The Idle Rocks

Unfortunately something has changed since out last stay a year ago, and not for the better. We had dinner there of Friday 13th December. Maybe that was the wrong day to go! We ordered pre-dinner drinks, a glass of champagne and a vodka based dry martini. When I tasted it, it was sweet so took it back to the bar. The barman had added normal martini to the vodka. When I explained it needed to be dry vermouth he said he'd make me a new one. 5 minutes later he came to us and said they had no dry vermouth, so I had a glass of wine. There were no complimentary nibbles. The menus came but no canapes. We sat down at the table and were offered no bread. My starter was the mackerel and was delicious and my wife had the 'rabbit pie'. It was overly rich and salty and almost inedible. My main was suckling pig (which was actually a piece of belly pork). The sauce was over reduced and salty which spoiled an otherwise decent meal. My wife had the wild mushroom cottage pie which was inedible. It was based on the same over reduced, salty, strong sauce. Doesn't the chef taste the food they prepare? If you charge London prices in Cornwall in the winter you need to pamper your guests. The nibbles and canapes you used to serve were delicious and a lovely touch. The variety of breads you used to offer were a delight. Why have you stopped? Given that, and the poor quality of the food, you present yourself as no more than average as with hundreds of other restaurants in Cornwall. The difference is that you charge a fortune for the privilege. At the prices you charge for drinks and food, you can afford to pamper your guests with small things like canapes and nice bread. That's not expensive, that's what can differentiate you. For the first time in 6 stays, we felt like customers in the restaurant not guests. I should add that all the staff (we didn't meet your kitchen staff) were very friendly and helpful, a real credit to you. The hotel room was great and the bed very comfortable, as usual. And you can't beat the location. If we do stay again next year, we'll probably drink and eat elsewhere in St Mawes.

This was a sumptuous hotel in a stunning location. The room and en-suite bathroom were spacious, and a bowl of fruit and nice toiletries were provided. The food was exquisite and the service was good, and restaurant had lovely views across the harbour

Idle stay Lovely hotel, staff and food.

Fantastic Beautiful views from our room, the terrace, bar and restaurant. Food lovely. Highly recommended.

myself and my husband have been coming to the Idle Rocks each year since 2018, it's truly one of our favourite places to be we always stay in the same room, one of the Grand Seaview ones, as it's so spacious and luxurious, with stunning views over the water and St Mawes. as always when we arrive we got a warm welcome. as we were early we nipped over the way to the St Mawes Deli to get some of Jon's amazing baguettes! then sat near the hotel to have lunch. we then returned, our bags quickly taken to our room for us and we relaxed in the lounge with a tea and coffee. Immediately feeling relaxed and at home we spent some of the afternoon in our room, enjoying a bath and bottle of Cornish Sparkling wine before going down for dinner. As always the service and food was excellent during dinner. id arranged for a birthday cake to be made for my husband and they brought it out as id asked at the end of the meal and it was wonderful! there were unfortunately a couple of niggles with our room on this stay, with the shower and the heating, but Lydia and the team helped as much as they could to try and ensure the issues were dealt with and there was minimum impact to our stay. These things happen and we think how they're dealt with is what's key. the 2nd night, we had dinner at the Rising Sun opposite the hotel, excellent food and service so we'd recommend a visit if you enjoy some hearty and tasty pub grub we enjoyed some cocktails at the bar during our stay. Joe is great at making cocktails so thank you! we also chatted to Eric who was part of the restaurant team, lovely chap! all the staff are lovely that we meet at the Idle Rocks at each visit / stay. So once again, a great stay. 2025 booking already made! a extra mention to Lydia, Stuart, Izzy and Yvonne who looked after us so well with any issues or queries we had. Thank you everyone for yet another wonderful stay.

Lovely hotel in a fabulous location. Staff very friendly and helpful. Excellent food. Our room was exactly as per picture and had the sea lapping under the window when the tide was in. A nice range of shops and alternative places to eat to walk to nearby.