Talland Bay Hotel Cornwall Short Break 2025

Talland Bay Hotel Cornwall Short Break 2025

25th March 2025.  Steve (hubby) and I decided on the spur of the moment to have a couple of nights away in a nice hotel and not too far away from where we live. We came across the Talland Bay Hotel near Looe in Cornwall which looked very nice. They were also offering a package called the Boujee Foodie Spring Break which consisted of  2 nights luxurious accommodation, £60 per person dinner allowance each evening, Talland Bay No1 Gin & Tonic on arrival, delicious full Cornish breakfast each morning and tickets to the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

We checked the weather forecast and saw that it was going to be sunny and dry for a while so we booked for the 31st March to 2nd April 2025 which was less than a week away. Each of the rooms in the hotel were very different, some with sea views others garden rooms but all with a theme with some being quite elegant. My first choice of room was unfortunately already booked so we  chose the Soho room  which was a sea facing room and had French doors opening on to a Juliette balcony with a stunning sea view.

31st March 2025

We left home at around 1.00 pm and arrived just after 2.00 p.m. We arrived at the hotel and found it to be rather quirky starting with the sign for the hotel from the road which was a tall striped pole with a black top hat with a pink bow and 10/6  which was from the Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter.

We had to drive past the front of the hotel to the small car park and I glanced towards it to see statues in the outside area of zebras, striped pigs, fairies, cats and others and wondered what on earth had we come to.

We went into Reception and booked in and were taken to our room passing through the lounge area which had striped black and white seats and colourful Zebra pictures.

Then through the hallway to the stairs which included a wonky characterful wooden clock and other wacky ornaments and as one guest wrote in a review the decor was “charmingly eccentric”. It was not really to our taste but nonetheless it was quirky and tastefully done. Although I have to say I did fall in love with the clock and thought it would have looked lovely in our lounge at home!!!

We also passed a smaller room which again had some interesting decor, ornaments and pictures.

It was only the public rooms and the hallways that were quirky as all of the bedrooms had different furnishings.

We were shown up  to our room on the 2nd floor which was done in an Art Deco style. It was decorated in black and gold with lots of Art Deco touches which was quite striking but it was quite dark. However on a beautiful sunny day like today the sunlight poured through the french doors.

Talland Bay Hotel Cornwall Short Break 2025.

The uninterrupted sea view however was spectacular.

We unpacked and then made our way to the patio area in the sunshine for our free Gin and Tonic.

Sitting in the corner of the garden was Richard Madely and Judy Finnegan. On doing some research I see that they actually have a property in Talland Bay. I could have taken a photo but thought better of it, as nothing is worse than some idiot taking a photo invading their privacy whilst they were enjoying a spot of lunch.

We had a quick walk around the garden and then went up to the room and sat with the doors wide open looking out on the sea view enjoying a cup of coffee and some hotel homemade shortbread biscuits.

If you wanted to you could lay on the bed and look straight out of the French doors to the stunning sea view.

It was then time to get ready for dinner and went downstairs and sat in the bar and had a drink whilst perusing the menu before the waiter took our order.

He then showed us to our table, which was in the window so we had a lovely sea view.

There was some lovely homemade bread with some tasty whipped butter to nibble on before the starter. We both chose the Truffle Chicken Croustillant which was smoked cooked chicken breast, pancetta and hazelnut crumb, caramelised shallots and granny smith apple which was very tasty.

Steve chose roasted cod loin for main, he likes fish and I do not so never cook it at home which he enjoyed. This came with a pomme puree, cheek scampi, gem lettuce and potted shrimp sauce.

I chose a pear and blue cheese tortellini which sat in  in a lovely celeriac cream sauce, walnuts and crispy sage which was  delicious.

I am not a sweet tooth so very rarely have a dessert except if rhubarb is on the menu which I love as it is nice and tarte. Steve cannot eat it so I never cook it at home. This was a Talland Bay rhubarb and custard mille feuille with poached rhubarb and a rhubarb sorbet.

Steve had the apple tart tatin with caramel hazelnuts and vanilla ice cream.

We ended the meal with a coffee sat in the bar and then to bed.

1st April 2025

We woke up to another sunny day but it was windy. We enjoyed a very nice leisurely full Cornish breakfast in the conservatory.

We  then drove the couple of miles to Polperro which is a quaint little Cornish fishing village. We parked in the car park having to pay £7 for up to 3 hours, what a rip off! We walked around the village but were surprised at how many of the little shops were shut and quite a lot actually empty and then down to the harbour.  Obviously their season doesn’t start until Easter.

We then stopped at the Crumplehorn Inn and Mill and sat inside with a pint of Guinness and a J20.

We then drove back to the hotel and took the short stroll down the steep hill to Talland Bay beach. Not a pretty sandy beach but lots of rocks and pebbles but with the wind it was very bracing. We managed to find some rocks out of the wind and sat there for a while watching the tide come in.

We then walked back up the steep hill and sat in the hotel garden taking in the panoramic sea views.

Whilst sat in the garden I also took a photo of the outside of the hotel and the arrow points to our room.

 

We went back up to our room to have a cup of coffee and some more of the little shortbread biscuits with the French doors wide open again taking in the sea views from the comfort of our room and without the wind.

I decided to have a shower before getting ready for dinner but could not find a shower cap anywhere,  so I went down to reception to get one from down there but was told the hotel doesn’t provide them and has not done for a while, as no-one asks for them. I found that quite astonishing particularly for a 4* hotel. They provided everything else you could want for a stay which included a good range of toiletries, a good hospitality tray and also a mending kit, which I would be interested to know how many of these are used!  A shower cap is much more useful as not everyone washes their hair every time they have a shower.

I have to say that all the hotels I have stayed in there has always been a shower cap, if not much else. I know this is very minor but come on Talland Bay Hotel it is not much to ask to include a shower cap, so please think of changing your policy and make them available. My husband however came up with an innovative idea of using a waste bin bag. He has wanted to put a bag over my head for years, but it did the trick. I popped it over my hair and tied the surplus at the front. I did try to keep my head as dry as possible but it worked. Hubby was going to take a photo but I refused as it was not a pretty sight.

Got ready for dinner and had a G & T in the bar before the waiter took our order and showed us to our table. It was the same menu as the first night but we chose different dishes.

We started the meal with the homemade foccacia bread with a rosemary and garlic butter.

For starters Steve chose the pastrami cured salmon with horseraddish creme fraiche and herb pancakes.

I had the wild mushroom parfait with pickled mushroom sourdough and walnut ketchup.

Both of us plumped for the rump steak which came with a cafe de paris sauce (which I have to say I was not keen on), a green goddess dressed salad and triple cooked chips.

We were both full, particularly me, as Steve had to help me finish my steak, so neither of us had room for a dessert.

We had a good night’s sleep.

Talland Bay Hotel Cornwall Short Break 2025.

2nd April 2025

We woke up to another dry and sunny day, but it was still windy. We again enjoyed our full Cornish breakfast. I packed up and then we made our way home stopping at Looe on the way. We had a nice walk around  the town and went down to the beach, then along the quayside.

We then enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and then back in the car for the journey home. Obviously we didn’t want anything for lunch but we did buy a couple of pasties to eat for tea at home. So note the pasty bag that Steve is carrying.

It had been a very nice couple of days away and apart from being a bit windy we couldn’t have picked better weather for this time of year.

The Talland Bay Hotel was a unique experience and we did enjoy it and I have to say that all the staff were brilliant.  We might well go back for another visit staying in a different room. I just hope that there will be a shower cap in the room!!!!

Talland Bay Hotel Cornwall Short Break 2025