5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk
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We have just been lucky enough to spend the first week of January having a 5* Luxury Family Break at an amazing house in St Mawes, Cornwall.

We stayed in Dreamcatchers run by St Mawes Retreats and I can genuinely say this property was like a 5* hotel without the confines of the hotel.  It provided us with a huge amount of space, and time to relax but with some of the services that you would expect from a 5* hotel!  This was also our view!

St Mawes Retreats

We arrived in St Mawes after a lovely day at the Eden Project at around 3pm.  I was honestly very glad to arrive before it got dark as the roads in St Mawes are very steep and windy, and not for the faint hearted.  What greeted us at the house was immediately welcoming.

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The kids adored the buckets, spades and telescopic fishing nets on the doorstep

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

and we loved the bottle of fizz, flowers, scones and chocolates on the table!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall

We were also delighted that our first nights dinner (Shepherds Pie) was in the fridge waiting for us.  I can definitely recommend taking advantage of the concierge service to order home cooked food for the freezer or fridge.  Particularly nice to know this in the fridge on arrival!

A top tip for you all is to order a supermarket delivery too. Sainsburys and Tesco deliver and when you see how out of breath your delivery man is carrying the food shop up from the village, you’ll be super pleased you booked the shop!

Further investigation around the stunning house revealed teddies for all the kids on the beds (really nice touch as one of my five year olds now sleeps with hers back at home) and stunning main bedrooms with in-room roll top baths!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk
5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

This was shaping up to be an amazing week and we had only just walked through the door!

If you are travelling with a baby, babies are not only welcome in all properties at St Mawes Retreats, but positively encouraged. St Mawes have tried to ensure that you don’t have to pack everything but the kitchen sink and have an extensive list of kit you can borrow – just ask!  In our house I noticed stair gates, travel cots x2, changing mats, blenders, steriliser, a highchair – and I wasn’t even really looking.

For the kids they have a playroom full of games and a cupboard full of fancy dress! The girls were quite bowled over by the dressing up clothes!  Look how amazing they are – I wanted some to fit me!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

We went to bed that first night full of lovely dinner, relaxed by the view of the sea and excited by the week to come!

After a long day in the car the day before, we decided not to drive anywhere that first day and resolved to have a day of pottering round St Mawes.  We had planned to do a Treasure Trails treasure hunt which I was very excited by, but the lure of the beach was too much for the kids.  I’d definitely buy one though if you’re heading to St Mawes they are only £6.99.

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall

So the beach it was.  It wasn’t exactly the warmest or the brightest day in the world but I always find that if you give kids a bucket and spade and a fishing net they will happily while away hours on the beach, in fact we only went home because the Mums were cold!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk
5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk
5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

We whiled away the afternoon watching the sea from the house, playing games with the kids and generally enjoying the house.  We decided to head out for tea so booked St Mawes Hotel for 6pm.  Sadly we didn’t find the two large torches that were in the only cupboard we didn’t open so wandered down the hill to the restaurant by iPhone light. It made it exciting for the kids anyway! My friends 2 year old was in the buggy by this point in the day and the push back up the hill definitely made up for the pizza consumed!  It’s a lovely place for dinner although we felt it was a little too quiet for a relaxing dinner with kids. I like a little more noise in a restaurant to hide the noise of my kids – they didn’t seem to mind though!

10 Reasons to Visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall with Kids www.minitravellers.co.uk

The next day we took a trip on the ferry from the harbour in St Mawes to Falmouth.  The harbour is the centre of the village, literally 5 minutes from Dreamcatchers, and it was lovely to have this as an option as it meant we could leave the car where it was again.   I spend so much time in the car its nice to be able to get around without using one.

The journey across to Falmouth only takes twenty minutes, and the kids loved our ever so slightly bumpy journey.

