I am really thrilled to report that I have organised an exclusive opportunity for the garden lovers amongst you to visit the Tregothnan Estate and Botanic Garden, as part of our ‘Great Garden Break’, available from March-September this year.

The Tregothnan Botanic Garden is the largest historic garden in Cornwall, offering a diversity of plants, trees and rare collections.  It is thought to have had the earliest plantings of Camellias in the open, over 100 years ago.  The Estate itself has been home to Boscawen family since 1335 and is still a real working estate.  They even make the most delicious tea using their Camellias - you can try it here at the hotel.

The reason I say that I have an exclusive deal is because the garden is not open to the public, but knowing that private tours could be organised I had a meeting with Lucy at Tregothnan on a very cold Winters day to see if I could organise anything for the hotel; I knew that so many of our guests would love to go there.  The freezing cold conditions were worth it – not only did I get a mug of lovely Tregothnan tea, but I came away having organised several dates throughout the year when Idle Rocks guests can have these exclusive tours, and they kindly let us have 2 days per week most weeks. 

The tour lasts about 2 hours and you even get a scrumptious cream tea in their summerhouse.  It would normally cost £50 per person but I have managed to incorporate this into a great value 3 night package.  Have a look at the ‘Great Garden Break’ for more details of the offer, and why not have a look at the Tregothnan website – www.tregothnan.co.uk – it is fascinating reading but I can assure you it’s even more fascinating being there!

It has been a busy Christmas and New Year at the Idle Rocks, we were full and the atmosphere was fantastic.  All the guests I spoke to thoroughly enjoyed it and I am really pleased to see a number of people re-booked for next year.

Now it’s the time of year when we can take advantage of being a little quieter and continue with our on-going programme of refurbishment.  It is very pleasing to see things being finished and coming together ready for when we get busier again.  I had long been waiting to update our Premier Cottage rooms – they are in the annexe next door to the hotel, and are beautiful rooms located in what used to be fisherman’s cottages years ago.  They are right by the harbour wall so get quite a hammering in the winter from the sea!  Very exciting for Storm-Watchers!  The interior was also starting to look a bit tired, so James (who organises the fishing trips mentioned earlier by Chris) has been working very hard on these rooms and now they are open for sale again and looking much brighter.  All the windows have been redone and every room has been redecorated from top to bottom.  I have had some good quotations on new furniture too so I’m hoping to place an order very soon – this would finish them off perfectly. 

Before I started writing this I was in Kittiwake on the 2^nd floor having a nose to see how James and our plumber friends are getting on with the current project.  The bathroom has been completely ripped out and replaced with new, the flooring has been redone and now they are putting up some brand new tiles.  I was anxious to see the tiles as we left it to the plumbers to choose for us!  But they have done well and chosen very tasteful colours!  It all looks great so far, I can’t wait to see it finished.  After that they move on to Tern, also on the second floor, where they will be doing the same, and both rooms will be ready for letting by the end of this month.

The next project will be more of a technical one – We will be setting up Wi-Fi (Wireless Internet) in all the bedrooms.  Currently it only works in the residents lounge, but the demand for internet in bedrooms has become very high, so we know we need to move with the times!  This should all be set up in time for the Summer season.

I will keep you updated on our progress!

Sadly, we have had to say goodbye this month to Freda, one of our long-standing Reception team.  Freda has been with The Idle Rocks for several years, and was loved by staff and guests alike for her constant smile and sense of humour, as well as her infectious laugh!  She even had a number of select guests who would deal with her and only her whenever they made reservations – even I wasn’t good enough!

She has left us to pursue a new venture, and will be running a village shop with her husband near St Austell.  I’m sure the local residents there will love her just as much as we did. 

We will miss her but we are very proud of her for taking on this new challenge.  We sent her off with some farewell gifts – a Dartington Crystal vase, a big bouquet of flowers and of course every girls favourite – a big box of choccies!  She still lives near the hotel so we are looking forward to hearing how it’s going in the New Year.

