Another last minute get away over the New Year meant we found ourselves at this brutalist 1950s designed, apparently 4 star hotel in the wilds and storms and North Cornwall. Note the image above - it says a lot when the hotel itself is not in the picture!

It's quite simple - knock it down and start again. No amount of green roofs, spa centres, kids play frames and in-door swimming pools can hide the fact that you feel like you've entered a cold war film set where the windows rattle, damp pours through and staff rooms (a sneeze away from the main hotel) look like something out of a soviet film noire.

I do feel for the owners who have obviously struggled to try to drag the hotel into the 21st century. The problem is for £500 a night you expect a lot ... and they do not deliver. Here's why:

Sound proofing - so poor I could hear the person above fart at night and had to listen to the fountain that was his morning attempt at taking a pee - that will be splash, pause, splash, pause, splash, splash, splash. Room 407 - BEWARE!

Moving on to toiletries - none - no shower gel, no shampoo, no attempt to make you feel as though you are staying in an upmarket establishment - more like a 50's Pontins if you ask me.

Suspicious stains on the bedcover. To then be told by a room manager that the stain could not possibly be sinister as the entire room had been deep cleaned and by the way there are no more bedcovers available, is laughable! No apology, concern, or "Madame let me come and see for myself" - oh no.

A belligerent bar staffer who begrudgingly brought drinks over to the table, a waiter that was unable to take our order as his english was so poor, a room manager who barked as to why we did not want our room serviced (we had put the Do Not Disturb Sign on the door!), made us feel like we were in some kind of open prison where the staff are the wardens and we are the inmates fitting in with their schedules.

Food is generally acceptable - don't expect haute cuisine. Our waitress (an old-fashioned silver-service gal) was lovely with the kids but you did get the feeling that the staff were over-worked and unappreciated which is obviously why the service is so poor.

As for the meal on New Year's Day, it was obvious the chef had either collapsed from over-work or was suffering from over-celebration as I cannot begin to describe just how awful the sea bass was - you could bounce it on the floor - I think frozen, de-frosted, slapped about a bit and then dunked in melted butter with the worst salse verde I have ever tasted - my suspicion is that someone who can't cook took over the kitchen!

The piece de resistance was the receptionist's complete disregard for our experience with the sound-proofing. The usual 'Madame we haven't had any compliments before' does not go down well this end.

So for those with very young kids who are so sleep deprived you just want your kids to be taken off your hands - go. To the rest of you, for the same price why not hire yourself a lovely house, take your own toiletries and bedcovers and cook your own sea bass - you'll enjoy it more.

We had a fab time, the room was fab, the food was great, all the staff were very friendly and the spa just magic. Even the weather was good for our coastal walk. Not bad for a December break.

This hotel came highly recommended to us by friends who have stayed at Bedruthan twice with their young family. So, with our ten month old in tow we duly booked and travelled to beautiful Cornwall for a five night stay. We were NOT dissappointed. Do not be deceived by the exterior of the hotel. The inside is bright, modern and comfortable. Redecoration/modernisation of the restaurant areas are planned, although we found them to be more than adequate during our stay.

We stayed in a family room, which provided a large space on one side of the room where the cot was, with two further single beds. The view of the beach was spectacular. A pull down blackout blind partially blocks views into the remainder of the room (ie. our bed and the bathroom/doorway), which was useful after our little one went to sleep in the evening and we got ready to use the restaurant/bar area.

We made use of the baby listening service but also used our own monitor which worked well in the hotel restaurant/bar area. This was ideal, as we could eat in the restaurant safe in the knowledge our little one was fast asleep and that if she did wake, we could easily/quickly get to her. The menu was varied, the food fresh and very tasty. The bar/ballroom area was modern and extremely comfortable.

The soft play area was fantastic, even for our crawling baby. Sadly the weather didnt allow use of the outside play areas. The family pool was also great although a little on the chilly side compared to what we are used to for babies. We did manage 30 mins though. (Perfect for older children though).

The spa area was great, with a huge jacuzzi with views over the bay. Beautiful!

Childrens Teas are provided free of charge and the chef was happy to puree whatever we selected off the childrens menu. Nothing was too much trouble.

The location is brilliant, we went to Padstow, Newquay (the zoo for little ones was worth the visit even in the rain!) and The Eden Project, all within easy reach.

Finally the staff were superb and really made the stay an enjoyable and relaxing one. We will definately return.

This was our second stay at the hotel. We had a brilliant week during the summer three years ago, and this time it was even better in autumn. Perhaps because our kids are 5 and 6 now, they also enjoyed more. There's so much to do at the hotel and surrounding area that a week felt too short. The food was amazing just as we remembered. Kds tea in the separate canteen was very enjoyable and healthy, dinner for grown ups was superb every night, and breakfast delicious.
The spa area is a great place to relax without the screeming kids and the outdoor/indoor activities are cater for everyone.
This is a great place for families. I wouldn't come here during school holidays if we didn't have kids; but then there's always the sister hotel down the road just for grown ups.
We would love to come back next year, and our girls can't stop talking about the lovely time we had.