SMITH FAVOURITE For families

Cornwall, United Kingdom

Fowey Hall

Price per night from$315.76

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP236.66), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Fowey Hall Photos

Style

Dignified Cornish castle

Setting

Salty South West coast

Explore

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This family-focused hotel may have been the original inspiration for Toad Hall in Wind in the Willows, but that’s far from the only thing Fowey Hall has to boast about. Commanding sweeping views of the river estuary, port and sea, the small hotel on the south coast of Cornwall has beds hand-carved by British artisans, oak-panelled detailing, subtle nods to local artists and framed Daphne du Maurier book-covers. Throw in the heated outdoor pool and salt-scrubbing spa, and you’ll soon realise that Grahame may have sought his muse for Toad’s turrets here, but semblance to his story certainly stops there.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A Cornish cream tea once a stay

Facilities

Photos Fowey Hall facilities

Need to know

Rooms

60, including 28 suites.

Check–Out

11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm; both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates include a Continental and à la carte breakfast, served in the Garden Room. There’s a two-night minimum stay on Fridays and Saturdays, and a three-night minimum over Bank Holiday weekends.

Also

There are two accessible rooms on the ground floor, and the common spaces have been adapted for those with reduced mobility. The hotel is also happy to cater for all dietary requirements.

At the hotel

Public beach nearby; spa; walled gardens with a zip line and playhouse; crèche; games room with vintage arcade-machines; library with board games and backgammon; cinema room; laundry service; free-to-use beach buckets, spades, fishing nets and wellies; and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, and Bramley or Elemis bath products.

Our favourite rooms

All these minimalist rooms are graced with leafy views, but for mesmerising mornings, we’d recommend the Polraun Suite for its private sea-facing balcony. Where other rooms have neutral tones and modern designs, the Rosalind Suite, set in the hotel’s Victorian mansion, boasts a quintessentially British style with restored wood floors, hand-carved mahogany desks and grand corniced ceilings.

Poolside

Set on the terrace with sprawling sea views, the outdoor heated pool (open Easter to October, from 10am to 6pm) is bordered by comfy seating and overlooks the manicured gardens below. There’s also a 12-metre pool inside at the spa that’s open year-round (8am to 8pm, with adults-only hours from 8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm).

Spa

Open from 10am to 6pm (5pm on Sundays), the spa has an indoor pool and four treatment rooms for facials and massages that use Ishga natural oils. You'll also find a steam room, an indoor hot tub, and on the spa terrace, a unique horsebox sauna with coastal views.

Packing tips

Bring your boards and fins.

Pet‐friendly

Dogs are very welcome: for £25 a night they can join you in almost any room and get a bed, bowl, tennis ball and treats. There are dog menus at the restaurant, and the only place they aren't allowed is the spa, terrace, cinema, play area and outdoor pool. See more pet-friendly hotels in Cornwall.

Children

Children of all ages are welcomed with open arms at this families-first hotel.

Best for

Fowey Hall has something for everyone, but under-eights are especially well taken care of.

Recommended rooms

Two-Bedroom Family, Charles Hanson and Deluxe View Rooms all sleep four (some even have space for a third child). For smaller families, Lantic Bay and Polruan sleep two adults and one child on an extra bed.

Crèche

Each child gets a free two-hour session daily at the Ofsted-certified Four Bears Den, which is filled with arts and crafts, dressing-up clothes and toys for under-eights. Slots are subject to availability and should be reserved in advance.

Activities

Over-eights are welcome to use the vintage arcade-machines in the games room. During July and August, the hotel hosts a daily family activity session, alongside extra activities in the Den; these should be booked in advance and are at an extra cost.

Swimming pool

Little Smiths are allowed in both the indoor and outdoor pool; but the former is adults-only from 8am to 9am and again between 3pm and 4pm.

