Newquay’s Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa sits on a verdant cliffside overlooking Fistral Beach – a sprawling, golden sandy beach popular with surfers and holidaymakers. The contemporary adults-only hotel blends seaside chic with laidback, professional service and excellent dining options. There’s also a sumptuous, high-end spa.
The views. Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa has uninterrupted views across the Atlantic Ocean, Newquay Golf Club and the iconic five-star Headland Hotel. Guests watch surfers battle the surf from the Bay Bar, Dune or the sea-view rooms and suites.
The atmosphere at Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa is quiet and relaxed – thanks to its shoulder-dropping views, neutral interiors and laidback staff. Guests breeze around in robes, sunbathe on the terrace or enjoy a drink in the ocean-themed Bay Bar.
Guests at Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa range from couples of all ages – both international and local – to singles and friends enjoying a relaxing weekend away.
Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa has a non-tacky seaside theme. The Bay Bar comes with sailing robes strewn from the ceiling, driftwood mirrors, woven basket-like chairs and naturally shaped tables. The theme continues throughout the hotel, including in its fresh, whitewashed restaurant, Dune, where breakfast and dinner is served, and views take centre stage.
All 71 rooms and suites at Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa have a nautical feel and are finished in duck egg blue, sandy hues and earthy tones with natural-looking textures and wooden floors. Curtains flap cinematically in the breeze as the light spills into every inch of the room. Ocean-facing rooms are a knockout and come with crisp white bathrooms with sea-view bathtubs and toilets. While premium, sensitive skin-friendly organic GAIA toiletries, made locally by the Nettleton family (the hotel’s owners), are an added bonus. TVs, coffee and tea-making facilities with biscuits, bath robes and flip-flops are all provided as standard. Beds have soft mattress toppers making getting your head down easy, even to light sleepers – everything is silent but for the lapping of waves if you leave a crack in the door. Balconies on the ocean side also come, again, with spellbinding views you won’t tire of.
Often on-site restaurants are a hotel’s side order but not here. Food takes centre stage at Daniel Kerr’s Dune – Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa’s two AA rosette restaurant. It is a destination in its own right for both guests and non-guests looking for no-fuss fine-dining and top-notch cooking. The experienced chef cut his teeth over 16 years ago before working under celebrity chef Tom Aikens. His fantastic, reasonably-priced menu offers a range of excellent British and Mediterranean-inspired dishes (Spanish croquetas, padron peppers and arancini balls).
Standout starters include the delicious Padstow kitchen garden courgette flowers – stuffed with ricotta and honey – and the tender-as-you-like lamb belly. Mains range from a superb, perfectly-cooked duck breast with choi sum and cherries to a gorgeous slab of cod loin on a bed of seaweed, salt cod dauphine and dill oil. Desserts are also sublime, especially the elegant, well-balanced white chocolate sphere with strawberries and clotted cream. Every element of each dish at Dune is judiciously tended to with Michelin-star worthy-precision (watch this space).
Management at Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa has service down to a T. Everything is efficiently done with team members knowing exactly how much time to engage with guests before getting on with the job. Everyone from affable, wide-smiling Bristolian Sarah at breakfast to Noah, a young, charming waiter at Dune enrich guest’s experiences and seem to enjoy working at the hotel. Other staff – all lovely and cheery – range from locals to South Africans, Spaniards and surf-loving city dwellers that have relocated. The team’s style is perhaps best described as upbeat and professional easily reaching five-star hotel standards.
Surfboard and wetsuit hire is available from Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa’s sister hotel Esplanade, a few metres away. However, the hotel’s jewel in the crown is its high-end spa and treatments. There’s a sauna, steam room, hot tub and swimming pool beneath a star-spangled cove. The GAIA journey 60-minute massage is worthy of a splurge and will have you sleep like a baby.
Fact box
Rooms at Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa are available from around £117 (breakfast not included)
Address: Esplanade Rd, Newquay TR7 1PT
Website: fistralbeachhotel.co.uk
