Burgh Island Hotel

I came back yesterday from a couple of nights at Burgh Island. We stayed there for the last two nights of our honeymoon and it was wonderful. The bedroom was beautiful (and bigger than the flat I live in) and was very much in the Art Deco style. The weather wasn’t great on the main day so we couldn’t swim in the lovely sea water mermaid pool but it didn’t matter as we made the most of the interior and had tea in the peacock room (and the wonderful Pilchard Inn). I’ve never felt so relaxed.

There was a great band playing on the Saturday evening for dinner and the food both nights was exquisite and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much. I found all the staff so friendly and welcoming and would recommend it to anyone.

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!! We had the unfortunate experience of going there for lunch a couple of weeks ago. We (like many others had followed Agatha Christie) and decided to drive from Hampshire 3 hours to have lunch.
The food was ok and our latvian waiter was charmaing. It was a lovely sunny day (early July) and the vista was outstanding. Our day was ruined by what followed next, and it is difficult to put as to our treatment….....It was almos comical. So here goes, because we were having such a nice time I decided to go to the reception to ask if I could book a night in Aug (anniversary). The lady (Aussie called Charmaine) on the reception couldn’t have been more charming, that is until I presume a senior receptionist (male) strutted out to tell me I would have to book on the internet or telephone then he walked away! The Aussie lady looked as shocked as i was given this was the reception. Two minutes later the same man came back and ala John Cleese said”I am sorry I didn’t realise you had been dining here I thought you were holiday makers off the beach!! As if that should make a difference, the fact that I had just paid the bill £164.00 (lunch) and was dressed in lounge suit and tie should have given him some idea. Needless to say he told me all rooms were booked either side of the date I wanted (which I didn’t believe) but by then I had decided I didn’t really want to stay after the treatent we received. Further to that I went back to my wife in the lounge and we told the barman how we had been treated at reception he went away and came back and told me he “had been asked to ask us to leave”. Given that it was only 1600hrs and our lunch was booked at 1345 which did not finish until circa 1530 this was incredulous. After the shock had sunk in I went to the reception and was confronted by the manager (who should not be running any form of hotel) who rather patronisingly pointed out “this hotel is for residents only” and that this hotel (maybe not really for us). We were all but escorted off the premises and met but the security team (who were lovely guys) who drove us off the island. I told them the story, and the gentleman who was head of security was embarressed but i got the feeling this was nothing new to him. He told us the owners would be furious and to be fair he asked the owner to ring us (which he did the next day 0900hrs) and to be fair he apologised. From what I can see this place is run by a little clique of the manager his senior receptionist and the bar steward. It should have alerted me when complaining to the bar steward about the male receptionists behavior he refereed to him “as the lovely Nick”.Until the owners break up this little clique this place does not deserve to go forward I cannot stress enough.however tempted DON’T GO THERE. Finally all the time we were there through lunch and our short stay in the lounge there were no other customers and we certainly were not rowdy or intoxicated.

I love mysteries and one of my favorites is Agatha Christie’s “Evil Under the Sun”. This hotel was the inspiration for that story.

The most interesting thing about Burgh Island is that it’s not really an island until the tide comes in. When it does, you access the hotel by crossing the water in a “sea tractor.” It’s the most unusual contraption you’ll every ride in.

The hotel, while lovely, is a little past its glory days and could use some sprucing up. The grounds are beautiful and a very nice place to sit and think.