Muddy Stilettos, the national lifestyle guide, has chosen the 52 best hotels across the UK for Christmas lunch – and three of them are in Cornwall.
They say these are the best places to ditch the Christmas morning stress and let someone else baste the turkey for you. As well as their festive lunches, the hotels offer overnight options. But be quick, they’ll get snatched up faster than the last Quality Street (if you can afford it).
Here are the three hotels they suggest, followed by a couple of our own choices.
Hotel Meudon
Tucked away on Cornwall’s south coast near Falmouth, the sub-tropical gardens at Hotel Meudon make a beautiful place to escape for a festive Cornish break, where you can even join the Boxing Day dip, a festive tradition.
Swimmers will be welcomed after their plunge by staff with hot water bottles, nibbles and warming mulled wine before retiring to relax by the log fire. A three-day break from December 24 to 27 includes dinner, bed and breakfast, and festive dining as well as live music, traditional games and a scavenger hunt. It costs from £1,199 for a three-night, dinner-inclusive, bed and breakfast package, based on two adults sharing a room.
If you simply want to visit to eat, there’s a pre-Christmas menu or a festive afternoon tea. A two-course festive lunch is £24 per person and three-course is £30, available every day from December 1 to 22. The afternoon tea, including mulled wine, runs from 2.30pm to 5pm at a cost of £25 per person (if preferred, you can choose a glass of Champagne instead for an extra £5), on the same dates.
The Alverton
Christmas in Cornwall doesn’t have to be coastal – whether you head over just for lunch or make it a full five-night break, The Alverton in Truro is dressed with dazzling Christmas trees, twinkling lights and boughs of holly, and welcomes guests for cosy Christmas breaks full of Cornish traditions, award-winning food, toasty tipples by the roaring fire and heaps of festive fun.
A short walk away from the cathedral, carol singers, late night shopping and artisan shops and coffee spots, you’ll be spoiled for choice in terms of Cornish festivities. Three nights from £609 per person, four nights from £679 per person and five nights from £729 per person.
If you don’t want to stay, the hotel is offering festive lunches until January 2, Christmas Day lunches for £99 (now fully booked) and a three-course Boxing Day lunch for £49 per person.
Carbis Bay Hotel
Christmas Day at Carbis Bay Estate includes options to eat at Walter’s, The Beach Club or in The Main House Orangery. Or, escape for three-nights of stress-free festivities with a coastal break from December 24 to 27, staying in either the Main House rooms or suites, or, self-catering in the Carbis Bay Beach Lodge or Carbis Valley suites.
Enjoy live entertainment, carols around the tree, mulled wine and seasonal cocktails alongside festive dining – or, escape to The C Bay Spa, which will be open throughout with a heated outdoor infinity swimming pool, sauna and hydro pools with views out across the bay as well as the full range of massages, beauty and other treatments available. From £750 per person.
For those who do not want to stay, the hotel is offering festive dining in its Orangery, Beach Club, Ugly Butterfly and Walter’s on the Beach restaurants.
As well as the three chosen by Muddy Stilettos, above, the ever-popular Idle Rocks in St Mawes is another great venue for Christmas.
Alongside beautifully decorated hallways, roaring fires and glistening Christmas trees (complete with coastal-themed Christmas decorations), guests are invited to enjoy cosy fireside cocktails on Christmas eve before moving into the restaurant to enjoy a dinner with plenty of options on the menu to satisfy every taste bud.
From Slow Braised Feather Blade to Black Forest Gateau, head chef Dorian Janmaat and his team will use seasonal, local and fresh ingredients taking every guest on a culinary journey from entrees to the desert. This will continue through to Christmas Day, as once presents are unwrapped and guests seated, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy dishes such as Cornish Crab Ravioli, Padstow Farm Bronze Turkey and Dark Chocolate and Baileys Yule Log.
The Idle Rocks Boxing Day Dinner is the perfect way to round off the Christmas festivities, with the hotel’s signature Wellingtons, including an Aged Beef, Turbot and Winter Vegetable as well as the Idle Trifle and a cheeseboard of made up of the finest South West cheeses.
Guests are ideally placed to explore the surrounding areas, with invigorating coastal walks festive activities amongst the options to explore before returning to the hotel to kick back and relax.
Other hotels offering special Christmas dining include the Pentire in Newquay, which is cooking up a whopping five-course lunch for £65 per person and £35 for children. The Cornwall hotel in St Austell is also offering a Christmas lunch menu and seasonal packages if you want to stay.
It’s worth checking online for all the other hotels in Cornwall that can ease the strain (and family arguments) by doing it all for you this Christmas.
Source: Cornwall Live
