The Idle Rocks

We stayed at the Idle Rocks for 3 nights over New Year and we had a fantastic time!|The hotel is beautiful, and the staff are superb.|We were a family of 4, myself and my husband and my parents ( kids are grown up at Uni now so they stayed home to have their own NYE parties!).||The weather was rather windy and rainy but it didn’t distract from the lovely time we had.||Breakfasts were brilliant and delicious. The dinner on 30th December we really enjoyed too. The New Year’s Eve dinner was good, in particular the NYE reception with free flowing champagne and superb canapés and the best oysters my French husband had ever eaten! |I swan in the sea each morning and we enjoyed some blustery walks along the coast… we visited the castle and the church at St Just. We didn’t catch the ferry across to Falmouth- but this was an option if you wanted to!||The piper after NYE dinner piped us across the harbour to St Mawes Hotel for the ‘live bad party’ for those looking for some dancing and frolics! For those who preferred a more chilled NYE there was a beautiful singer in the Idle Rocks- so the events team had thought of everything to suit all ages and guests. ||The hotel itself has some beautiful pieces of art ( local artists like Alice Mumford RWE, David Pearce etc) and the interiors are very well thought out and just delightful. I travel a lot with work and stay in many many hotels and the little things I notice such as the bedding, the attention to detail, the service and the hospitality here are outstanding. ||Huge thanks to Kearan, Alice, Lydia and the team for running such a tight ship- and for creating a warm and welcoming new year- creating memories with my parents that we will cherish forever.

myself and my husband have been coming to the Idle Rocks each year since 2018, it's truly one of our favourite places to be|we always stay in the same room, one of the Grand Seaview ones, as it's so spacious and luxurious, with stunning views over the water and St Mawes. ||as always when we arrive we got a warm welcome. as we were early we nipped over the way to the St Mawes Deli to get some of Jon's amazing baguettes! then sat near the hotel to have lunch. ||we then returned, our bags quickly taken to our room for us and we relaxed in the lounge with a tea and coffee. Immediately feeling relaxed and at home||we spent some of the afternoon in our room, enjoying a bath and bottle of Cornish Sparkling wine before going down for dinner. ||As always the service and food was excellent during dinner. ||id arranged for a birthday cake to be made for my husband and they brought it out as id asked at the end of the meal and it was wonderful!||there were unfortunately a couple of niggles with our room on this stay, with the shower and the heating, but Lydia and the team helped as much as they could to try and ensure the issues were dealt with and there was minimum impact to our stay. These things happen and we think how they're dealt with is what's key. ||the 2nd night, we had dinner at the Rising Sun opposite the hotel, excellent food and service so we'd recommend a visit if you enjoy some hearty and tasty pub grub||we enjoyed some cocktails at the bar during our stay. Joe is great at making cocktails so thank you! we also chatted to Eric who was part of the restaurant team, lovely chap!|all the staff are lovely that we meet at the Idle Rocks at each visit / stay. ||So once again, a great stay. 2025 booking already made!||a extra mention to Lydia, Stuart, Izzy and Yvonne who looked after us so well with any issues or queries we had. ||Thank you everyone for yet another wonderful stay.

Very disappointing. Main course - asked what cut of beef a Denver steak staff were unaware.|Hmmm. The steaks arrived undercooked served with Dried crisps and half a grilled onion. |2 large Tanq 10s- received singles , charged another £3.50 for tonics 🤣 £15.50 a drink 😦|Sancerre screw top , not chilled enough £65|Poor service and chargeable at 12.5% . |Poor experience shame we had a lovely time 8 years ago however at least Dog enjoyed the steak doggie bag. 3 mains 3 gins, Sancerre - £225 |Wowser - style over substance.|Pub over road - best bet !

We are not staying at the Idle Rocks but each time we are staying in the village of St Mawes we love going to the lounge at the Idle Rocks for afternoon drinks and one of their amazing sandwiches, the best being 'Reuben Salt Beef'. Totally delicious and beautifully presented too. I love the scones too.|A huge thank you also to Stewart and the whole team as they make our visits so relaxing and also the service is amazing too. The decor is just so lovely .|See you later today!|Kind wishes Angela and Geoff

The Hotel's location on the side of St. Mawes harbour provides stunning views. The rooms and facilities are as good as you may expect from a hotel with such a good reputation. The food in the restaurant is excellent thanks to the newly appointed Head Chef. The staff are attentive without being overly obvious. we look forward to visiting again.

