Falmouth Hotels

There are a large numbers of hotels in the Cornish seaside town of Falmouth, located throughout the town.  However, the vast majority of the largest hotels are towards the south of the town, on the coast, although there are exceptions.  What follows is a brief description of the main such hotels, along with their location.  Note, they are listed in no particular order.  It is possible to review each hotel using the corresponding poll, and also feel free to add a written review in the comments section.  

The Greenbank Hotel is the oldest hotel in Falmouth, having first opened its doors in 1640.  The Fal estuary, and the associated waters make up one of the  harbours in the world.  This and the fact that Cornwall is the most westerly English county made it strategically a very important location.  Falmouth became the base for the packet ships, which were early postal boats, as well as many navy ships.  As a result, the Greenbank Hotel became a popular hotel for the crew of these ships.  Famous residents to have stayed at the hotel include Florence Nightingale and Kenneth Grahame and it is said that some of the initial inspiration for his famous book The Wind in the Willows happened whilst staying at the Greenbank.

Nowadays the Greenbank is a very popular hotel.  It is one of the few hotels not to be located very close to the sea, and is instead has a riverside location, as shown by the picture.  Due to it's location it has a private quay and beach.  It is also one of the closest hotels to the centre of Falmouth, the Moor, and is closer than many other hotels to some of the major shops.  Many rooms in the Greenbank have great views of the river, including Flushing which is directly over the river.

The Greenbank Hotel is relatively unique to Falmouth, despite being large it was previously made up of several different buildings, and so it has a unique character.  In addition, no two rooms are the same, with different shapes, decor and views from the different views.  The rooms have been refurbished relatively recently to include all of the latest equipment which would be found in a new hotel, such as wi-fi internet connections and digital televisions.  The Greenbank has a relatively large restaurant and bar area, including some outside seating overlooking the water, and the head chef has previously cooked for the Saudi Arabian king.

Prices for a room in the Greenbank Hotel go from £79 for a single in the off season up to £199 for a suite.  There are also other deals for certain times of the year, which can include offers such as stay two nights and get the third free.

The website for the Greenbank Hotel can be accessed here.

The Best Western affiliated Falmouth Beach Hotel, is, of all of the hotels in Falmouth, it is probably the one which is closest to one the major Falmouth beaches, namely Gyllyngvase Beach.

Many of the rooms from the Falmouth Beach Hotel has views of the sea, beach, Pendennis Castle and Pendennis Point and the Lizard peninsula.  In addition, many such rooms also have a balcony which offer even more sweeping views of the Falmouth bay.  The bedrooms are furnished to a high standard, and have all of the usual facilities expected from a Best Western hotel.

The Falmouth Beach Hotel has a bar, called Feathers Bar, as well as a dining room, which is open to residents and non-residents alike.  The hotel also has 'The Beach Club'.  This includes a swimming pool, gym, beauty treatments and tennis courts and is open to those who are staying within the hotel.

The price of rooms varies with many different packages being offered across various room types and different levels of inclusivity.  However, the prices generally start at just over £50 per night in the off season.  In addition to rooms within the hotel, there are also has self catering cottages and apartments which are available for weekly hire, with a price of between £465 and £975.

For more details on this particular hotel, click here.

St Michael's Hotel and Spa is located next door to the Falmouth Beach Hotel.  However, it is ste slightly further back from the coast than the aforementioned premises.  This combined with the trees located in the spacious gardens restrict the views from within the hotel.

The hotel was refurbished at a cost of £3.5 million relatively recently, and in 2009 was awarded 4 AA stars to confirm it's place as one of the premium Falmouth hotels.

As with the bedrooms in the Greenbank Hotel,  no two bedrooms are the same within St Michael's Hotel.  They are all furnished well, with flatscreen TV's, solid wood furnishings and en suite bathrooms.  

Of all of the the hotels within Falmouth, St Michael's Hotel and Spa probably has some of the best facilities.  Obviously there are spa facilities.  The water based facilities include a fair sized indoor heated pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.  There is a considerable sized gym.  There are many treatments available including massages, but depending on the package selected these could incur an additional charge.  In the garden there is a sun terrace, which also has sea views.  In addition to the spa facilities there is also the Flying Fish restaurant.  The food served in this restaurant is widely regarded of being good quality.