Meals

Bottles of milk can be heated day and night and delivered back to your room, and the hotel chef will happily provide puréed food between 7am and 9pm. The restaurant also serves an early dinner for children at 5pm (or they’re welcome to eat with the adults) and has an all-day kids’ menu with all sorts of sandwiches, mini burgers and fries, cod goujons, and sweet treats.

Babysitting

A babysitter can be organised for £25 an hour, the hotel just needs 48 hours’ notice. There are also free-to-use baby monitors and listening devices in all the bedrooms.

No need to pack

Anything, they’ve thought of it all.

Sustainability efforts

Fowey Hall keeps things local by using food suppliers based in Cornwall, hiring from Fowey and sourcing furniture made by British artisans. Local artist Stephanie Tudor teaches interactive classes on the topic of plastic pollution for little Smiths. Waste, energy and single-use plastic are all kept to a minimum too.

Food and Drink

Photos Fowey Hall food and drink

Top Table

You’re welcome to dine wherever you please here, but we’d recommend going alfresco during the summer, and heading in to huddle around the library’s roaring fire come winter.

Dress Code

Any green tweed, as an ode to Toad.

Hotel restaurant

Cornish classics are at the core of Fowey Hall’s award-winning restaurant, where head chef James Goss spins ingredients from local fisherman and farmers into seasonal favourites. Menus change with the weather, but you can expect to start the day with bacon baps and smoked-salmon breakfasts in the Garden Room, before sampling fish and chips battered in local ales, cave-aged cheddar soufflés and buttered hake topped with a minted fennel stew at lunch and dinner. On Sundays, there’s a three-course roast dinner and the hotel also serves afternoon tea (with freshly baked scones) daily in the Green Room.

Hotel bar

You’ll find the hotel’s boldly-designed bar opposite reception, with a menu of seasonal cocktails, Camel Valley wines and local ales from Fowey Brewery.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 7.30am to 10.30am; lunch is noon to 5pm, and dinner is 5pm to 9pm. The bar is open around the clock.

Room service

Order straight to your room between noon and 9pm.

Location

Photos Fowey Hall location
Address
Fowey Hall
Hanson Drive
Fowey
PL23 1ET
United Kingdom

Fowey Hall is in its namesake fishing town, along the south Cornish coast, between Looe and Mevagissey.

Planes

Your nearest is Newquay Airport, which hosts flights from London and Europe, and sits 40 minutes from Fowey Hall by car. If you're arriving from further afield, you'll likely touch down at London Heathrow, a little over a four-hour drive away, or one-hour flight. If you let the hotel know where you’re coming from, they’ll happily organise a taxi to collect you.

Trains

There’s a frequent train from London Paddington to Par (a 10-minute drive from the hotel) that takes around four-and-a-half hours. There are also trains to Par from Exeter, Bristol and Taunton.

Automobiles

If you’re planning on doing a coastal Cornish road trip, the hotel has free parking and there are plenty of rental booths at the airport. From London, the hotel is a five-hour drive along the M4 and M5, before following the A30 from Exeter down to Fowey.

Worth getting out of bed for

Surfers rejoice, you’re on the south Cornish coast after all. Head to Par Sands or Polkerris for the best waves, or if you’re a little less confident, Readymoney Cove has gentler waters that are ideal for kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. 16th-century St Catherine’s Castle is worth the walk for its Henrician history, and in town, the Fowey Museum and River Gallery are ideal for chroniclers and creatives alike. Wander through the pastel-hued homes that line the Esplanade and stop in at Shrew Books to browse a curated collection of work from local authors. If you’re looking to spend a day on the water, there’s a frequent ferry to Polruan, or those missing their sea legs may be happier on the Land Train, which does guided tours of the region. Given you’re in Cornwall, exploring jungle or Mediterranean climes is easier than you might think: The Eden Project is only a short drive away and an immersive day-out for all ages. For local dog walks, the Fowey Estuary Walk is a particularly scenic stroll, and if your pup prefers zooming between trees, Cardinham Woods have equally enticing trails.

