Headland Hotel Reviews 

My friend treated me to a wonderful 2 night stay in this beautiful hotel. It was just perfect from walking in to sadly having to leave. The staff were simply charming, friendly, polite and helpful. Our room was just perfect with great views over Fistral beach. We both had a facial in the spa, which was simply the best treatment I have ever had. We LOVED everything about this wonderful hotel, thank you xx

The hotel is a scam claiming to be 5 stars. At the very best it would be 3.5 stars. Poor management and overworked staff with outdated decor. Squishing in as many tables as possible to make he most money. They do not care about service at all. And do not blame your very pleasant staff, blame the money grabbing owners.

Has a two night break in September in a suite so it was top money, room was hardly a suite but non the less nice view and over looking spa however limited facilities in room and no separate shower.
Restaurant meal was nice but at no point did staff offer us a window seat even though there was tables same again with breakfast as the view is what makes it a premium stay. So disappointed about breakfast shortages ie jam and marmalade and had to ask for cutlery and condiments as nothing on table, service was slow but we were warned possible at peak times. Fancied a cream tea but had not given 4 hours notice which seems a real over exaggeration but they missed out on £90. Overall lovely location and impressive building but the new owners clearly have lost sight of the fact how good it used to be and if you are charge a lot you have to offer value for money. A day or so later I received an email about out stay and I gave a similar response but a true measure of their commitment to service is the fact I have had no response to it. There are some great options to stay locally and I strongly suggest you book them until such time they sort it out.

After a nice long coast walk we called in to the headland for a drink and as returning guests we ordered a cheese board if you can call it that all it consisted of was 3 slices of cheese 10 grapes 5 crackers and a small pot of chutney served on a dinner plate with a butter knife no cheese knife all for £15 absolute rip off this hotel is going to loose its appeal very soon if they carry on like this I have also emailed them directly but no response this tells me all I need to know I won’t be returning any time soon and I will make sure people know

We booked at the Terrace restaurant at the Headland last night 12th September 23 having visited before and had a delicious meal.
Unfortunately our return visit was very disappointing to say the least. The menu was very poor and over priced, only one special which was vegetarian., we ended up having a burger and fries for £20 , no sides or garnish. We have eaten better ones at Weatherspoons, if we could have accessed the menu in advance we wouldn't have booked., and certainly won't return. The staff were very pleasant , and we have had afternoon tea and attended a function both were excellent, but last night failed miserably, will not recommend.

The food was fantastic

**SINCE THE HOTEL HAS HAD THE AUDACITY OF ACCUSING ME OF LYING ABOUT STAYING THERE ON GOOGLE**, here's the info about our stay at this disgraceful hotel. We stayed from the 25-28th of June 2023 in room 110, on the first floor overlooking the Aqua club. The hotels response on Google highlights *EXACTLY* why their customer service is appalling and the hotel is in disarray. Instead of investing an alleged £3M in the main restaurant, they need to invest in training their staff and re-decorating. Read my original review below.

The Headland Hotel overpromised, massively underdelivered. The rooms looked nothing like the photos they showed us when we booked. The rooms were HOT, smelly, old faded carpets and barely anything inside. The curtains were old and the light woke us up every day at around 4:30am, as if we had the lights on inside the bedroom. The door handles were so noisy, I couldn't go to the toilet without waking up my baby in a different room. Thankfully we took fans with us because the sweat was real, as the only fan provided by the hotel was a tiny desk fan which rattled.

They only have one tiny and ancient elevator , which is too small for hotel guests carrying large bags or prams and takes forever to move. The check-in desk is so outdated I felt in the 18th century.

The service was shocking all around. I had to call them repeatedly to remind them to make up our room, which they did at 7pm on 2/3 nights that we stayed. We travelled with a baby, so the extra attention to detail would have been much appreciated. The room was incredibly loud, to the point where I called reception 3 times one night as we could not sleep the night before from all the banging and slamming doors.

Even though the food in their restaurant Renmor was great, the service in the restaurant was unremarkable. Food at their other restaurants was subpar. We saw the same servers do 10-12 hour shifts, 3 days in a row. There is simply no way the staff is well rested, which caused the service to be incredibly sub-par for a 5 star hotel. We waited over an hour for chicken, incredible... Then they blamed us for wanting a 'speedy' service. We have never had such an experience in any other 5 star hotel, anywhere. I had to remind the staff of our order 2-4 times, each time. It was truly shocking.

They excuse their shortcomings behind the fact that the hotel is Listed building, undoubtedly making it harder for them to refurbish it. However, the bathrooms and bedrooms can absolutely be renovated with the council's permission. Replacing an old, faded smelly carpet and adding proper blackout curtains is not something the council would oppose. Even installing ceiling fans or internal air con (which works with water) would be possible.

The only saving grace of this hotel is the Aqua club (with 6 pools), which is awkwardly located after a walk through a parking lot, through the freezing wind. There should be a more pleasant pathway from the hotel to the Aqua club.

This hotel has so much potential due to it's location. With different management, investment (which would be in the millions due to the state of the hotel) and innovation, the place could be turned around entirely.

