Camelot Castle Hotel

68 readers found this review helpful

Having booked a 4 night stay, the hotel is in a beautiful location and looks quite grand from the outside and indeed the inside is quite grand and at first sight appears perfectly acceptable apart from the artwork which was quite at odds with the interior. My husband has been running art exhibitions for many years and is himself a practising artist - his reaction on seeing them was that he wouldn‘t dream of including them in any exhibition of his!!! .
The entrance area contains many photos of one of the owners in the company of ‘celebrities’ and there are sheets of his poetry all over the place - there is no information about the hotel itself. It seems the owners are only concerned with promoting their own insatiable egos.
We booked ourselves in - behind the reception two large dogs were lying on the floor and it smelled of dogs! We were left to find our own way, by means of a dilapidated old lift, to our room and no wonder. It was small, very shabby with mismatched furniture [like something out of a junk shop], shabby old blankets, no bedside table or telephone, an “en suite” which consisted of a small plastic “pod” which contained a tiny shower, washbasin and toilet which smelled stongly of urine - nowhere to hang towels or any toiletries, also noticed the window was sealed up with paint.
We immediately requested a different room and were “upgraded” but it was only slightly better - we still had a “pod” and there was only one bedside table, it also had shabby mismatched furniture as before. We ate in the hotel that evening and the meal was very poor for the price we paid. The soup tasted like it was out of a can and had been sprinkled with fresh parsley to make it look authentic. Later in the week we had lunch at Rick Steins Bistro and paid less for food that left Camelots way behind in the dark ages!
There was nowhere to sit comfortably in the room so we went downstairs to the lounge to read. That was a mistake - the lioghtiong was so poor we couldn't read a thing without holding our books at a strange angle to capture what little light there was.
Breakfast the following morning was awful - we are sure it had been left on the hotplate for a couple of hours. The poached egg was solid with a strong taste of vinegar! This was the last straw and we decided to check ourselves out.
How does this hotel continue to operate and how does it get past inspections - health and safety for example? We found a delightful B&B in Padstow, complete with proper en suite and a mini fridge with fresh milk in it every day! Sheer bliss!!

48 readers found this review helpful

Just searching for accomodation on the web, after deciding to return once again to the South West for a summer break and came upon the Camelot Site. I have to own up to having stayed here 3--yes three times previously in the early 90s.The descriptions of the accomodation has changed very little since then it would appear. On our arrival the first time, my wife and I were very impressed with the position and the apparent grandure of the hotel with its wonderful views, extensive parking etc and inside was "Antique" and appealing in many ways.We decided to stay and walked in to reception to be greeted by an old lady sat in a rocking chair (or similar)enclosed in a dark stained wood/glass reception booth with dim lighting.It was so spooky we just had to stay!!The rest of the staff were all similarly spooky like the cast of some horror movie,we later discovered that most of them were family members and indeed owned the hotel and also another hotel just under construction in tintagel village called the Wooton.We did in fact enjoy our stays at the hotel even with the "en suite"facilities! Tardis toilet,wash hand basin and shower cubical all in opposite corners of the large room.The bedding was clean at that time but it was a few years ago!!The blood stain was nothing to do with me by the way!!!On our final stay we were supprised when we returned to the hotel shortly after midnight after an evening in the village to find the place in darkness and all doors locked!I spent the next half hour trying to raise the owners who lived in property close by in order to gain access to our room.!We were told we could not have a door key and should have used the hotel bar instead of going out?!No staff on site during the night all doors locked--Health and safety issue or what??We left the next day never to return.When we have visited Tintagel in more recent times we usually stay at the Cottage Tea Shop--Excellent,well done Vic & Sandy.

61 readers found this review helpful

This is such a waste of time and money! Seriously for the price you can stay in a swish Hotel in London.
BEWARE: CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY!!
This place is a con and a front for the church of scientology. I am extremely upset that their website is so misleading and they use this venue as a way to recruit people to the church.
Service was really bad and creepy.
Such a shame as this could be a great place.

3 readers found this review helpful

I booked a short break of 3 nights,on arrival informed reception it was our silver weding anniversary and was given an upgrade,the room was very clean and the furniture was old but well looked after. we had half board and the food was very nice and well cooked and there was plenty of it. the staff were very helpfull, the only down side was being shown the light box which turned out to be a light on a dimmer switch, to show off the part owner of the hotels paintings, when asked which one i liked i was told that i could purchase it for £190
overall we had a wonderful short break

18 readers found this review helpful

Lovely food, lovely surroundings, excellent service, however we felt the 'surprise' of the Lightbox was a complete waste of time. How stupid do they think we are? What was that all about?! We were shown some random artwork (not very good) in front of a light. We had no idea what that was all about. Good for a laugh but nothing else!!