In Falmouth we spent the day at the National Maritime Museum which is great for kids and you can read our review here!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall

10 Reasons to Visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall with Kids www.minitravellers.co.uk

After we returned from Falmouth and had made the kids dinner, Amanda who runs St Mawes Retreats had arranged for a therapist to come round and give us both some treatments. We had both picked massages and I can’t stress how good they were. I genuinely don’t think there is anything nicer than having an amazing massage and then getting straight into your pyjamas because you are in your own holiday home. It felt incredibly luxurious.  Alex did suggest that we then drank lots of water but we were on holiday so I’m afraid Alex we did open a bottle of wine!

On our last full day we debated visiting the local National Trust property Trelissick (around 20 minutes away) but decided on the Lost Gardens of Heligan instead as we thought it would have more of a draw for the kids.  It was a lovely day out, even in the rain, and I’ll include a link to our review soon. Definitely recommended if you are in the area.

On our last night at St Mawes Retreats we had an enormous treat (please do treat yourself to this if you stay at St Mawes Retreats) we had a wonderful 3 course dinner cooked for us whilst the kids were in bed!  In fact not only did we have our diner cooked, the private chef arrived at 5.15 and cooked dinner for the kids first too.  I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Our menu consisted of Local Crab and Lobster Salad, Avocado, Fennel, Pomegranate, Satsuma, Sorrel; Terras Farm Duck Breast, Drake’s Pudding, Ras El Hanout, Crown Prince Squash, Cavolo Nero, Oca; Lemon Posset, Passionfruit, Meringue, Limoncello Jelly, Lemon Curd Ice Cream!

It was as good as it sounds!  Meals can be pretty much designed around you though and you can discuss your requirements with Amanda too!

We went to bed incredibly happy and very sad that the next day was going to be our last.

The morning we left we visited St Mawes Castle run by English Heritage. It’s next door to Penolva one of the other St Mawes Retreats properties and only a ten minute walk (with kids) from Dreamcatchers.  I’ve written all about our morning at St Mawes Castle here, save to say the kids loved it because of the cannons!

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall

5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall www.minitravellers.co.uk

We had a fabulous week at St Mawes Retreats and can’t recommend it highly enough. I know if you stay there you will love it.  St Mawes is the perfect location to explore the local area and close to some fantastic child friendly days out.

St Mawes Retreats itself is a wonderful company with stunning properties where anything you need is catered for.  It’s most definitely 5* Luxury in Cornwall with Kids!

To find out more information about St Mawes Retreats simply visit www.stmawesretreats.co.uk

You can also read a review of Stargazers here from Travel Loving Family.

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Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!

Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.

317 thoughts on “5* Luxury Family Break at St Mawes Retreats, Cornwall”

  1. what a fabulous prize, thanks for the chance. I have often looked at these houses as we too enjoy St Mawes as a holiday destination, definitely going to check out the Penolva 🙂

    Reply
  2. What a lovely prize
    i have followed all steps and shall keep my fingers crossed
    as with my children grown up
    i now have the joy of taking my grandchildren away

    Reply
  3. Fabulous prize, my family would love this! Little Egret holiday apartment mentions the castle built by King Henry VIII in the heart of St Mawes.

    Reply
  4. Wow I have 5 children. One daughter and four sons. Ages 15,14,11,8,4. Looks like lots to do for all ages which is a rare find. Usually end up with bored teenagers or a toddler who can’t join in activities. Looks like a dream getaway. There are 7 of us in totally would be perfect for us.

    Reply
  5. Penolva has a Royal connection, they have stayed there, and we would love this holiday for our family too! How wonderful it would be to have such excellent accommodation and facilities! Kids would love it!

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  6. Penolva – it was built by Dick Wilkins, who is a personal friend of the Queen Mother. It is believed that the Queen mother and other members of the Royal family stayed here.

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  7. Penolva Is my answer, having read that the Queen Mother used to visit there, arriving by yacht – what a gorgeous property, they all are and I love the letters and comments from the children. I would love a family stay there, it doesn’t look like you would want for anything. Absolutely fabulous, thank you for the opportunity to try and win a stay.

