HARBOUR HOTEL PADSTOW CORNWALL

DELUXE HARBOUR VIEW DOUBLE ROOM £365.00 per night Breakfast included.

We were off to Exeter racecourse to watch one of our nags have a run out on a freezing November Sunday and decided to visit friends in Cornwall and stay the night. Cornwall is really beautiful as long as you avoid all the summer months and any other bank holiday in England as it is full of the lefty London lovies set with Giles, Rupert and Tarquin the small people being complete unsupervised undisciplined bastards in every venue, just expressing themselves to everyones amusement (bollocks). Top that off with not being able to drive on what passes for roads in Cornwall and having to park in a farmers field far away from where you want to be and avoiding mounds of cow or sheep shit you then find the picturesque hamlet full of tourists and every restaurant bar and fish and chip shop passed by the ministry of health on the other side of the road rammed to the rafters with guffawing idiots laughing about how they blocked the entire track / road with their essential city accessory the four wheel drive Chelsea tractor.

Anyway enough of that and all should enjoy Cornwall out of season but do expect most if it to be shut or on restricted hours, its a bit like living in permanent lockdown. Being bored with staying at Rick Steins and finding it getting a bit exhausted after so many years plus the sea food restaurant is nothing like it used to be we looked at the Harbour Hotel which had been taken over and totally revamped by this group. We have used another of their premises in Salcombe Devon and while the rooms are small they are quite comfortable. This hotel used to be called The Metropole and is a very ugly building over looking Steins place. Built in 1904 not an awful lot of this eras architecture is attractive so nothing they can do to the outside

Its looked like this since 1904

Before the renovation it was not a place we would have entertained as it was very tired in fact i’d call it exhausted as even Lazurus would have had trouble resurrecting this place. The hotel now has the company’s corporate make over which is very nice but once you have a successful formula why change it. The car park isn’t large enough as arriving at 7.30 pm we were lucky to get the last parking place and being even luckier we had the wifes Mini as anything bigger would have been a complete arse ache trying to manoeuvre into said space and anyone over 12st is going to have difficulty extracting themselves from the car as the spaces are somewhat tight. I have no idea if all were staying there as diners can park here as well which would have really pissed me off if i couldn’t have parked being a paying guest. Once checked in by the two beings behind the desk it was off you go to your room on the second floor, no worries i guess your both busy talking to each other. Again the decor on the way was nice and restful and our room was on the corner of the building overlooking the estuary.

The room was really nice large and airy and dual aspect with furniture and bedding pretty much like all the other group’s hotels. The first major problem was the amazing draught and cold coming from the windows which are large. Unfortunately due to cost or some ridiculous planning officer the windows and frames are original ie single glazed and distorted, i noticed that they also seemed to be painted shut but on a night like this and this windy at least they didn’t rattle. Problem was solved by closing the plantation shutters and the room became very snug. Bed was extremely comfortable and linens were good. Wardrobe was very small with only a couple of hangers which was fine for us one nighters but any longer and its where do i hang my clothes, in the wardrobe also lives the Nespresso machine but why not put a small jug of fresh milk in the fridge rather than a couple of shitty uht milk cartons.

If windy close the shutters

Original box sash windows

Whilst the room was a good size and very comfy the bathroom was small no separate shower just the usual fitting over the bath and a bath for a short person. There are double sinks but its tight to both fit in there which is perfect for a quick perv moment as you pass by. The next problem with the bathroom was sitting on the loo and then trying to locate the loo roll which was not where or at the height you expect it to be, its actually under the sink unit which is well below eye line when seated.

Nice fittings but small for 2

I found the loo roll 👍👍

Happy with the room we ambled to the bar for a drink. Having stayed in the Salcombe establishment a few times and having eaten there twice was enough as its vastly overpriced and not very good and reading the write ups this place seemed to be the same so we decided a drink and food at a place called Prawn on the Lawn was the order of the day. The bar opens onto the restaurant which didn’t seem that busy but then neither was the bar. Champagne is two choices and asking what reds were available the choice wasn’t great and i had a quick brain fart on choosing either the Tempranillo or Rioja, as that grape is Riojan i thought maybe the Tempranillo could be from another region ?. Anyway neither the champagne or Rioja were great but as with this place bloody expensive didn’t finish the wines so off to dinner at Prawn on the Lawn.

Nights sleep was very good as didn’t hear another person but quite a few guests looked like Dignitas might be their next and final stop as we couldn’t imagine that at 11.30pm they were all in the bar having one for the road and living dangerously. Breakfast was the usual self service fruits cereals etc plus one of those weird revolving toasting machines that never toast properly first time round then cremate it the second time, followed by the staple cooked British breakfast but iv’e never understood where baked beans enter the equation. Service was excellent as was the cappacino’s.

Would stay here again as it is comfortable and there really isn’t to much choice in the area that we would bother with or is worth the money and the restaurant we went to was great fun.

Coppa Club, Henley on Thames

So were out on a shopping trip and on the way back at 3pm realised that we hadn’t eaten so the wife did a quick google search to find what was open on the way home this late in the day and came across this place which has a few branches in and around the area. A few years back we had tried the one in Sonning but thought we wouldn’t bother again and now we remember why. Though the place is nicely decorated light and airy and the staff were good and polite the food is a bit of a joke. Both of us decided to stick with the burger as its difficult to get that wrong and our waitress informed us that it would come pink which was great. A couple of old boys were also eating and one complained about his steak being as tough as old boots, i didn’t know which cut it was but thought thats the problem with these places don’t deviate from the absolute basics.

We started with some bread which was toasted, maybe because it was stale who knows, my crispy squid was not crispy but a little soggy with a catering type dip but what i expected for a place like this. The wife had a fried sort of thinly sliced vegetable, zucchini I think it said but i wasn’t overly interested in it so could be wrong. Out came the burger served pink unfortunately it wasn’t. The top bun was coated with a type of French mustard then a slice of lettuce and a slice of tomato, the extra bacon came crispy as was the outside of the burger which i can guarantee was not a sear. It was dry and overcooked with about as much moisture as the Sahara desert. Did think about complaining but really whats the point if they can do this to something as simple as this neither of us could be bothered to wait for another round to be cooked plus the old boy sitting near us didn’t find his re-fired steak any better. in fact the only good thing about this was the Coppa lager which was light and pretty good, maybe they should just turn into a pub.

I’m sure the majority of folk love this place, they must as it seems to be expanding in posy places like Henley, Sonning, Goring etc but for £60 odd quid to us its not good or value for money but i suppose its all about what your used to and there’s no way well be going back, anyway thats my opinion and if you find it different to mine thats fine.