I have used this restaurant on many occasions and have always classed it as one of my favourites, after bringing my dad aged 90 to Cornwall for a few days we called the restaurant and asked if lobster Thermidor was on the menu we were told yes so we booked a table for 3. On arriving my father commented what a beautiful setting and we were shown to our table, we ordered our drinks and looked at the menu to select starters, I said to my husband there is no lobster on the menu you only lobster cocktail he assured me he’d asked and it was, when we came to order there was no Thermidor only lobster cocktail I asked if it was possible to make a Thermidor as obviously they had lobster for the cocktails but was told no as the cocktails were pre made, so reluctantly we ordered other dishes my father ordered the Dover sole and asked for mashed potatoe when it arrived he couldn’t eat it I don’t believe it was Dover sole it looked more like plaice and the so called mash potatoes had big pieces of potato in, the rest of the meals weren’t much better, I complained and firstly was told mash wasn’t on the menu so after pointing out that the chef had literally put potatoes with the skins on in a bowl and semi mashed them a manager came and said there’s a new chef, the waiter leaned right across my husband during the meal to take the butter away which my husband was still using for the bread when my husband said could I please get some butter he stood whilst my husband reached up with his knife then proceeded to walk away, service charge was added to the bill of £25 we always tip our servers but the whole experience was dreadful, I won’t return to dine unless they change chefs again. Such a shame because this was one of the best restaurants iv ever been to, I feel if they don’t change the chef and waiters they will quickly lose the wonderful reputation that they had, my previous visit was the 13 july and it was amazing as always

Lovely hotel in a fabulous location. Staff very friendly and helpful. Excellent food. Our room was exactly as per picture and had the sea lapping under the window when the tide was in. A nice range of shops and alternative places to eat to walk to nearby.

This was a sumptuous hotel in a stunning location. The room and en-suite bathroom were spacious, and a bowl of fruit and nice toiletries were provided. The food was exquisite and the service was good, and restaurant had lovely views across the harbour

I happened to see the terrace of this restaurant as I was coming in on the ferry. It looked like a peaceful place to have lunch with lovely views. It turned out to be part of the Relais & Chateaux Hotel group which I've stayed in, in Napa. Anyway asked the staff if I could be seated for lunch as only one table was occupied, they indicated they would have to ask the chef as they had a lack of staff. Anyway, I was seated and offered a wine and drinks list. Got a lovely Aperol spritz made correctly! The menu is small platoshich was great as it was a very warm day and you wouldn't want anything heavy. I chose the gazpacho and then burrata with heirloom tomatoes and pesto. Both dishes were very good. The tomatoes in the salad were perfectly ripe and the pesto was outstanding. The gazpacho was very good also, very flavorful and spiced just right, not overwhelming the vegetables. The service was slightly distracted, for instance no spoon was brought with the gazpacho and as no one checked to see if the food was ok for quite awhile, I had to wait to eat it. All in all though a lovely setting, wonderful food and a great place to be on such a beautiful afternoon

What a spot! Historic location with a fresh revamped face. They push it the extra mile with the details. The atmosphere and decor is colourful and fresh with a tasteful flair. The drink selection and wine list has a want for everyone and the menu is top notch. Delicious choices that cause salivation and excite every taste bud. The service is the extra cherry on top, Diego is a veteran and a delight. You can Expect this level of restaurant in central London, and to find this gem in one of the most desirable locations to visit in the south of England is truly wonderful.

If you busy at Mawes (which isn't a big place!) this hotel is a good place to stop of a coffee or bite to eat-perfect views over the harbour and surprisingly quiet, so you can watch the world go buy. I've not tried the food, or seen the rooms, but it's very elegantly decorated. The children's playroom is great-I spent a while in there with my nephew! Relaxed atmosphere:)

On our recent visit to Cornwall, we booked into Idle Rocks for Sunday lunch, not having being to St Mawes before, a car ferry ride later and we parked up at the nearby municipal car park, within easy walking distance of the hotel. It must have been a good choice, because the near incessant rain we had experienced since we arrived in Cornwall, was starting to ease and a bright object in the sky was making a rare appearance! Inside Idle Rocks, the restaurant is stunning, a variety of tables that all make full use of the spectacular view across the harbour. There are round tables and long country kitchen type tables for groups, and other more conventional tables for couples. There is even outside seating, but on the day we visited that was only for the very hardy, as rain showers and a myriad of wasps made dining outside taxing. The menu for Sunday lunch was a relatively concise one, a choice of about four starters, of which we picked two, the saffron infused arancini doused in parmesan was particularly good, and the hummus with celery, cucumber and carrot, was a fresh palate cleanser. The complimentary freshly cooked rolls (including sourdough), with accompanying balsamic and olive oil, was also a nice touch. We rarely eat a traditional roast dinner on a Sunday so unless the other dishes stood out, we were going for the roasts; there were two to choose from, along with a vegetarian risotto, and sardines on toast in the substantial dish part of the main courses, there were lighter bites too. The roast chicken was beautifully cooked, with a spinach reduction sauce, and just the right amount of accompanying roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables, it was just as I hoped it would be. My wife's roast pork although beautifully cooked and packed with flavour, was just a little too fatty, I know it adds flavour, but it was a little disappointing. We opted remarkably to skip dessert and have coffee in the adjoining lounge to soak in the wonderful views of St Mawes harbour; Idle Rocks is a great place to wile away a few hours. Opulent surroundings, good food and a stunning view across the harbour, one of the highlights of the holiday; not cheap, but definitely worth it!