you receive the booking information it states if you are arriving by car you will need to hand over your keys reception. I thought this was a bit strange and I have never encountered this before but when you see the size of the car park it is understandable. In fact when we were leaving the car blocking me in had not handed in their keys luckily there was a empty space next to me so with the help of the valet I was able to manoeuvred out, if this had not been possible I could have been stuck there for some time which would have annoyed me. However this is the only negative I have about my stay at the Scarlet Hotel as everything else was wonderful.

The Scarlet Hotel is all about relaxation, it is a Spa Hotel that offers the most amazing views over the Atlantic in between Newquay and Padstow in Cornwall, UK. 

Check In at The Scarlet Spa Hotel

The next thing that was new to me at this hotel was no reception desk. When I first walked into the hotel I was a bit confused how to check in. They must have cameras because somebody quickly came out to greet me and told me to take a seat on one of the lovely comfy sofas. They then brought the paperwork out to me and it was such a lovely experience to sit down and check in with a cup of coffee or tea and I felt myself relaxing straight away. Before I’d even checked in and I just knew I was going to love this hotel.

I was lucky enough to be staying at this hotel complimentary so I could write about it and the manager who I have been liaising with came out to to introduce herself and was very passionate about this hotel, along with all the other staff that I encountered during my stay. This just added to the whole experience for me because if the staff are happy this gives off such positive vibes and it makes it all that much more enjoyable for everybody.

We were then given a host to give us guided tour of the hotel. At first I thought this was just because I was blogging about it but I noticed everybody was getting the same introduction when they arrived at the hotel.

A guided tour of the hotel is something new for me and I felt it made the stay so personal and that is the whole ethos about this hotel I felt as though it was about each individual guest rather than just catering for the masses. This was proven straight away when the manager explained to me how they are focus more on space in the hotel rather than cramming in lots of rooms. The hotel had many sitting areas it just feels so spacious and you definitely won’t be fighting for a seat as there are so many areas to sit and chill. 

Relaxing areas around the Scarlet hotel

Unfortunately when I arrived my room was not yet ready but this was no fault of the hotel as I had arrived before check-in time. I was very happy to sit in the retreat area and enjoy a cool refreshing drink on a sunny day looking over the Atlantic with my first Cornish Scone which was absolutely delicious.

There were so many areas in this hotel to sit and have a drink, read a book or even play one of the board games they had. There were different styles of sofas and chairs you are bound to find our favourite and sit there chilling. One of the rooms even had a pool table if that is your way of relaxing.

There is also plenty of outdoor space which during good weather was wonderful to sit out and breathe in the sea air and watch the surfers on the Mawgan Porth beach below. As it is on a cliff side it also had amazing sun sets.

This hotel is so quiet but not uncomfortably so that you could not have a conversation with your friends. They are dog friendly and I saw one little dog that was very well behaved, if you are not so comfortable with dogs the website says to mention this when booking and they will ensure you are not in a room next to any canine residents.’

I love the furniture its colourful and bold and there are lots of painting on the walls and ornaments around the hotel. I love this image of an Angel.

How accessible is the Scarlet Hotel and Spa

All areas of the hotel can be accessed by 1 lift apart from the bar. Since the hotel only has 36 rooms this wasn’t over used and I felt as though I was able to get in the lift without a wait when ever I wanted. However to access the bar there are steps and this is the only way to get to the bar so if in a wheelchair it will not be accessible. You can order a drink any where in the hotel and they will bring it to you and there are people walking round to take orders on a regular basis.

I have limited mobility and I was with my mum who uses a cane, due to the hotel not being massive we were able to get around easily. Our room however was only accessed by a flight of stairs so if you do have limitations you need to make them aware when making your booking. Even though we struggled with the flight of stairs the hotel did help with our luggage and it was my fault of not emphasising I was disabled and to be honest I think I was in the best room so one flight of stairs was something I was willing to put up with and we just took it slowly, luckily our room had everything so it wasn’t as if I had to be going up and down the stairs that often as I didnt want to leave my luxurious room. 

Spa facilities at the Scarlet Hotel

As soon as you enter the Spa you are going to feel chilled and relaxed it just had the most wonderful atmosphere. The smells from the oils, the relaxing music and the chilled lighting all added to the relaxing atmosphere. 

The hotel has various spa packages on offer and it is best to check the website to help you make a decision of what treatment to have. 

