A hotel by the sea, Cornwall. Jenny’s review

Jenny and her fiancé were recently invited to stay at The Rosevine, a boutique apartment hotel by the sea in Cornwall, that also caters for weddings and celebrations. Read all about her stay here…

The Room. Around 7pm on a windy October evening, we pulled into the driveway to the welcoming glow of The Rosevine, and we immediately felt warmer! Our apartment followed suit with a cosy bedroom and a big bath I couldn’t wait to run, perfect for a cold autumn’s night.

The Dinner. After winding down from our busy days, we spruced up and made our way down to dinner in the restaurant, which is only a few steps away so thankfully no need to venture back out into the cold.

We were looked after by Anna the Restaurant Manager, who was gracious and very attentive. The restaurant had a lovely relaxed and intimate atmosphere, despite it being half term with children staying, perhaps they were just all really well behaved!

I get very excited by food and my ‘eat whatever I want on the weekend rule’ meant I could take full advantage of all three courses offered to us. We both started with a smoked haddock & parsley risotto. This dish was so delicious, that are eagerness to eat up meant we forgot to take a photograph and only remembered to once our plates were empty, oops! A testament to how good it was.

I then opted for the Cornish fish chowder and Damian had the grilled plaice with potato gnocchi, pearl onions, olives, anchovies & tarragon. We often have a competition on who’s ordered the best course, which we usually come to a fair agreement on, however this time we just could not decide, they were equally superb.

Dessert for me was clotted cream peanut parfait, caramelised banana & chocolate mousse, literally all my favourite foods together, heaven on a plate, and Damian opted for local Callestick Farm ice cream. We left to walk the few steps to our room with very full, happy bellies.

The View. Having arrived in darkness we only appreciated the view from our apartment the next morning and realised how close to the coast we were, it was lovely to see ships on the horizon from our living room.

The Facilities. We enjoyed a morning swim in the heated pool (not the sea!)

Close By. We took a walk down to the beach and popped into the Hidden Hut for lunch, a gem of a café tucked away on the coastal path.

We strolled back and as Damian relaxed in the drawing room, a great space to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine, I chatted to James the General Manager all about their offerings for weddings and events.

The Weddings. Exclusive use of the house for weddings and celebrations ensures complete privacy and I can imagine sharing it with only your nearest and dearest must be a very special experience.
The lawns that look out to sea are where tipis or marquees are placed for larger weddings and, weather permitting, make a picturesque spot for the drinks reception.

Image by Barney Walters

James explained they often take the guests down to the beach on the Friday afternoon and put on a BBQ for them, what a lovely relaxed way to start the weekend’s celebrations I thought.
As well as the obvious attractions for weddings; stunning location, exclusivity and beauty of the building and grounds, some appealing factors that stood out to me in particular for weddings were…

•  Apartments instead of just rooms (like in a hotel) means room for all those ‘wedding bits’ couples acquire, room to prep table decorations or wedding favours the night before and more room to beautify in the morning without tripping over one another.
• Hot and powerful showers, something I feel is really important to get you set for the day ahead.
• Break out rooms; the play room and the drawing room, are useful areas for young children to play or crash out when the party gets too much, or a quiet area for older guests to have a cup of tea away from the loud music.
• Neutral tones and lots of big windows in the restaurant makes it a beautifully light blank canvas for you to style the way you want, with no colour clashing risks with your flowers or table runners.
• Friendly, attentive and experienced staff, no matter how much you fall in love with your venue, confidence in the staff that will be running the day for you is a must. The Rosevine’s team are very passionate and their wedding manager has years of experience.

There’s a really lovely feel to The Rosevine that is somewhat different from a hotel. Although everything is there that you would expect from a boutique hotel; the facilities, customer service and high end finish to the rooms, it actually feels like a big house you are sharing with the other guests, that are in on the secret of this ‘hidden house’ by the sea!

If the formality of a hotel isn’t for you, the charm of The Rosevine will be right up your street.

Thank you to The Rosevine team for a memorable stay. I look forward to recommending your wonderful venue to my clients.

www.rosevine.co.uk 

Written by Jenny Granlund of Jenny Wren Wedding & Event Planning.