Carbis Bay and Spa Hotel

The property is in a wonderful location and is totally idyllic. We were treated to a complimentary upgrade at one of the Beach Houses and wow what a surprise, it was amazing my daughter and I were so lucky and happy.

The location is fantastic and the food amazing. Restaurant staff were lovely.

Location

This was our 4th visit and the hotel has certainly deteriorated. They are trying to live in the past, the G7 was five years ago, and have lost sight of the basics. Lots of chipped paintwork and very inconsistent service. At almost £400 per night (on offer) for b&b you expect the best. Our bedroom initially appeared pleasant and clean with a lovely sea view. However, the paintwork was chipped and the window frame was rotting and the window had to be held open with a piece of wood. There was also a thick layer of dust on the chandelier lights. There was a coffee making facility but no milk, it had to be requested every time you wanted a coffee. For us the milk arrived fairly quickly, other guests were not so lucky. We ate 3 evening meals at the hotel, twice at the beach club and once in the Orangerie. Service in the Orangerie was awful, after about 40 minutes we had to request our main course, which had obviously been sat on the pass. Breakfast service in the same room was also very slow. The Beach Club service was slightly better. The food itself was generally good. Breakfast was restricted to 2 courses, which at £400 a night was a big surprise.
The staff were a mixed bunch, some were very pleasant, others very brusque.
We’ve come away feeling that the management have lost sight of what made it such a great place. It’s such an amazing setting. Forget past glories and concentrate on getting the basics right.

I would highly recommend this hotel and spa. We used the beach associated with the hotel / estate. The restaurants were nothing short of first class from breakfast to evening meal. Spa was lovely with great amenities. Will most definetly return. MR T

We had a fabulous stay at the carbis bay hotel with lovely views and lovely staff
Our room was beautifully decorated and had everything we needed for an excellent stay
Food was fantastic
We will definitely book again
I can’t recommend this hotel highly enough
Thank you

We booked a Family Pod at Pod St Ives (booked via Carbis Bay Estate) for 6 nights. We used one of their (many) offers to get a 2 for 1 deal, where we paid for 3 nights and were able to stay for 6. The price we paid for the 6 nights felt reasonable for what we got however if I had paid full price I would have been disappointed and considered the stay to be overpriced. At full price, it would put the stay on par with a similar length of stay at a cottage at the Headland Hotel in Newquay or for a cottage with Cornish Gems. We've done both of these options before and they offer a far better experience and are therefore worth the cost compared to Pod St Ives. I'd happily do either of those options again, but I wouldn't return to one of the pods.

The good bits:
- Lovely setting with beautiful, well-maintained gardens
- Stylishly decorated
- Bamford hand wash, shampoo and conditioner included
- Fresh bread and pastries delivered every morning
- Access to the Spa Garden - and I never had to share the sauna with another guest so it felt very private and tranquil

The not-so-good bits:
- Lack of storage - no shelves/cupboards
- Towel rail too small for even one of the towels provided, let alone for a family, so towels had to be dried on back of doors which wasn't easy in cooler weather
- No cleaning service or hoover which was challenging for a 6-night family stay
- Concierge service was okay but I messaged to ask for extra bin bags for the kitchen bin and they did not respond. I ended up phoning the main reception the next day to organise this.
- Inconsistent breakfast delivery (left in different locations everyday)
- Cleaning felt rushed (marks, cobwebs) and some of the furniture was broken (a side table and the sofa arm)
- Only one multipurpose soap bottle for all sinks/shower provided

The really rubbish bits:
- No pre-arrival comms at all, which is so important because check in does not take place at the pods but rather at the main reception for Carbis Bay Estates which is a 10 minute drive away. I only knew this from their Instagram account. Again, we were not told to check out at the main reception but we did assume we'd need to.
- A drunk man tried to enter our pod late at night. Staff resolved it but were dismissive the next day, despite how unsettling it was for us with a young child in a remote setting. I hope they consider adding full-height gates to each pod's garden (only some have this currently) and installing a keypad to make the spaces feel more secure because this situation could be avoided. I appreciate this was probably a very rare situation and the man turned out to be a fellow guest who couldn't find his way to his own accommodation, but a more secure gate would be useful.

The setting is lovely, but the customer experience (from pre-arrival to practical design for families) feels poorly thought through. We had a nice week as a family, but didn't find the accommodation compared favourably with other stays we have had in Cornwall.

Stayed in a cottage right on the beach for our wedding anniversary and my birthday. The cottage had everything you'd need for a lovely stay. We ate at the Beachclub the first night, food was amazing. Second night we ate in the orangery and the food was also amazing, the staff were all very friendly and helpful.

Foul smell where we were sitting
Member of staff hoovering whilst we were having our drinks
Music too loud and inappropriate for 5pm on a Saturday afternoon
I was brought the incorrect drink. After going through what we wanted to drink several times just left it as it was.
Staff not welcoming. Yes and no answers to any questions. We were 4 adults. £53.00 for 2 beers and 2 very small glasses of OK wine