Cornwall calling- Last night (November 5th) St Mawes exploded in a blaze of colour with its first firework display.  Local fireman had tired of numerous callouts on Guy Fawkes night to deal with errant garden efforts, and came up with a brilliant idea.  Get the locals and businesses to put their hands in their pockets and contribute to one giant display.  They converted a barge into a stage and moored it in the centre of the harbour, then all that was required was touch paper and BOOM!

The display lasted 20 minutes and was an amazing fusion of colour, sparks and starbursts that lit the water in a most romantic way.  The thunk of rockets whistling way up into the sky and exploding literally right in front of your eyes was absolutely brill - I love the smell of cordite!

Next year, it will be even bigger and better I have no doubt, and we’re going to make sure that we throw the mother of all firework parties!  Can’t wait.

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

Hooray - at last we have our webcam up and running.  Now you can tune in and see what is happening in St Mawes.  Our camera overlooks the harbour and out towards Falmouth, St Anthony’s headland and the sea so no matter what time of year, you are guaranteed to see something interesting.  Check it out Make us a favourite now!

Having spent many years considering how I may spend my leisure hours later in life, I was surprised and delighted one Sunday afternoon to get an unusual invitation to meet a  lovely lady called ‘Dolores’.

When the day dawned, the weather was fine so I made my excuses to my wife Margaret and set off to meet an old friend, James Brown, who was to act as an intermediary. As arranged, I met James on St Mawes harbour quay, who then introduced me to Dolores—- a wonderful twenty-one foot Cygnus fishing boat that was gently bobbing at the bottom of the quay steps.

Having stepped aboard and received safety instructions we set off down towards St Mawes castle taking in all the sights - new build houses running down to the waters edge, thatched cottages, another establishment called the Tre-something, (everything in Cornwall seems to start with “tre” so it can’t be too important)!  We turned the corner towards Tolverne and  into the Carrick Roads and I have to say, the views from the sea of the whole area were (and are) quite stunning.

By this time James was slowing the boat to ‘troll’ and I was given a rod and line with lures attached that I could release over the stern.  I waited for the big catch… I had been regaled by James with tales of the large fish he usually brings home, or baits his Lobster and crab pots with so I was pretty optimistic that I was going to land a biggie.  We continued down towards St Just Church enjoying the peace, tranquillity, sunshine and suddenly a bite - a lovely Pollack taken by James but because of  it’s size (too small), it was slipped back into the water.

On our return to St Anthony’s Head lighthouse, we stopped and fished a little more, then raised the lobster pots to see what we had.  One crab which could be kept  and a multitude of small crabs all of which had to be returned to grow for another season. We returned slowly to the Harbour, relaxed and educated about all  those little beaches that can only be accessed by boat for a wonderful afternoon.

James takes guests for an hour, a day or  half day either fishing or just sight seeing with a stop at Smugglers Inn, Tolverne for Coffee , onto  Pandora Inn for lunch, Falmouth docks and Pendennis shipyard to see the sights that would take probably half a day, but anything can be tailored in. I hope you may take the opportunity for a lovely few hours R&R.  

Contact: James through:-  amanda.harley@mac.com

So, I arrive in St Mawes in early October to begin my new position as Deputy Manager of The Idle Rocks Hotel. Having come from the city and having worked in rather large hotels before now, I expected to find a quiet little hotel set in a quiet little fishing village with not much really going on around the hotel. WRONG!!

I have discovered that St Mawes is anything but a quiet little fishing village! And, all the drama seems to centre around the harbour where the hotel is located! EEK! So much for coming to St Mawes and keeping myself to myself! I think I now have a little taste of celebrity life and how your private life (or at least some of it) becomes public knowledge!

My second day (Monday), I offered to go to the post office for Karen (our head receptionist) and collect the guest’s daily newspapers. I walk in and ask the lady behind the counter for the usual newspapers for the Idle Rocks and then begin to collect up the extra papers which were on my order sheet. “Oh, you must be Alex” says the lady behind the counter. “You used to work at Hotel Endsleigh didn’t you?” Was she asking me, or telling me?? “Yes”, I replied feeling very uneasy that someone I have never laid eyes on before knew exactly who I was and where I had come from! It was from this moment the cabin fever began to set in! For those of you that have lived and/or worked in