Royal Duchy Hotel

What a rip-off! My wife and I have just spent Christmas in this overrated four-star establishment. £1500 plus lighter in the wallet and I am struggling to recall anything memorable about the experience. The fancy brochure promised cabaret entertainment but this all happened in the combined lounge / dining room with the ‘artists’ playing to mostly empty tables by 9.30. I don’t think the promised Harpist turned up, and the Country Singer struggled with her amplifier’s technical problems. A Frank Sinatra double did a good turn but he was gone in a flash. It was all pretty pathetic. Trips out must have really stretched the company’s budget – a bus ride to the local city shops on Xmas Eve and another bus ride to a village on Boxing Day with a bag of roasted chestnuts for a snack. My neighbour tells me he once went to the Eden Centre. We must have picked a bad year. I have to disagree with other reviewers about the food here. It’s all very decorative but hard on the stomach. Thank God for Rennies. Even the cheese-board lacked a decent cracker biscuit. The rooms here are small, even with an upgrade. And what was all that business about applying antiseptic hand-cleanser when entering and leaving rooms? Never seen THAT before in a hotel. I won’t go on. It’s just that for around this amount of money we have had years of memorable Xmas breaks in England and abroad. Just had the inclination this year to shelve the passports and pamper ourselves in a decent quality hotel. We failed.

We enjoyed our stay at this excellent hotel. A second visit for us. We spent a week at the Royal Duchy in late September. The staff are friendly and efficient, the food excellent, the bed room was large, clean and nicely furnished. The new lift was a great iimprovement. We enjoyed the swimming pool, table tennis, although the lighting was too dim, my husband enjoyed the snooker table. Our only complaint was that the bar prices were too high, and so after the evening meal generally few people stayed around to chat. The view, the lounge and the terrace were all very attractive. Off peak most people were of the older age group, that may not be so in the summer. We would recommend this hotel.

I regard this as one of the best hotels I have stayed in within the UK. The most outstanding feature of this hotel are the staff who without exception were the most friendly, polite, courteous and efficient staff that I have experienced in any hotel in the UK or elsewhere . On arrival, we were warmly greeted by the doorman and reception staff who were most welcoming and they set the scene for a most enjoyable weekend. Our room was magnificant, spacious, spotlessly clean and well equipped with an excellent sea view. The hotel was very well maintained and the decor was excellent. The hotel restaurant was also superb with high quality cuisine, a great wine list and excellent staff. I could find no fault with this hotel and highly recommend it. My wife and I will definitely return to the Royal Duchy in the future.

Location,location,location. The hotel overlooks the sea , is 5 minutes walk from a decent beach, yet is only 5 minutes walk to the centre of Falmouth. Car parking was more than adequate, and reception was well manned, with helpful efficient staff. Having stayed at another hotel within the group, this time we booked a superior room at a premium of £5 per person per night. This was well worth the cost, as we had a large airy room, which was immaculately clean, well presented with a good bathroom/mini bar/dressing gowns etc. I suppose I should have gone one step further and got a sea view, but where do you stop with these add on costs?? The public rooms were again good, with service available thoughout the day. The food can only be classed as excellant, as can the efficiency of the staff in the restaurant. Perhaps the only grumble about the restaurant is that it is a very large room with the tables set out in military fashion. It's a pity they cannot make the room a little more intimate. Breakfast was equally a pleasant experience, with good freshly cooked food. As we came to the hotel for an autumn break, there is little to do after dinner except retire to your room...Television!!!! or sit in the bar. The problem here is that the hotel is well supported by the older generation who tend to go to there rooms. This leaves it quiet in the bar with little to do, though I must admit the bar prices were quite reasonable, so at least I managed to go to bed happy!! I was tempted to give the hotel overal an "excellent" report, though with the older clients making up the majority of the people at the hotel, it somewhat lacks a bit of atmosphere. Finally I would say that it is my intention to try other hotels within the group, as I find them very good value for money.

The food was excellent and the young staff polite, friendly and enthusiastic, although it was sometimes obvious that some were trainees. The indoor swimming pool was a bonus, small but enjoyable. Our superior inland room was comfortable although a bit dated and quite dark as it overlooked a yard full of fire escapes. We were however overcharged by £62 on our final bill, for a bottle of wine we had not had and our deposit had not been deducted although to be fair we did settle up the bill the night before in order to leave early and the receptionist was quite mortified by the mistake. We did enjoy our stay and would go again for a short break as it was very relaxing. Thoroughly recommend Pendennis Caste, kids in particular would love it.

