The second stop on trip was the Headland Hotel in Newquay. Even if you've ever heard of it, you might just recognise it from the 1990 film version of "The Witches", which was the reason, this hotel formed part of our mystery trip. Both me and my sister Lucy are huge Roald Dahl fans.
The trip from Exmouth to Newquay was about 2 hours, so we decided to make a stop off at Jamaica Inn. It gave me an excuse to make my "no we went of our own accord joke" multiple times, which made Lucy say the journey felt a lot longer than the 1hour 54 Beryl said it was. (Beryl is what we call our Sat Nav)
I love Jamaica Inn, it's history, the fact it feels like you could genuinely bump into a pirate when you nip to the loo, the different nooks and the roaring fireplace. The food is pretty good too. When we arrived it was really foggy and that just made me love the place even more, my inner Daphne Du Maurier was in her Gothic little element!
As we continued our journey to the Headland Hotel, we saw a sign for Gnome World, as Lucy and I burst into a quick rendition of "The Gnome Mobile", which was one of our favourite films growing up, (an underrated Disney classic), we decided to take a little de-tour.
I won't lie, I think secretly we were both expecting the Cornish gnome version of DisneyLand, so it was a bit disappointing when we realised it was just a caravan park with a few plastic gnomes on the gate, but still it all added to the adventure.
Finally, the Headland Hotel came into view and it was so impressive. Standing on the hill overlooking Fistral beach. It was a cloudy, drizzly day, but somehow that just added to the hotel's beauty.
When we got there, Lucy went to check in and because she'd used an email address that I'd made for her a million years ago, they thought her name was Ms Beany! Which made us laugh, well it made me laugh. Lucy was "Ms Beany" throughout our stay, even leaving us a note in the bedroom. Beany is a family nickname, which only I use for Lucy now.
Our room wasn't ready, so we decided to go for a little explore and had a walk around Fistral Beach, a couple of hardcore surfers were making the most of the waves and it felt weird being at Fistral when it was so quiet, but also lovely. To me there's something magical about the seaside out of season.
We ended up having a drink in the Headland Spa, which was amazing. The Aqua club is a mixture of indoor and outdoor pools, splash pools, fountains, sunbeds and hot tubs. They also offer a wide variety of treatments.
In the middle of the spa is a lovely little restaurant, the Deck that serves food, afternoon tea and wine. the whole thing is incredibly relaxing and beautiful. Lucy and I are already planning another trip to make full use of the spa.
After a glass (well maybe two) of wine, Lucy and I headed to our room. The room itself was lovely, a four poster bed (maybe not ideal for two sisters) dressing gowns, slippers and complimentary Cornish fudge.
My favourite thing about the room was the bathroom, I love a gadget and the shower was just amazing! It had a little button that you pressed to turn it on and a temperature control, it made my shower at home feel very dull!
This next bit comes with a disclaimer.... I WAS OFF THE SLIMMING WORLD PLAN!
Our evening started with cocktails, any excuse for a Margarita! then we had our evening meal in the Renmor Restaurant. We paid £50 each for a set three course meal and it was definitely worth the money. There was a lot to choose from, especially seafood wise, as well as options for vegetarians and vegans too.
I loved our stop off at the Headland Hotel, the staff were friendly, the food was great and the location was beautiful. My only slight criticism was that there was not real mention of "The Witches" and whilst I wasn't expecting a life-size cut out of Angelica Houston or to be turned into a mouse if I ordered the soup, but some nod to the filming would have been a nice touch.
Special mention for the mints they give you for your journey when you leave, they were a really lovely touch.
Next stop, Bodmin!
Comments