    Reply
  8. i think it is the very stunning Penlova! The Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva 🙂

    Reply
  9. PENOLVA – it is documented that the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania

    Reply
  10. Well if it is easy to find it on the website then, obviously, I am rather dim……………….I would love to take my children and grandchildren to places like these.

    Reply
  11. I think its possible MOONRAKERS that has a royal connection as its only a 5 minute wall from St Mawes castle.
    I would be over the moon to win this holiday for my husband and our 3 boys. We could even take my mother and father in law and spend some real quality time together. Would be amazing! Fingers crossed 🙂

    Reply
  12. Penolva has a Royal connection. I would love to win this and take my elderly parents to their beloved Cornwall for a long overdue holiday.

    Reply
  13. 2017 will be the year of Staycations for many: To visit Cornwall for the first time with a lovely location to wake up to each day, and be able to treat our loved ones to the lovely food and activities available would be a dream

    Reply
  14. Wow, what stunning views. My husband and I did a day trip to that area while on holiday in Cornwall years ago, when I was pregnant with our oldest daughter! It is so beautiful 🙂

    Reply
  15. All of the properties look beautiful! It is their newest property called Penolva that has the Royal connection. It was built in the early 1960s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often stayed there, coming ashore from their ship, via the slipway that was built for them at the property.

    Reply
  16. I think I’ve got the answer! Penolva? Link with the Queen Mother, yes?! These houses just look absolutely stunning – you’d definitely feel like royalty if you stayed here wouldn’t you?! Keeping my fingers crossed we win!

    Reply
  17. The answer is Penolva – very easy to find, if you actually read the properties that is. Queue the sheep….. haha 🙂
    Fabulous competition – thanks!

    Reply
  18. The house with the royal connection is Penolva – hope my research pays off and we’re lucky enough to win this amazing prize, it would be a super treat for us!

    Reply
  19. I think the royal connection is the Hypnos beds, the same as her Majesty sleeps on, in Stargazers, Moonrakers and Dreamcatchers

    Reply
  20. This would be amazing thanks for running, I have had a good hunt and I can’t see anything either apart from the reference to the Hypnos bed being the Queens choice

    Reply
  21. The answer is Penolva and the Royal connection is
    “Penolva – meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother”.
    Thank you for running such a fabulous competition – fingers crossed xx

    Reply
  22. All three properties Stargazers, Moonrakers and Dreamcatchers mention the Hypnos bed linked to queen, cant find any other royal connection (just like everyone else). All fabulous places to stay by the look of it, thanks for opportunity

    Reply
  23. Penolva, the house was built by a personal friend of the Queen Mother, Dick Wilkins. The Queen Mother and other members of the royal family visited Mr Wilkins at the property.

    Reply
  24. Penolva meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother. I met her, she was lovely.

    Reply
  25. Fab prize. We love Cornwall.
    The answer is Penolva. It is documented that the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania. via the slipway originally built for that purpose

    Reply
  26. I think the answer is Penolva
    What a fantastic prize this would be! I would so love to visit Cornwall, it’s been on our destination for ‘Staycations’ for absolutely ages. All the houses look just beautiful and who doesn’t love a cream tea on arrival?

    Reply
  27. the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania.

    I didn’t have any problems finding the answer

    Reply
  28. What an amazing comp! I can’t tell you how much I would live to win this. If the weather is good I would take Cornwall over any destination…especially this coastline as it holds a special place in my heart! Just beautiful! X fingers and toes crossed

    Reply
  29. Penolva has a Royal link – “was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother”. Looks amazing too.

    Reply
  30. I, too, have spent a long time on the website but have just found Penolva built by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother. I would love to win to treat the family next year

    Reply
  31. Penolva meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother. They Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania.

    A short break in St Mawes would be wonderful. It would be great to explore The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Trelissick National Trust and Trebah.

