Simon Wittenberg reviews the four-star hotel in Newquay, the first stop on his luxury tour of Cornwall and the South West of the UK.
Our 280-mile journey from London culminated in the welcomed sight of the award-winning 96-room Headland Hotel & Spa which is perched on a clifftop just outside Newquay town centre. Most people will probably recognise it from the film “The Witches”, which is based on the book by Roald Dahl.
The dominant Grade II listed terracotta red-coloured building is steeped in plenty of history. For a bit of background, it first opened to guests back in 1900, who included King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and during the Second World War, The Headland was used as an RAF hospital.
However, things took a turn for the worse as of the 1950s, and in 1970, the Armstrong family, who are still the current owners, arrived and took on the huge task of rescuing the hotel from the brink of collapse.
Over the decades, more than £30 million has been invested by the Armstrongs, and the original architectural features of The Headland have been subtly retained, which means that you are welcomed with a very traditional décor rather than a contemporary environment.
It prides itself on being a very dog-friendly hotel, and you will often find a pooch lying on the floor whilst its owner enjoys a drink in the bar. reception will even babysit your four-legged friend if you want to have some “me time”.
his can be spent in the hotel’s five-bubble Spa, which offers a range of treatments, whilst there is also the Leisure Area, which boasts a Swedish sauna, Cornish salt steam room, Jacuzzi and a swimming pool, where we put in a few lengths.
At The Headland, there are various classifications of rooms and suites to suit different travellers and budgets. We stayed in a Fistral Double overlooking the roaring waves of the North Atlantic.
The very spacious room had a four-poster bed dressed in crisp white bedding, a writing desk, and in-room coffee-making facilities to be able to enjoy a cuppa in the soft seating area whilst admiring the view.
The spacious modern bathroom with underfloor heating came with a double sink lined with a complementary selection of nicely-scented Elemis toiletries, a freestanding bath and a heavenly electronically-controlled rain shower.
Beyond the confines of the room, there are various lounge areas to relax in, and for those wanting to eat at the hotel, there are two choices of eateries on the ground floor.
These are overseen by executive chef Christopher Archambault and offer a spectacular vista over Fistral Bay.
The first is the more formal two-rosette Samphire restaurant, which has a short menu limited to just a few options for each course.
The second is the comparatively laid-back one-rosette Terrace Restaurant, which we tried for dinner, and serves dishes such as local seafood and chargrilled meats.
We decided to pass on a starter to save ourselves for the mains and desserts, and therefore, we nibbled on a basket of fresh bread (£4) and olive oil, which was accompanied by some refreshing rose lemonade.
After a short pause, my butternut squash tortelloni (which is equally available as a starter) arrived.
Topped by some fresh parmesan flakes, the pasta parcels were accompanied by wisps of goat cheese, a sprinkling of dried sage, as well as a healthy portion of butternut squash purée, meaning that the dish (costing £15) was extremely filling (and tasty), and I was therefore pleased that I hadn’t eaten much before.
My other half tackled her large bowl of beef ramen with chopsticks, which were made up of noodles, shimeji mushrooms, spring onion and hoisin sauce. Both of our selections were excellent.
With little space left, we decided to opt for a light dessert of Callestick Farm chocolate and honeycomb ice cream (£4 for two scoops), in addition to a soya hot chocolate (£2.85) to round off what had been a great meal.
Overlooking the sea, breakfast is served in the Samphire restaurant, and there is a generous self-service buffet of pastries, juices, bread, cheese, fruit and yoghurt, to name but a few of the delicacies on display.
This is not forgetting the hot buffet which has all the hearty components of a full English, plus a menu where you can order the likes of smoked salmon with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce (which I sampled), or freshly-made pancakes.
The Headland Hotel & Spa is a destination which has all the vital ingredients for a relaxing stay. It’s not perfect in every aspect of what it does, but these little niggles are outweighed by the great level of service and comfort which you experience when visiting. The Headland is definitely worth putting on the list when coming to Cornwall for a well-earned break.
The Headland Hotel & Spa – Where and How?
The Headland Hotel & Spa is located at Newquay, Cornwall TR7 1EW. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.headlandhotel.co.uk.
We travelled to The Headland Hotel & Spa in the Lexus GS F.