The Idle Rocks

Went just for coffee with a friend. Friendly welcome from staff. One coffee arrived spilt in saucer. Second coffee should have been decaff but was quickly realised by waiter that he had given wrong coffee to my friend. Replaced it. Cold milk for Americano arrived in a small cup - impossible to pour without spilling on table. Waiter replied you had to be quick pouring it and insisted it was a jug - albeit without a pouring lip! Service charge was added to our bill despite the bad experience we had. We asked for it to be removed and left quite disappointed in overall experience.

Beautiful views from our room, the terrace, bar and restaurant. Food lovely. Highly recommended.

Excellent food. The best meal I have ever eaten . Staff attentive. Excellent value for money. Hayden was excellent very knowledgeable on food and wine . Chef Louis fantastic. Drinks on terrace fabulous. Nothing better. Seagulls and water pistols entertainment.

Quite the nicest hotel we’ve stayed in for ages. Great staff, wonderful decor and surroundings and a magnificent breakfast. Never seen such a friendly professional team before, helpful without ever being annoying. You just feel welcome here. Booked last minute into a cosy hideaway room which was absolutely excellent, comfortable and full of little touches that made it feel special. Wonderful setting. Great place to explore the beautiful St Mawes and a short ferry trip to Falmouth. Give it a go - you’ll be pleased you did.

Wow, what an amazing hotel. Stayed for 3 nights. Loved everything about this hotel, from the moment we arrived I felt that the staff couldn't do enough for us. A special mention to Hayden who seemed to almost be our personal attendant, he is a credit to the hotel and makes an excellent Espresso Martini too. We had a seaview room and what an amazing view it was, a similar view can be had from the outside terrace. This was the third of 4 places we stayed on our road trip and without a shadow of doubt I'd rank this the best and will definitely go back.

We had a grand seaview room which was quiet. Room was rather small but fairly comfortable. Would have preferred a sitting area instead of the large tub. The reception was always very attentive and helpful. The food in the restaurant was simple but good. Breakfast choice was ok but not overwhelming. Just the service on the terrace was rather slow.

I had written a review, but somehow it’s ‘magically’ disappeared. Maybe management realised they may need locals to support them. Who knows… What I can (re)tell you is after the lovely receptionist told us there was space on the terrace for my family and I to enjoy a coffee, the waiter refused to serve my husband, by management orders, on the grounds we weren’t hotel residents. It was near enough empty! As a visiting boat from the Helford we were hoping to come here regularly, but apparently our custom was not welcome. Save yourself the mortification and go to the pub opposite, great service there!

Kind receptionist said there was space on the balcony for us to sit and enjoy a coffee. Once my husband went to the bar he was refused to be served, by orders of management, as non-hotel residents we weren’t welcome! As Cornish residents visiting by boat from the Helford, we were rather hoping to regularly visit through the summer for drinks and lunch. Such a shame our custom isn’t welcome. So, unless you’re staying here, save yourself the mortification of being turned away. Great service at the pub opposite though!

Upon arrival we were greeted with a very warm welcome from the friendly front desk staff whom wished me a happy birthday and to proceed through to the dining area where we would be looked after by the restaurant staff... If only that were true! We went through to be greeted and sent to our table where we waited patiently for 20 minutes for even a glass of tap water to arrive. I had to go to the bar to ask for a drinks menu. You would be forgiven to think the place was busy but infact there was only two other tables of 4 and one other table of 2 that left shortly after our arrival in an otherwise empty restaurant. After ordering our drinks they took a further 25 minutes to turn up. We then ordered our food from the limited lunch menu provided after which somebody came over to explain their 'specials'. The food came out and was delicious in flavour the lamb was gristly and the portion would leave even a small child wanting more... yet we persevered and ordered more drinks however only one of which arrived, yet they still managed to put the missing drink onto the final bill. Unfortunately we were clearly not the only disappointed party today as there was another lady creating alot of commotion with complaints at the edge of the restaurant area who was quickly ushered outside, then a waiter came over to apologise about in his words 'the commotion' Its is such a shame that this hotel didn't achieve what it promises to be. Some serious improvements are clearly needed to keep the status it has achieved. Location alone does not make a hotel. We went over to the seafood shack (for want of a better word) on the edge of the harbour and not only had far superior cocktails but an all round better experience.