I worked with Chris Skidmore when he was the General Manager at a nearby Hotel, The Nare, back in 2004.  Initially he hired me as a Receptionist and during my time working with him I progressed to a Trainee Management position.  Chris left the Nare in 2005 and shortly afterwards so did I.   I travelled to Cumbria to continue my management training at a hotel by Lake Windermere and then I flew off to Australia to pursue my dream of working aboard a cruise ship.  I was working on a P & O Australia ship as a purser.  It was certainly an experience I will never forget, however as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz quite rightly said, there really is no place like home and I was happy to return to my hometown of Truro (as well as some proper home-cooked meals from my mum!) in March 2007.  After a well deserved rest following my time at sea, I returned to The Nare to assist on Reception while I decided what my next move would be.  It was at that time, on a pleasant day off, that I came over to St Mawes – somewhere I had not really explored before, for a stroll along the harbour up to St Mawes Castle then a coffee at The Idle Rocks Hotel with a friend.  I was happily enjoying the view when Chris walked through the bar on his morning rounds.  We were both very surprised to see each other and sat for a good hour chatting over what we had been up to since we last met.  Chris asked me what my future plans were and there was a distinct twinkle in his eye – I knew he was cooking up a plan!  I was right; at the time there was no such thing as a Front of House Manager here but Chris knew my experience and felt that the Hotel would benefit from someone in that position.  Before I knew it, a job had been created, we had shaken on it and I was here on my first day – a chilly day in February 2008.

Since then we have been working very hard on improving standards throughout the Hotel – service, refurbishment of rooms and creating a team of staff that we can truly be proud of.  I am pleased to say that working here is like working with family – we have some wonderful people and all believe in assisting each other to ensure our guests have a comfortable and relaxing holiday.  It has been hugely encouraging to see the growth in the number of return guests and the number of bookings generated by referrals; for me it is one of the best ways to know that we are doing a good job! In April 2009 we completed the team by hiring Colin Wooldridge as Restaurant Manager.  Fate played its hand in this as well, as Colin too knew Chris in a previous life!  (Watergate Bay, 2003).

What I love about the location of the Idle Rocks is being able to enjoy all seasons.  You can relax with a Pimms Cocktail on the Terrace (that’s you, not me!) with the sun beating down in the Summer, watching the boats floating by, the St Mawes Ferry going to Falmouth for shopping or visiting the Maritime Museum and the Place Ferry  going over to Place for coastline walks along to St Anthony’s Head and beyond.  But in the Winter you can cosy up by the roaring log fire with a delicious Cornish Cream Tea to watch some of the most exciting storms in the country!   Seeing these storms for myself inspired me to create a 2 night storm watching break, which is available in January and February 2010.  This break is fantastic value – see our special offers page.

Over the next few weeks I will be introducing you to key members of the team so you can know a little about us before you meet us, and I look forward to welcoming you to The Idle Rocks Hotel.

Samantha Beard

Front of House Manager