St. Ives, in Cornwall, nestles within its own hidden bay. Its southerly good climate and sandy stretches of coastline make it a preferred holiday destination for any Brit that loves a stay-cation. The popularity of this area means you have a range of options for family days out… but we wanted to know how Tregenna Castle stacked up in terms of family entertainment.
Tregenna Castle is a historically relevant site. A grade II listed building, it was built in 1774 by original owner Samuel Stephens. In 1871 it was turned into a hotel and it has grown into a full-blown resort in the many years since.
Asides from the rich history, this beautiful 84-bedroomed castle sits in 72 acres of immaculately preserved gardens and natural woodland. It overlooks the Bay itself, providing stunning ocean views for the duration of your stay. Beyond the opportunity to pass your day in the opulence of a grand castle – what can the Tregenna Castle Resort offer for family fun?
Family Activities at Tregenna Castle
With all that space to develop on, the Tregenna Castle Estate have seemingly endless options for a family day out. One of their most promoted is partnership with a local surfing school (St. Ives surf School). If you have children that love the waves then any one of the three beaches is the place to be. Another Partnership sees them offering Coasteering, Segway Rides, Kite Buggying, and Quad Biking through local club JB Adventures, Cornwall.
Guided boat tours are available from Godrevy Point where seals are known to lounge and Puffins are frequent flyers.
Asides from all of these paid activities, the hotel sports a number of free family fun included in the price of your stay. These include:
- Rock pools on the Castle’s own stretch of beach. Find sea urchins, crabs, tiny fish and barnacles all for free.
- Dolphin and shark spotting from the beach. St. Ives made headlines recently for the spotting of a Great White Shark in the area!
- An outdoor play-park area with toddler-friendly equipment.
- Fairy doors, hidden gardens and dragon lairs hidden in the vast woodlands… What will your little ones spot on a woodland walk?
- Local hikes – popular routes include the South West Coastal Path between St. Ives and Zennor, St. Ives to Carbis Bay (a slightly shorter route), and the nearby Penzance to Marazion route .
- Free We-Fi – let’s face it, you’re not going to be outside all day long. For late nights watching movies or checking social media, your teens will be glad to know there is Wi-Fi.
- An indoor and an outdoor (seasonal) swimming pool, both are heated. There is a shallow pool for the smallest children.
- Two outdoor tennis courts and one indoor badminton and squash court for your use, you can hire rackets too.
So as you can see, there are plenty of family activities to be had at Tregenna Castle Resort.
Family Activities in Greater St. Ives
When you choose a day out or vacation at Tregenna Castle Resort you are in the ideal place to take part in family days out into the rest of town. We sourced some of the best family activities in St. Ives so you can complement your stay at Tregenna Castle Resort with some local culture!
Things to do in St. Ives include:
- The St. Ives Museum – learn about the local area for only £3/adult and .50p/concession or child
- The Tate St. Ives – a modern art gallery with café (a ticket was included free with our stay at Tregenna).
- Kidz R Us and the St. Ives Theatre – see a show or even get the kids to take part in one!
- If you look a little further you will also find numerous tours, guided walks, special events and celebrations. You can find some of the best voted attractions on Trip Advisor, or keep an eye on festivals and events at Cornwall 365.
Family fun isn’t all you can find at Tregenna Castle Resort. Dad (or Mum) can get some alone time on their full length golf course; while Mum (or Dad) can enjoy a range of beauty therapy treatments in the Castle Beauty rooms. The local area features shopping, dining, art galleries, theatres and so much more.
The Castle was named Best Wedding Venue in 2015 by Cornish Brides, won Judge’s Choice for the Simple Wedding Awards in 2017, and has also won Best View from the Best Kept Secrets Award, and the Best Holiday Accommodation Award (Cornwall Today) in the past. If this doesn’t prove testimony to the versatile uses this popular resort has then we don’t know what will.
The Resort itself has free parking, two on-site restaurants, and gorgeous gardens sporting an array of sub-tropical plants. If that wasn’t enough it also has its very own gym, so you can stay in shape while you visit… or watch in envy from the restaurant.
Where to Book A Stay At Tregenna Castel Resort?
You can book a stay at this resort through Booking.com. You can also book with them directly by visiting their webpage.
Tregenna Castle Resort, Trelyon Avenue, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2DE
Telephone: 01736 795 254
Website: https://www.tregenna-castle.co.uk/
What TripAdvisor says
The estate is massive with plenty of outside areas for the kids to play plus they loved the fact it was a castle! This is what makes Tregenna particularly good for families insofar as you could easily spend a lot of your time simply exploring and playing within the grounds of the hotel.
Our double-bedded room was a good size (and very yellow!) with a smaller interconnecting kids room with a wooden bunk bed. The bathroom was nice and modern with a big bath and powerful shower. Although the weather was not particularly cold, we noticed that the radiators were not working, which would have been useful in the evenings and to help dry our towels that we had used in the swimming pool. Although we had told reception about this and followed up a couple of times during our stay, it was never resolved, although we were offered plug-in heaters.
Breakfast was a self-service buffet affair in a large and rather cold dining room. Although the food was nice, with a reasonable selection of cooked items, cereals and fruits, it felt quite impersonal. I put this down to the fact that there were so many hotel guests dining at the same time, but it did have a rather different feel to the excellent brasserie at Tregenna.
The food in the brasserie was lovely where the pizza and pasta offerings were tasty and interesting. I particularly liked my Crispy Duck Pizza (£14.99) followed by a Lemon and Olive Oil Sponge (£6.95), both really tasty and beautifully presented. Our son said the dough balls were amazing and I did note that the brasserie staff were good with the kids.
Overall, we had a great stay, especially when you take into account the price we paid and its location. With central St Ives literally a wooded walk away, it is the perfect cheap stay with the kids if you are holidaying in this area.