The Spa facilities are free to all residents even if you are not having a treatment. One of the highlights for me was sitting in one of the cliff side teepees watching the surfers down below.

The Spa makes the hotel a perfect place for a Hen weekend, girlie weekend, anniversary or just a general weekend as I absolutely loved this place.

Indoor swimming pool 13m x 4m cleansed by low dosage bromine
Outdoor barrel cedar sauna
Steam room
Copper tub
Hammam – used for scrubs and wraps on a heated table
Rhassoul – used for get messy mineral mud sessions
A couple’s suite – beautiful and with a double bath
Cliff top outdoor swimming pool – filtered by reeds
Cliff top hot tubs – looking out across the ocean
Silent, softly-lit tented treatment zone
Uplifting relaxation area – overlooking the natural pool and out to the ocean beyond Meditation room
Deep relaxation space – a quiet space with hanging canvas pods to curl up in

My spa experience at the Scarlet Hotel

I left my mum to soak up the views as I went and had my spa treatment. in the Ayurveda inspired Spa. I have been to many spas around the world and the Scarlet Hotel is now definitely on my top 10 list. I am searching the ideal relaxation spa and the Scarlet Hotel definitely hits the spot.

My stay was a couple of weeks after my last chemotherapy and a lot of spa hotels will not touch anybody who has had cancer which can be quite disheartening for people. This hotel is fully trained in treating people with cancer and it came across so positively when I met my therapist.

I completed the usual medical form and I normally get the impression that these are not even looked at but my therapist read what I had highlighted and came up with a bespoke massage to tackle my problem areas.

They use Ayurveda and I have experienced this in India and Sri Lanka so I already have an understanding of how this type of therapy works. I felt as though my therapist was giving me a treatment specifically for me and I felt absolutely amazing afterwards.

She made me feel so relaxed and I had absolutely no concerns during my massage. I had a few painful areas, I had mentioned the these and they were avoided. Now this might sound very simple but I have been for many massages where you tell them not to touch a certain area and they just ignore it. I think it is very important that I am listened to when I am having any therapy as I do have some areas that are not allowed to be massaged. This sometimes causes me to be tense during treatment incase they are going to touch these areas and then I am not getting the full benefit of relaxation but I had absolutely nothing to worry about here.

I even let her massage my head, nobody has seen my bald head apart from my best friend and my mother and because I felt comfortable enough to remove my hat my massage was all that much more special. I was more concerned about how the therapist would feel touching my alien like head but she explained that she had no problems with it at all and if she was willing to do it then I thought why not. She actually explained that it would do my head good as a massage would help increase blood flow which will help with hair growth.

The only bad things I can say about my massage was it just didn’t last long enough as I was so relaxed the time just flew by.

I was so close to the end of my treatment and I had a picc line which meant I couldn’t use the full spa facilities as I can not get my arm wet and due to a heightened infection risk I should not bathe with others. This was a little disappointing as the Spa facilities were incredible but it just means I will have to return to this hotel at a later date. Although I would happily of sat by one of the many outside areas if I were with friends who were using the facilities, I dont think I would have felt left out.

Rooms and Suites at the Scarlet Hotel

The Scarlet Hotel is a luxurious Hotel unfortunately does come with luxurious price tag but when you weigh up the experience you are getting it is totally worth every penny.

One of the things that I like most about this hotel was it was adult only escape it a totally different experience its sister hotel a few metres away the Bedruthan which I had stayed at the previous night. Even though the Bedruthan was lovely I dont have children and that hotel is more geared up for families. Maybe if I was to return with friends who do have families they can stay at the Bedruthan and I will stay at Scarlet as they are minutes apart and if you are staying at either hotel you can use both spas facilties.

After my massage and I was thinking things couldn’t get any better it was time to check into my room and oh my god was I in for a surprise it was one of the most luxurious rooms I have ever had the pleasure of staying in.

This was a special trip for me and my mum as it was marking the end of my chemotherapy and it was sort of a celebration that we had come to the end of a horrendous 6 months and to be staying at the Scarlet was like a dream. I would highly recommend for any special occasion. 

The hotel website describes the rooms as just right, generous unique spacious and indulgent and I would describe it as just perfect.

All of the rooms have outdoor space whether it be a balcony or a private terrace. We stayed in room number 17 and if you have the opportunity I would definitely ask for this room it was like walking into somebodies apartment it was huge.

The room was set up with 2 twin beds that were pushed together to make a double and easy to separate if you are sharing with a friend and want a little bit more space between the beds.