76 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I decided on a last minute trip to cornwall for a 2 night stay. Upon arrival the hotel does seem rather impressive and the views are outstanding. After booking in a very enthusiastic man insisted on showing us around the ground floor, the dining room and entrance are delightful rooms although the art (all by the same artist, who we subsequently found out is part owner)was a bit strange and i did remark that my 4 year old neices could do better. Our room however, was shoddy, the bathroom had considerable mould and very cheap toilet paper and toiletries. 2 of the windows were sealed shut and a shocking draght blew through the 3rd which made the room incredibly cold.
A knock came at the door where we were given a welcome letter and a inhouse newspaper. This really freaked me out the newspaper was so full of egotistical self promotion with a small measure of propagander (Psychiatry an industry of death). It was so bizzare it was quite unbelievable. It was also filled with celebrity pictures (as was the hotel itself) many of which are clearly not taken in the hotel and have nothing to do with it.
We decided that afternoon to cut our stay to one night only and were not asked why, which leads me to believe many other people do the same.
We ate in the resturant that night and found it to be bland and uninspiring, nothing short of mediocre pub food.
This hotel is really OVERPRICED and the website does not show a true picture of the place at all, it felt like we were trying to be sucked into a srange cult, it is that strange. The owners seem to be so preoccupied with themselves, money, celebrity connections and the shocking artwork to really care about offering a luxury stay. Its a real shame as the views are amazing and in the right hands would be a truly remakable hotel.
I would not recomend this hotel at all.

54 readers found this review helpful

The stunning location, luxurious surroundings were amplified by an exterior of a building that could not fail to impress. The Website offers many views of the rooms to book, and as this was last minute, I was overjoyed to be able to reserve a two night stay in one of the £40 per person per night double rooms.
The excitement as we drove through Tintagel and towards the hotel was soon removed when we were given the key to room 208. I'ts all to easy to see this as a budget room and say you have to expect a 'less than advertised' quality. But when they offer this room at double the price of the Premier Inns rooms, our expectations were left deflated.... Read more
The Room door didn't fit, with a 2 inch gap above the door that would alow light to pass into the room from the corridor. This was not a problem as the light was let in by the glass panels above the door!
The room is advertised and charged as an on-suite! this is a Plastic 3ft x 4ft cabin in the corner of the room that contains shower (2ft x 3ft), toilet, which had to be used with the door open, and a sink which overhung the toilet. There was a TV, quite a modern 13 inc LCD with some digital channels. This was high up on that wall, and could only be watched if standing!
THe bed, this was a cheap Argos 4ft bed (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6650502/c_1/1|category_root|Home+and+furniture|14417894/c_2/2|cat_14417894|Beds|14418191/c_3/3|cat_14418191|Bed+frames|15350032.htm) with a cheap £29 mattress. Bolts were lose, bed springs poking through the mattress, and two very flat pillows!.
Take my and others advice, avoid this Hotel if you don't want you holiday ruined - or take a portaloo, hosepipe and blow up mattress.... Read more
AND NO INTERNET!!!! or Three/O2 signal

5 readers found this review helpful

We came back from Tintagel yesterday after spending four nights at Camelot castle - the place that has its very own character. I have just read all reviews left here by other people and have to say they are almost all true - good and bad ones. You certainly have to have the 'right' mind to stay at Camelot. If you can affort The place have wonderful views (will never forget those sunsets!), friendly staff (ALL OF THEM!), delicious food, lovely music, interesting paintings and many more... We stayed in the room which was far from the perfect state and needed a lot of TLC. But I wouldn't be able to tell you if the wallpaper was peeling off or if it had any wallpaper at all... My eyes hardly went past the magical shimmering of the sun on the surface of the sea that could be observed from all fife windows of our 2nd floor room. Bathroom was just a plastic box in the corner with perhaps too loud fan but all in all very functional. There were many other not so positive things that I could mention like old tv (we didn't even have time to switch it on), squeaky wardrobe door, poor lights... But neither of those will stop us from going back to Camelot!
On our check out we asked if we could see their refurbished bedrooms on the 3rd floor. We were handed keys from three rooms including junior suite. These all were done to a highest standard with modern bathrooms, lovely decor, comfortable beds etc. If you stay in one of those rooms you need to be really sad to be disappointed!
And the last but not least: If we had read the reviews below before we went to Camelot, we would have cancelled our booking and looked for something else. And we would have missed on such a wonderful experience, such a treat for a soul, a holiday that shall never be forgotten!..

55 readers found this review helpful

Please do not book this hotel it really is such a massive disappointment. The website is grossly misleading. Everything everyone else as said previously about how poor the rooms are is very very true - truly appauling to let anyone see them, let alone stay in them. We stayed 2 minutes and then returned to reception to say we just could not stay there nd yes we were very surprised not to be shown to our rooms. The guy behind the reception desk did not bat an eyelid at the news we were leaving, which speaks volumes. The hotel requires a complete and I do mean complete renovation. I am sure sealed windows do not comply with fire regulations and plastic pods for bathrooms is just silly. The bed sheets were indeed stained! I hate to remember it. Instead we stayed at The Millhouse at Trebarwith Strand, 5 minute drive, lovely pub in the valley with lovely clean and tidy ensuite rooms. Hurray up and sell it to someone who can invest in such a lovely property in a fabulous location and then we can all stay there and enjoy it!!

3 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from the Castle in Tintagel and have had a great time. In a world of increasing blandness, it's good to stay in a place with some character - it's like being in a movie set in the 1930s. The place is under renovation and the rooms are being redone, but the main hall and dining room are lovely, and I have no complaints about the bar. The staff were very pleasant and helpful and for such a stunning location, I think it is quite reasonably priced. We had dinner there and the food was good. It's wonderfully quiet and I think there is a magical quality about the whole place.
I'd recommend a little patience with the renovations as this hotel has a great deal going for it, although it does help if you yourself have an appreciation of eccentric locations.