    Reply
  32. The answer to your question is…. PENOLVA built by Dick Wilkins in the 1960’s, he was a friend of the Queen Mother. The house is on the seafront and the Royal Yacht Britannia used to anchor offshore and members of the Royal Family would be ferried ashore to visit Dick Wilkins.
    Quite easy to find the answer if you can be bothered to look LOL

    Reply
  33. Wow looks a wonderful place to visit. My daughters leaning over my shoulder whilst I’m reading about it and is very impressed with the trampoline…….

    Reply
  34. Penolva is the house with the royal connection! It was built by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother! Hoorah!!

    Reply
  35. The answer is Penolva: the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania. via the slipway originally built for that purpose.

    Reply
  36. Penolva meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother and a great sportsman as well as a respected personality in the City of London
    Fab giveaway thanks for the chance xx

    Reply
  37. Penolva meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother

    Reply
  38. Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania

    Reply
  39. Amazing prize!!!!
    I hope this is what you were asking for “Penolva meaning “lookout on the headland” was built in the early 1960’s by Dick Wilkins, a personal friend of the Queen Mother”

    Reply
  40. the house that has the royal connection is PENOLVA, would love to win a holiday, my family have not been away for around seven years now.

    Reply
  41. The answer is Penolva: it is documented that the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from H.M.Y Brittania.

    Reply
  42. ShellSeekers – it has a Hypnos bed which is the Queen’s favourite make of bed. Properties look really beautiful, thanks for the chance to win

    Reply
  43. I’m going with Penolva as the answer, hope I’m right! I would be over the moon to take my family there. What amazing houses and locations (and excellent service by the sound of it!)

    Reply
  44. Moonrakers has a trampoline in the garden.

    This accommodation looks and sounds phenomenal and the area sounds like so much fun. Perfect for my active 2 and 4 year olds!

    Reply
  45. What a lovely holiday xx The question that came up on rafflecopter for me says which garden has a trampoline in it? But I’ve seen scrolling down to comments box most people have written something about a royal connection? Xx

    Reply
  46. Penolva.. WOW what an amazing place, sounds perfect for us! We love a bit of luxury but it’s hard with kids, especially a baby! Really hope I’m lucky on this one! x

    Reply
  47. The property is Penolva. Would lovd to win . Giveaway is fab.
    Who needs to holiday abroad with such lively giveaways in the UK.

    Reply
  48. I have looked and looked but cant see where the trampoline is! I love the look of this place and the thought of someone coming and cooking our dinner is just wonderful! fingers crossed on this one, it’s an amazing prize.
    Mainy

    Reply
  49. Royal connection is Penolva I love Cornwall and St Makes – I actually used to study in Falmouth and would love to take the family back down there and stay in such a fabulous place.

    Fingers and toes crossed
    Laura x

    Reply
  50. I’ve heard of this resort for years but never visited. Would LOVE to go. Very nice touches on your visit, especially the first night’s dinner ready to pop into the oven from the fridge! And my daughter would love the trampoline at the Moonrakers home!

    Reply
  51. So excited by this review, as we are staying a Stargazers in a few weeks time (we were the lucky winners of your last competition!) Good luck to everyone entering this one Xx

    Reply
  52. Moonrakers has the trampoline.

    Would love to win this, I have a 5 year old, 3 step children and another baby on the way so holidaying is a military operation for us! I originally come from Cornwall and it would be lovely to win this and visit family while staying in absolute comfort with the children and a newborn baby! Fingers crossed x

    Reply
  53. Stargazers is the answer: “At Stargazers a trampoline with safety net provides lots of bouncy fun and a barbecue gives grown ups the opportunity to enjoy catering in the open.”

    Reply
  54. Moonrakers. What an amazing giveaway. Looks like you had lots of fun. I like how you have written your post and the tips you have given. Fingers crossed.

    Reply
  55. st mawes looks amazing, i dont think iv ever been, used to live in devon before moving to scotland would be lovely to now go back with my 3 boys and show them the wonders of the south west

    Reply
  56. I can’t help but imagine the look on my daughters face if I told her we were going there! It looks beautiful there. The house with the trampoline is Moonrakers.
    Thanks!

    Reply

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