Mum’s top family-friendly hotels in Cornwall

Tucked quietly away from the town centre, Hotel California is surprisingly only a 10-minute walk from all the action. This makes it perfect for families, as you are close enough to walk into town, but you’ll not have the noise which town centres bring with them. This is, of course, handy in the evenings when you are trying to get the kids to sleep early enough to enjoy some adult-only time!

The hotel overlooks the picturesque Gannel Estuary and Cantock beach and is only a five-minute walk from Fistral Beach, which is one of my favourite beaches of all. You may, however, have trouble drawing the kids out of the hotel, due to the two swimming pools, games room with snooker and pool tables, table tennis table and the four-lane bowling alley. We stayed here for a friend’s wedding and all the children (and adults) had great fun playing head to head trying to see who could get the most strikes!

This hotel is really geared towards family holidays. Rather than just providing extra beds in the room for the little ones, they have put a lot of thought into the layout to make them as comfortable as possible for both parents and children.

With two-room family suites, putting the kids to bed is easy as pie, and you’ll not have to hide in the bathroom staying as quiet as possible waiting for the kids to fall asleep! Let’s face it, they find sharing a room with us parents a big adventure, meaning we get limited alone time in the evenings.

There’s a soft play area, games room, swimming pool and even a kid’s club for children aged 0-14 years. Outside you can play tennis, croquet, and crazy golf, and there’s another pool with a toddler splash area, two playgrounds and even bouncy castles.

The hotel is also fully stocked with items you may have forgotten to pack such as buckets and spades, wetsuits etc which you can borrow; disaster averted!

This bolthole may look familiar to many, as it’s the hotel that Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’ was filmed; they even serve a themed High Tea on set occasions!

Upon check-in you’ll find pirate-themed goodie bags for the children on their beds, which makes unpacking after a long journey a little easier for us parents. Many of the family rooms are set up with bunk beds, and we also had fresh fruit, juice sachets, and tea/coffee making facilities for us adults in the room (the Nespresso machine was a very welcome touch).

Some of the rooms offer a coastal view which is lovely to see first thing in the morning; however, if you don’t manage to get one of these, Fistral beach is literally on the doorstep. You don’t have to go far at all to see the water!
On top of this there’s a pool with two kid-friendly swim sessions (morning and afternoon – and a few hours in the middle which are kid free for the enjoyment of other guests). You’ll also find a games room with a cinema screen showing cartoons or movies during the day, and kids craft sessions taking place during the school holidays.

And to top it off, the kids’ menu in the restaurant was much appreciated by my children; there was lots of choice and offered food they would actually eat!

This hotel is a surfer’s paradise, located just by Watergate Bay, which is locally-renowned for its water sports. The hotel offers something for all the family with a Kid’s Zone where they run supervised sessions, including crafts, games, and activities for children up to the age of seven years. There is also an XA Club which is for children aged 7-12; here they can use the games room to play table tennis, table football, Playstation and X-Box games. They host movie evenings, cookery and smoothie making classes, woodwork introductions, and beach activities (weather permitting).

One of the most exciting things about staying at this hotel is the free surf lessons offered during school holidays to children aged 8-15. And if the kids don’t fancy surfing there is also a 25-metre pool with family swim times from 9am – 6pm.

Bedruthen hotel is one for parents who would like a little free time for themselves, a date night perhaps or even a hot meal. We all know how hard it can be to enjoy a meal with the little ones: after you’ve cut their food, fed them and entertained them, your own meal is cold!

That’s why I love that they offer childcare services. You can enjoy listening services, or opt for one of the babysitters available to book, so you can enjoy a romantic meal in peace: after all, holidays are as much for parents as they are the kids.

There is a toddler soft play area in the hotel and a baby swimming pool, plus an adult one too. And for the older children there’s a games room with pool table, table tennis, Pac-Man, table football and air hockey, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and an assault course, outdoor trampoline and football pitch. They even have all-terrain buggies you can hire or toddler carrying backpacks.