It is with great regret that this old established hotel have allowed their reputation to drop due to their after care service.
I had to cancel a forthcoming holiday our second stay at this hotel.
Had to cancel well before the 60 day arrival.
The stress in getting my deposit back was terrible. False promises about when we would receive our money back
After threatening legal action. It arrived back .
Shame would never return due to poor customer care ,this once lovely old fashioned hotel has become only interested in money
Need to get their customer service back to meet customers expectations.
Appalling behaviour.

Lovely hotel, lovely staff and the spas were the best we have stayed/visited in Cornwall! Would highly recommend to anyone for a relaxing enjoyable stay!

The hotel is a magnificent building and is luxurious which is why I booked an afternoon tea with friends and family as part of birthday celebrations.
The room was beautiful and staff professional.
I must say we were underwhelmed with this experience. Sandwiches were bland, a little tiny savoury tart, the rest was all sweet stuff, if I had my eyes closed I wouldn't have known what I was eating as it was just sugar except the macaroon.
Had to ask for more tea as there wasn't enough, a bit disappointed. Thought it would be better from a 5 star hotel
My son who is vegetarian had to pay 4.00 more, don't know why?

Wonderful hotel and staff charging 5 star prices but giving B&B services. The room 330 was superb but the room service was way below what you would expect. Cheap amenities in bathroom. Room not serviced to any degree with lots missed. Ok if you are paying £140 per night but we were paying £560 per night. We had afternoon tea and were left for 50 minutes from sitting down for a booked time. They charge 10% service but don’t give the service. We are staying here for 8 days and will try and speak to director. Wonderful building with fabulous spa spoilt by bad management and greedy pricing structure.

Headland Hotel. The worst hotel experience of our lives.

We are in our early 70s. We have owned & run our successful business serving the UK public with up to 75 employees for over 30 years.

Headland is financially & contractually aggressive but you fail to employ directors and staff with the wit, skill, experience, training, good manners, respect or flexibility to deal with a customer who politely says sorry but I can’t agree to that.

To celebrate my wife’s birthday we made a short notice phone reservation at Headland for 4 nights dinner b&b at a cost of £1660 & paid a deposit of £445.

On arrival we were greeted by a pleasant lady. All went well until she asked us to pay the full balance of £1215 which I politely declined to do explaining that had I been made aware that they required full payment in advance I would not have made the booking.

Robyn persisted in demanding full payment & was unable to grasp that no meant no. I explained again that I would not as a matter of principle make payment in advance pointing out that they already had a substantial deposit.

Then the astonishingly entitled Guest Relations Manager (GRM…name unknown) appeared & began to loudly and publicly berate me in front of her colleagues & passing guests lecturing her audience on contract law. “By making a booking” she announced pretty well verbatim to multiple listeners whilst waving a piece of paper in front of me “you have accepted our terms & conditions & are legally bound by them whether you have read them or not.”

My wife replied that under no circumstances would she now stay in this hotel and I asked for the return of our £446 deposit & we would leave. GRM point blank refused. I then told her that if she continued to refuse to return our deposit we would sue the hotel & we would win.

Although by now astonished, embarrassed & angry I did not raise my voice or swear despite the provocation & when a young man James appeared who said he was a manager I suggested we go somewhere private just James, myself & Jean. I told James how “pissed off” I was with what had gone on & he asked me not to swear to which my wife threw her eyes to heaven in incredulity. I imagine swearing is not a rare event in your hotel.

An unknown woman then appeared & then the GRM. My wife & I were seated with the other 3 standing over us a few feet away. It felt like a kangaroo court. I asked the GRM to leave the room but she refused. My wife who was now white with anger then told them that she could not believe how appallingly rude & aggressive they were & that she was not putting up with any more of it & left. They all then disappeared to find the Operations Director.

Eventually the unexpectedly young Operations Director Joshua appeared whose opening remark before I had said a word was that his reception staff had been unnerved by my demeanour or other such term. I was absolutely gobsmacked. No attempt made to investigate independently of staff or have a calm, rational discussion. At my insistence I then gave a brief outline of what had actually happened & he ungraciously agreed to return my deposit as “this is not the hotel for you.” Never a truer word spoken Josh!

We then left and booked into a delightful hotel elsewhere where we were warmly welcomed without any request for advance payment as is normal across the world in our experience.

This whole thing has left us quite traumatised. My wife has even refused to read this review as she “just doesn’t want to go there.”

It will be interesting to see what sort of response this generates if any. The culture of any business starts at the top. Will owners (according to Google) Mr and Mrs John & Carolyn Armstrong provide a candid apology?

Or will we see a carefully crafted fabrication of deception, denial & spin.

I repeat…The worst hotel experience of our lives.

Philip Derbyshire

We stayed here for my wife's birthday. The whole experience was fantastic. We arrived to a bottle of champagne and the room had a lovely view over the beach. The food was fantastic and the staff couldn't have been more helpful and friendly. e managed to use the spa facilities which were amazing! Thank you for giving us a lovely experience.

The Headland Hotel and Spa, Newquay, Cornwall
When using the steam room in the hotel my advice is to wear something on your feet and a towel to sit on. Whilst I was a member there and used the steam room almost every night I discovered first by accident and then by placing markers that the seating and the floor were not washed down for sometimes up to a month, putting users at risk of picking up verruca spores and it would be by anyone’s guess what else judging by the number of sweaty bottom that have sat on the tiled seating.

Amazing hotel, nice atmosphere pleasant and helpful staff. Great food too.