Local restaurants

As soon as summer hits, North Street Kitchen opens its doors; dine alfresco on grilled fish caught fresh from the adjacent estuary. Appleton’s Bar & Restaurant, helmed by foodie-duo Andy and Lyndsey Appleton, has you covered with an Italian menu amped up with local Cornish flavours. If you’re roaming the Esplanade and fancy a pit stop, laid-back Pintxo pairs small plates of tapas with traditional Spanish sherries.

Local bars

Take your pick of pubs, the Galleon Inn and the Ship Inn are both set along the river, and serve Cornish ales with fully-fledged English fare.

Reviews

Photos Fowey Hall reviews
Jessica Salter

Anonymous review

By Jessica Salter, Multi-talented scribe

I’ve got a weakness for luxury hotels: browsing mrandmrssmith.com is my happy place. So when you find a luxury hotel that is just as welcoming to the little Smith-lettes as it is stylish and comfortable for grown-ups, you know you’re on to a winner. 

Fowey Hall Hotel is just that. It’s a grand Victorian mansion perched on the edge of a cliff — with magnificent views out over Fowey Harbour — which has been beautifully renovated insid to be the epitome of country house chic. As you enter the lobby, you'll spy a grown-up-pleasing cosy library tucked off to one side, and a grand living room to the other. But look closer and you'll spot playful touches to suit younger guests: the library is decked out with children’s books, there is a jar of cookies by reception, and a large wooden playground outside that takes its design cues from one of its famous guests — the novelist Kenneth Grahame, who based his beloved The Wind in the Willows character Toad's famous hall on the house. 

The rooms upstairs are just as beautifully designed, and with yet more thoughtful touches for the little arrivals. My children were delighted by the stash of homemade shortbread and the Yoto Player and library of cards left for them on their beds, as well as their mini-me bathrobes. 

The Ofsted-registered kids' club in the Den is fantastic: my children were disappointed when I came to pick them up (always a good sign). One 90-minute session of childcare a day is included in every stay – but you can of course pay for a second slot. The team do extra activities, like biscuit decorating or den building, during the day (which adults need to be present for), as well as marshmallow toasting at night and stories by the fire before dinner. There is also a cinema room with retro seats and popcorn that bigger kids will love, as well as a games room with table football and a giant connect four game, and two pools (the outdoor one is closed in winter). 

I used my free childcare time wisely: the first morning, I strapped on walking boots and took Mr Smith out for a brisk walk along the cliffs at a speed that no child would tolerate. We stopped off at Readymoney Cove on the way back — five minutes away from the hotel — for a hot chocolate watching the waves. The second afternoon, Mr Smith and I relaxed by the fire with an early glass of wine: that is, after all, what weekends away should be all about. The excellent-looking spa beckoned, but I ran out of weekend. It’s on my list for next time and I might even take the seven-year-old: there was a sweet range of junior options, including a mini manicure that I know she’ll love.

There’s an all-day bar menu to snack from, or dinner in the restaurant from 5pm for families (there’s an excellent kids' menu, filled with crowd pleasers like sausage and chips or spaghetti bolognese), served alongside colouring activities and games; or you can put the kids to bed, turn on the video monitors provided by the hotel, and come down to enjoy a more rarefied menu in peace (lemon sole in a brown shrimp butter or locally sourced steak and chips). Cocktails are excellent and the wine list extensive. 

We did leave the hotel to explore the fishing village of Fowey, a short walk away down a steep hill, to amble around the winding cobbled streets, browsing in shops and plotting our next meal. 

The hotel managed to tick every box we have as a family — a place to rest and relax, while having as much fun as it's possible to cram into a weekend away. My three-year-old says she wants to go back to 'the crab hotel' (a crab features in the hotel’s branding) — and frankly, we all do, too. 

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Price per night from $315.76

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