It had a huge walk-in shower and I loved the freestanding bath. I have not been able to have a bath for some time due to my treatment and after my massage all my aches and pains have nearly vanished and I was able to enjoy a cool bath with bath salt provided which was nice and cooling on a hot summer’s day.

The rooms do not have tea and coffee making facilities but you can order some at any time and at any point in the hotel it again just adds to the whole theme of relaxation but I also think its to do with the it being a Eco hotel I guess less energy will be being used if the rooms dont have kettles. When I checked in this was mentioned and as we were having a day of sightseeing the following day we had a flask that needed filling. They said this would not be a problem and they could either fill it or bring a kettle to our room they even offered to fill it with tea for us which was so nice.

Our room had a large private terrace where our view of the sea was slightly hindered by another room but this didnt ruin my experience as there are so many areas of the hotel to get the full sea view.

During our stay the UK was having a mini heatwave which doesnt happen often and it was so lovely to be able to sit out on our private terrace, we ordered some tea and coffee and read our books in the sun.

The room had plenty of storage, a desk, a telephone, a separate toilet, two sinks, walk in shower, free standing bath, water and glasses and you could ask for more water at any time. The toiletries smelt amazing and there were products by the sinks, in the shower and by the bath so you could have a real pamper. The towels were really soft, there were dressing gowns and slippers and I saw many people wearing these around the hotel.

Our room even had two tvs not that we switched any on. The beds were very comfortable and the bedding was soft. The room had air conditioning but even though we were in a heatwave the room was nice and cool and didnt need to be switched on. 

Food at the Scarlet Hotel

As mentioned earlier I had a delicious Cornish scone with clotted cream and jam when I arrived. It was one portion and it came with two freshly made scones which were huge and it was good job I was sharing as I struggled with one but it was so tasty I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

The restaurant is nicely decorated in scarlet colours which I guess is to match the name of the hotel. It made it a lovely area to dine in. The staff were so friendly and made you feel welcome. They knew about the products and if they couldn’t answer a query they went off to find the answer, not that I had any question but I could hear others. We had the most amazing view looking out to sea, again because the weather was glorious we were able to eat outside.

We had a fruit Cornish cider with our meal as it was too hot to be drinking wine although each course did have a recommended wine so it could have been a very enjoyable boozy meal. We were also given some sour dough bread and some of the bread had cheese baked into it. Even the bread was happy at being here as it looked like a love heart.

We were sat outside and this could have meant we had a unwelcome visitor so we were given a water mini water pistol to scare of the seagulls if they came to visit. I didnt know if this was a bit of a joke but I made sure I was prepared if any did come down but they didnt luckily.

The food is all fresh high quality ingredients. The restaurant has a set menu which changes daily and to be honest it wasn’t the type of food I would normally order but I like this as it takes me away from the norm. Everything was cooked to perfection and delicious.

I started with Cornish Coppa Ham, with Peach, Feta, Pomegranate and Mint. This was so tasty the flavours of the peach and pomegranate went so well with the saltiness from the cheese and ham and the mint made it taste so fresh. My mum didnt have a starter as she was saving herself for her dessert.

For the main course I had Roasted Chicken with celeriac, truffle potatoes and red wine. I dont like celeriac but love chicken so I presumed I could just move the celeriac to one side but I was actually pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. I love it when you try something you thought you didnt like and it turns out you do.

My mum had Rare breed pork belly and cheek with fondant potato, carrot, pak choi and white port she loved every mouthful and cleared her plate.

Now it was time for dessert

I was full from my starter and main otherwise I would have had the Chocolate and Orange rocky road tart but went for a lighter lemon posset which was cleansing for the palate. 

My mum absolutely adores gooseberries so it was a no brainer this was what she was going to have. She found the gooseberries tart and the crumble just right.

Breakfast is also a set menu and this changes daily, you have the option of three courses. You can have breakfast delivered to your room at no extra cost and I wish I had done this so I could have eaten it on my terrace. I had a English breakfast which was sausage, bacon, mushroom, tomato, black pudding and a fried egg. There was other options of homemade muesli or smoothies. Tea coffee and apple juice and sour bread toast. The breakfast was cooked nice and it was nice to have it brought to order rather than having to fight for the buffet but I think this hotel was so laid back this would not have been the case anyway.

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Thank you to The Scarlet Hotel for my complimentary stay it has not influenced my opinion in any way and I had a lovely time.