We decided to visit Cornwall a couple of months ago and it was Padstow I had my heart set on. I looked around for hotels and Airbnb’s but couldn’t find anything that was reasonable and in a good location.
We decided on The Metropole in the end which is right by the sea. It was pricey so we said we would go for one night. My husband likes driving which is another reason we said we would stay in a prime location but just for a night.
The drive
We set off from Birmingham at 730am and had one loo break 2.5 hours in. We were in Padstow by 1145am which was good going.
On the way back the next afternoon we set off at 130pm and got back at 6pm which again was great for a bank holiday. There were a couple of areas with congestion but the traffic was moving.
It is a nice drive down and up- smooth roads all the way and plenty of services to stop at. We tended to pick our service station based on how close it was off the motorway. (At times you get those that you have to drive into a town to get to).
The Hotel
The Metropole is located right at the seaside. I got this for £150 per night and that was the cheapest. Using Trivago or Momondo always help me find the best deal.
Parking is available for £5 per day. The staff are flexible with the times you can park too.
The hotel is part of the Richardson Group.
There are sections that have been renovated but it still has a traditional sea side hotel feel; creaky floor and old fixtures and fittings.
We were early and our rooms were not ready however the receptionist said we could go to the Brassie and have a complimentary hot drink.
Later in the afternoon the manager checked us in and was very inefficient. He said we had made the booking with bookings.com and we hadn’t paid. He was not focused and didn’t seem like he knew what he was doing. He made us pay for the rooms. I was confident I had paid so once we got to our room I checked all my emails. I rung reception and told them about it and they asked me to come down. It was only really one staff member who was working on the late shift who sorted it for me and processed the refund.
The rooms in the hotel were a reasonable size. They had the normal facilities apart from an iron in the room. The usual toiletries were available however there was no body cream. The room and bathroom was clean. Both the bath tub and shower cubicle had drainage problems but it wasn’t too bad.
We had a comfortable sleep apart from the creepy floor boards.
The hotel served a cold buffet and had a hot food menu for breakfast. The selection was great and enjoyable. Breakfast is at the brasserie which overlooks the lovely harbour.
Metropole has a Spa and an heated outdoor pool. The pool area is quiet and surrounded by a lovely garden.
The downside is there are no changing facilities by the pool so you have to walk back to the hotel.
The hotel is dog friendly and doesn’t smell of dogs.
Padstow
It was a very short walk to the town centre from where we were. On route we saw Rick Steins cooking school, deli and his fish & chip cafe.
The town had a great selection of pubs, restaurants, bakeries, pasty shops,cafes and ice cream shops.
I had left it too late to book any Rick Steins restaurants. I did manage to fit in a lunch slot at Prawn on the Lawn.
Padstow is a harbour so you can see boats sailing in and out and some small yachts.
There are benches around the harbour if you just want to sit and soak up the atmosphere which is what we did.
Rock
You can walk to the Lower Beach (about 10 minutes from the town) or get a ferry from he Harbour across the Sea to Rock. The beaches here are lovely and sand is soft.
The ferry costs £4 return. Lots of people take their sails from here so it’s great for people watching. There are a few restaurants around to have a bite to eat or a drink. Definitely worth paying a visit here even if it’s just for a walk.
Places to eat in padstow
Prawn on the Lawn: This is a tiny restaurant so make sure you book in advance. It sells delicious seafood and the service is great. I had one of the best crab here- it was £18 but worth every penny. Here is a post I did on the restaurant.https://instagram.com/p/BYZGHJPheGM/
Steins Fish & Chip: You can’t go to Padstow and not visit a Rick Steins restaurant/cafe. We were too late to book into one of his main restaurant so went to his cafe which is alway a take away. There was a queue at around 830pm but we got seated within 15 minutes and enjoyed classic fish and chips. Each portion is about £11 but you are eating at Rick Steins so it won’t be that cheap.
Cherry Tree: We went here based on recommendation for some cream tea. I have had better scones but this was not too bad. The service was great and the pistachio, strawberry and white chocolate cake was divine. I would recommend it for their cakes and friendly service.
Roskilly’s Icecream: This was a little shop on the corner that got its icecream from South Cornwall. They had an unusual selection of tasty icecreams which were perfect for cooling down.
We had some Cornish Pasties from The Cornish bakery; they were ok. Nothing different to what you can get anywhere else.
Other places we visited were Nathan Outlaw’s Mariners Public House at Rock. We had a drink there. I was expecting the glassware to be better especially for the Gin and tonic. It was a based pub glass. The views from the restaurant are picture perfect.
We got some bread and scones from Steins Patisserie; wasn’t pleased with the quality. Scones were dry and Sourdough bread tasty a bit salty.
Port Isaac
On the way back from Padstow we stopped off at Port Isaac. Picturesque fishing village that has a lot of character to it. It was about half and hour from Padstow. It is where Doc Martin is filmed. Here is a post I did on it:https://instagram.com/p/BYbqqcHDQTR/
We could have done with a few more hours to squeeze in another seafood meal and visit the Lobster Sanctuary in Padstow but didn’t want to risk getting stuck in traffic.
24 hours wasn’t too bad and we covered most of what we wanted to.
Great bank holiday weekend, a short and sweet visit to North Cornish Coast.
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