The prices for staying at St Michael's Spa vary greatly depending on the package chosen.  These can range from under £50 per night up to in excess of over £150.  In addition, it is possible to pay for use of additional facilities, even if not a resident or not included in the package.

The St Michael's Hotel website can be found here.  

The Falmouth Hotel is another very large hotel within Falmouth.  It has a prime position very close to Pendennis Point.  This means that the hotel has views of both the beaches, bay and the Lizard but in the other direction there are views of the docks and the Fal estuary.

The Falmouth Hotel is another one of the Falmouth hotels with a history.  When the Post Office Packet Ships ceased to use Falmouth, there was the risk that the local economy could fail.  As such a number of ways of boosting the economy were developed, including a railway and improved docks.  Linked to this was the design and construction of a new hotel relatively near to the new docks and the railway, and so the Falmouth Hotel opened in 1965.

Set within several acres of gardens, the hotel had both hotel rooms and self catering cottages and apartments.  Many of the rooms in the hotel take advantage of their Victorian roots, with decor which fits in with this.  Many rooms have sea views, however, some have views of Pendennis Castle, the gardens or the Fal estuary.  As is now standard within this list of Falmouth hotels, all rooms come with remote controlled colour TVs with digital channels, internet access and en-suite bathrooms.  Some rooms also come with additional bonuses such as flowers and champagne on arrival, although of course these are more expensive!

The restaurant facilities are where both breakfast and evening meals are served.  Wherever possible local fresh ingredients are used, with the result that the menu changes daily depending on the season.  In addition to the restaurant there is a bar/lounge and outdoor sun terrace.  Other facilities include an indoor heated pool, gym and the Nirvana Beauty Centre.

 Prices for the Falmouth Hotel per room depend on the room chosen.  However, the cheapest rates are £60 in the off season, with the highest prices being £240 in the peak season.

For more information on the Falmouth Hotel click here.  

The second Best Western hotel within Falmouth is the Penmere Manor hotel.  Previously an old manor house, it was converted into a hotel in the 1950s and under the current ownership since June 2008.

When built the building was outside of Falmouth, however the town has since grown around it.  However, the hotel is still separated from the the surrounding properties by the landscaped garden.  The Penmere Manor Hotel is located further away from the water than the other hotels in Falmouth which have already been mentioned, however the coast is still easily within walking distance.

Despite only having 33 rooms, there is still a range of choices available dependent on budget.  The standard rooms come with digital television, telephone connections and en-suites with the more expenisve rooms having additional facilities including writing desks!  Some of the rooms also have sea views.

As the Penmere Manor is smaller than the other hotels, it would be expected that the facilities would be less.  In fact if anything the facilities at the Penmere Manor exceed those at the other hotels.  Again there is a heated indoor pool, gym, jacuzzi and sauna.  However, during the summer there is also an outdoor heated pool situated in the old walled garden.

The cost of staying at the Penmere Manor Hotel is from £62 per person up to £118 per person with the price range accounting for the season, room choice and package chosen.

The Penmere Manor Hotel can be found here.

The Green Lawns hotel is situated at the top of the hill between the beaches and Falmouth Moor.  It was first constructed in 1910 as a private residence, before being converted to it's present state as a hotel with 39 bedrooms.

The Green Lawns Hotel has extensive private gardens which have come first in various Britain in Bloom  competitions for each of the last seven years.  It is possible to explore these gardens, or just lounge around in them.

Aside from the gardens, there are other facilities.  There is an indoor heated pool, sauna, jacuzzi and small gym.  This is known as the Garras Leisure Complex.  This is a historical reference to the previous name of the hotel - Garras means house on the hill in Cornish.  There is also the Garras restaurant which has also won awards.

The rooms themselves are all furnished to a good level, with en-suite bathrooms.  They contain all the usual facilities which would be expected from such a hotel.  However, whilst there is wi-fi throughout the hotel, this does incur a charge of £3 per hour.

The prices of rooms within The Green Lawns Hotel goes from £65 per person per night up to over £100 per person per night.

The website of the Green Lawns Hotel can be found here.