A quintessential seaside getaway on the north Cornish coast
Venue: Rock, Cornwall, PL27 6LA
OUR VERDICT:
Tucked away in the pretty village of Rock in North Cornwall, The St Enodoc Hotel is a beautiful, privately owned boutique property. It has been there for years, since the 1920s to be precise, and now new owners Lucy and James Strachan are breathing new life into it, whilst preserving its warmth and welcoming charm. They have a personal history with the place, and you can tell.
First impressions
The luxurious hotel sits in an elevated position above Porthilly beach, and the views over the Camel Estuary are stunning. Furthermore, James, Lucy and their team spent much of lockdown developing the hotel’s gardens, which are now incredibly beautiful.
There are smart, branded deck chairs dotted around, as well as tables and chairs, perfect for a pre-dinner cocktail amongst the sub-tropical plants. In the car park, there’s a small stall selling some of the hotel’s cultivated shrubs, proceeds of which go to a local charity.
Elsewhere, there’s a vegetable and herb garden, fruit cage and more, as well as a beautiful, heated outdoor swimming pool (open Easter-September), surrounded by more picturesque planting and plush sunbeds.
Inside, interiors are light, bright and a good balance of chic yet homely and comfortable. It has an old-fashioned feel to it, but I mean that in the best possible way; there is something very comforting and almost familiar about the place. There’s a small, cosy library and a larger sitting room, complete with a huge wood-burning stove and plenty of sofas to curl up on and read the papers with a coffee.
Elemis facials, massages and the like are available in cocoon-like treatment rooms, and kids are well catered for too thanks to a large games room.
The rooms
There are just 21 bedrooms at St Enodoc, all tastefully decorated in a chic, laid-back coastal style – think colourful stripes, vibrant cushions and original oil paintings. Fabrics feel luxurious and all the usual mod cons are provided. Our room was on the top floor and the view was as pretty as a picture, over the outdoor swimming pool, gardens, Camel Estuary, and a patchwork of bright green fields beyond.
The rooms are filled with luxurious touches – a smart St Enodoc tote bag, lots of lovely Bramley bath products, cosy robes and plenty of fluffy white towels (monogrammed, naturally), as well as a handy pocket-sized map for local walks.
The bed was incredibly comfortable, and the lovely window seat was hard to drag myself away from. There are well-appointed, spacious family suites too, some with their own terraces and kitchenettes.
The food
There are two restaurants at the hotel and the joy is that they both offer completely different experiences, but the high standards and exceptional quality of both the ingredients, cooking and menu design can be found in both. Experienced chef Guy Owen is at the helm – he is the ex-head chef of Idle Rocks in St Mawes who has worked in various Michelin-starred kitchens, and it shows.
Much of the meat and veg served comes from James and Lucy’s family farm – Made-Well – a not-for-profit community project in nearby Devon, and James’ passion for all things edible is palpable; he mixed us spring onion martinis and mint chocolate cocktails like a pro – both his own invention and made using ingredients foraged from the hotel’s small but productive kitchen garden.
The Brasserie is a light, airy, informal space with a garden terrace that makes the most of the gorgeous views. We had a delicious supper here, which included fresh oysters from Porthilly – you can see the oyster beds in the bay directly in front of the hotel.
I loved the flavour-filled teriyaki mackerel with cucumber, wasabi and puffed rice, and the pudding was also particularly good; charred pineapple with coconut, lemongrass sorbet and gooey Italian meringue.
Service was friendly and efficient, the atmosphere was buzzy and everything happened at a relaxing, leisurely pace. We ended the evening sat out on the terrace, admiring the stars with a delicious ‘Kir Cornwall’ – a glass of local Camel Valley Brut with cassis.
St Enodoc’s other restaurant is Karrek – the hotel’s fine dining space. It is an incredibly chic little spot that is so intimate that it feels more like a chic sitting room. It oozes calm and serenity thanks to muted tones, dried flowers and sweeping views of rolling fields.
Karrek is a tasting menu affair – six or nine courses that celebrate the best of Cornwall - and it was exquisite. The opening ‘Cornish Snacks’ were terrific – especially an ingenious bitesize morsel that tasted exactly like fish and chips. I thought I had died and gone to heaven at the mere sight of the glazed loaf of pretzel bread, let alone the taste of it, served warm with cultured butter topped with powdered charred onion.
Another highlight was the Cornish crab with tomato, birch sap and dashi, a colourful flavour explosion presented in a bright blue bowl and topped with a red, coral-shaped bisque-biscuit and pops of fresh oyster flower from the garden.
I also loved ‘Mum’s favourite bouillabaisse’ – a deliciously creamy, foamy treat with so much depth of flavour, but again it was pudding that stole the show – a slice of strawberry and white chocolate ‘Viennetta’.
The whole meal was incredibly precise, beautifully presented and completely delicious. I predict that it won’t be long before the Michelin inspectors come knocking…
Nearby
There are glorious walks aplenty on the hotel’s doorstep – along the beach and estuary, and across the sand dunes and golf course to the glorious St Enodoc Church, where poet, Sir John Betjeman is buried. From here, you can continue on to the golden sands of Daymer Bay and Polzeath.
Rock itself is also worth exploring; there’s a good selection of boutique shops, art galleries, a bakery, water sports centre and more. Paul Ainsworth's pub – The Mariners – is also worth a visit. If you’re after more hustle and bustle, then Padstow and its many attractions are just a short ferry ride away.
Final words
The key to any review is to ensure that it’s balanced but, in all honesty, I struggled to find anything that I didn’t like about St Enodoc. I even stayed (and paid for) an extra night. If I was splitting hairs, breakfast was a little slow and didn’t quite live up to the standards of supper, but it was still good, and I loved that the tide times were printed on the breakfast menu each day.
James, Lucy, general manager Vicki and the team have carefully and sensitively re-invented this classic seaside hotel and are so incredibly hospitable that from the minute I arrived I felt at home, but with the added benefits of endless creature comforts, fabulous views, and top-notch food. Oh, and that glorious swimming pool!
As previously mentioned, James, Lucy and their family had been visiting the hotel for years before they bought it – it’s one of those places that people seem to go back to year after year and I am delighted to say, that going forward, I fully intend to join them.
Rooms from £170B&B. The 2-night Taste of Enodoc package offers dinner, bed and breakfast, and includes a 9-course tasting menu in Karrek on one evening and a 3-course dinner in The Brasserie on the other evening (rates start from £500 total for 2 adults).