Our children surprised me with a 2 night stay with breakfast at the Carbis Bay Hotel for my 80th Birthday in February. As the 58th Wedding Anniversary of my wife and I was due on June 1st, we decided we should use it for that.
We spoke to James, one of the managers, a very helpful and friendly chap. He arranged the booking for us and we arrived just after 3pm. We were greeted by the lovely Leah at Reception, who was amazing. She explained all about our stay and then took us on a detailed tour of all the facilities, explaining everything and answering all our questions. She asked what time we would like breakfast and explained the different restaraunts and how to book a time if needed.
We were given a Junior Beach Lodge, which had an amazing view over the beach. It was quite roomy with en-suite, Twin beds, (which we had requested, when talking to James), Fridge, Television. Balcony, Dressing Gowns and complimentary slippers and a nice Gin n Tonic each.
In the afternoon of each day complimentary snacks and cakes were laid out in the small kitchen area in the corridor outside the room, for guests to help themselves. (The Lemon Drizzle Cake was amazing).
Various types of Tea and Filter Coffee pods were always available, as well as cans of fizzy drinks. Even had two glasses of Champagne delivered to our room one afternoon.
The meals we had in the restaurants were excellent with a large selection of drinks. Waiter service was very good at all times.
The Spa had various sections, but we only used the outdoor pool, which was very nice. Around 27 degrees and the Hydro pool at 36 degrees was very good. There was also a Sauna close by the pool. The dressing gowns came in handy for going to and fro the Spa area.
All in all a perfect Anniversary present at an amazing hotel. Everywhere was always clean and tidy, very quiet atmosphere.
High praise for all the staff there, from managers down to cleaners. So friendly and helpful at all times.
Highly recommend a visit.

Amazing hotel and beach. Fabulous food and a location that cannot be beaten. Such a beautiful visit. Maxine who works in the Beach Club Restaurant and The Deli was just wonderful and she’s such a huge asset to The Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate. She was so friendly to everyone and she went out of her way to make everyone feel so welcome.

I stayed at the POD St Ives. It was infested with ants. I could not leave one crumb out or an army of aunts would show up. The lemon cake they left on the counter as a welcome snack was teeming with ants. I left orange juice on the counter for 5 minutes to go outside and watch snow kids on horseback go by. I took one sip when I returned and there were little black ants floating around.

Be warned re the PODs. The loft gets HOT. If the temperature is warm in Cornwall, the loft is gonna be almost double that temperature cause there’s no AC. In addition, if you plan on drinking or being out know that the stairs to get to the loft are very precarious and definitely wouldn’t recommend for people with bad knees, older people people who drink, etc. they’re built very precariously and remember if you need to use the restroom in the middle of the night you actually need to scoot your bum on the bed in order to safely get downstairs.

Overall, my experience was super negative. The place wasn’t cleaned that well there were ants. The temperature was ridiculously hot and no attempts were made to cool it down before my 8 PM arrival. I would definitely not call this luxury glamping. The experience may be different down at the hotel and spa.

The positives were that they delivered bread every morning at the pod fresh bread and I found a lovely walk from the pod to the village where you take some public footpaths. Overall, I would never stay there again.

We stayed at Carbis Bay from the 22nd–24th April and it was honestly one of the most special experiences of our lives. During our stay, we got engaged with the help and support of the incredible Carbis Bay team, and they made the whole moment feel truly magical and unforgettable.

We were also given a complimentary upgrade to one of the beach lodges, which completely exceeded every expectation. The lodge was absolutely stunning — luxurious, relaxing, and with the most beautiful surroundings imaginable. Waking up there felt surreal.

Every part of the stay was exceptional. The restaurants were outstanding with amazing food throughout, the spa was fantastic with breathtaking views, and every member of staff we encountered was warm, attentive, and genuinely cared about making our stay perfect.

Carbis Bay is such a special place and now holds memories we’ll treasure forever. We will absolutely be returning for years to come and cannot thank the team enough for making such an important moment in our lives so unforgettable

Stunning location and really great staff, but room was dire and food over priced and didn’t taste good.

We stayed in a junior suite and it was very disappointing. We stayed at half term so it was expensive but there was no aircon, the view was awful of someone else’s room, there was no fridge, no robes, no biscuit and you had to shower stood in the bath. I was very disappointed.

To top it all the food in both the orangery and beach club was bland and over cooked. Ceasar salad is £26.

The pool is amazing but kids can only use it for a couple of hours a day. Whilst I understand this policy, most guests were families over half term so perhaps they should have changed the rules for this week. Lots of people were annoyed.

The staff really were amazing though and I felt like they all work very hard and were very friendly. Also the beach is stunning. It was so beautiful and made the trip for us.

Nothing we booked a hotel room and it was a pod not even located by the hotel

Had a 2 night stay in the studio garden Cabin - a managed property by the Carbis bay estates.
The Cabin had everything needed for a nice stay, breakfast hampers delivered to your door at a time of your choosing, kitchen came with all that's needed, some complimentary items in the fridge, pleasant outside seating area and off road parking.

However the Cabin is not on their website and didn't state the facilities that were available at the Carbis bay hotel for us to use which was the outdoor pool and sauna etc we found this out only by asking the concierge after our first day. Roll forward to our last day and we decided to use the outdoor pool after we had checked out (something we were told the previous day was fine to do) to be told by a lady on reception we weren't allowed as we'd checked out. After us stating the previous advice from another member of staff the lady huffed and puffed and agreed to ask her manager. She agreed to eventually let us in but not after a dressing down about the situation, how busy it was the previous day and her needing to enforce rules in front of others at the reception desk. She was then laughing and joking about us and the situation to her colleague when I walked past after getting changed. Not very professional nor customer friendly. It left a slight spur taste after a few lovely days away.

This is not a reflection on all staff though everyone else was lovely and friendly, special shout out to Tyler, we had an issue with the WIFI in the cabin , he gave regular updates on the situation and had it all fixed within a few hours. Super friendly super helpful.