We held our wedding reception at this hotel. It was the best service I have received at any hotel. Everything was sorted out so professionally and nothing was too much trouble. The standard of the food was outstanding, so good we have been back a few times for meals and have never been disappointed. The rooms were very nicely decorated inside and each night you your bed is turned down and a chocolate placed on your pillow. The view from the front bedrooms,restaurant and the reception rooms is straight out to sea and couldnt be any better.

We booked a special deal from their website and paid about £500 for 5 nights for the two of us (included breakfast, dinner, and room, so a very reasonable price). The bad: our room was an almost entirely interior one, dark and in a hallway across from public rooms. The window gave out onto a tiny, grey utility courtyard. The clientele were mostly 60+ (perhaps they'd all gotten the same deal we had?) and so we (in our 20s) felt a little out of place. The good: FANTASTIC food that was well served. Near to beaches and castle. Room very clean and nicely decorated/maintained (not shabby at all) and very nice bathroom - modern, well appointed and extremely clean. Overall: not *quite* the four stars that we had been excitedly anticipating BUT excellent value for the price we paid and a nice enough place to stay - perhaps getting a better room would raise my rating from 3.5 to the full 4 stars. Given the same room: would stay again but would not make it the focus of my holiday.

We booked at the last minute over the August bank holiday weekend and the only room available was the Duchy Suite at £260. The 'suite' is basically 2 drab bedrooms knocked together. There is a small lounge with a picture window offering sea views which is the best feature. The decor is appalling, reminded us of a third rate nursing home, very dated and every expense spared ! Very over priced AND check in is 3pm and check out is 11am, ludicrous. Hotel staff were young and inexperienced and the service as a result was lacking. I have no idea how this hotel came to have 4 stars but it serves to remind you why the grading system needs looking at. Nothing except the seafront location to recommend it.

We arrived at the hotel to be greeted by the doorman who took care of our luggage whilst we checked in. We are a family of 6 with children aged 9, 12, 13 and 16 and we came to the Royal Duchy hoping to spend some quality time together as a family. From the minute we walked in we felt relaxed. The staff are very friendly without being obtrusive and their professional yet calm approach to running the hotel puts you at ease. The swimming pool was lovely and warm and they have a sauna in the same area which was great. A snooker room and table tennis table are also in the area which again proved popular. Childrens tea which was served from 5.30pm onwards was a great alternative to having the kids at Dinner, especially on the nights when they were getting tired. The food at childrens teas deserves more than a mention as the quality and presentation was the best I have seen served to a child anywhere. There roast of the day was particularly good! Milk shakes and fabulous deserts complimented the whole affair and made feeding the younger kids a doddle! On a couple of evenings, Childrens entertainers performed after the younger chidren had eaten (about 6pm). You can order your dinner whilst having a few pre dinner drinks in the lounge, or if you prefer wait until you go into the restaurant. Some nights all 6 of us had dinner, others 4 and some nights just the two of us. The flexibility of the restaurant staff astounded us. Nothing was too much trouble. The FOOD! what can I say .... perfect! I can see why the chef and his team have won so many awards. The restaurant provides an intimate venue to spend as long as you like over your meal and with the resident pianist tinkling away in the background the whole dining experience became a special event. We had two rooms, one for the me & the wife and the other for the kids. Their room was split into two and gave the girls some privacy from their younger brothers! We emerged from the hotel 7 days later, totally chilled out, somewhat sad to be leaving and decidedly heavier than when we had arrived! If you are heading for falmouth you have to give this place a try. Its definately one not to be missed.

The hotel was OK but there are some things you should know before booking. The food is very good and varied but the staff are not that knowledgeable and not as well trained as you would expect from a 4 star hotel. For example, our plates were cleared away even before the last person had finished eating, and they asked the men what they wanted before asking women. You had to top up your own wine and it was pot luck if the wine waiter topped it up for you. I noticed a napkin on the floor for 1 hour before a waiter picked it up. Even worse, they allow dogs in a 4 star hotel. I stayed on the first floor over Xmas and was disgusted to bump into the little darling on the stairs. Although they are not meant to be in public places, it was being walked down the stairs rather than being carried. That means that the next person to stay in that room could be subjected to dog hairs as it is nearly impossible to hoover up every single hair. Dogs should be kept in separate premises and I found it unbelieveable that they were allowed to stay on the premises. The pool was one of the warmest that I have beeen in--no complaints thee except there were no lockers provided and you had to pay extra for the sauna. Oh and the spa had been removed but the brochure had not been amended to reflect this. I think it should be a 3 star hotel and get rid of the dogs in any event.