The Carbis Bay Hotel overlooks its own private beautiful blue flag beach which I believe to be one of the most beautiful bays in Cornwall. The hotel has 44 rooms, a function room and a gorgeous conservatory with panoramic views of the shores and out to sea.
The Carbis Bay Hotel ~ Taken September 09
We were not expecting this wedding venue to be particularly special and visited the hotel only because it is situated near St Ives which is the area in which we are looking to get married. The hotel website is nice, though the wedding pictures do not seem to do it any justice and looking at these before we left, I thought that it probably wasn’t going to be the type of venue we were looking for.
The drive down to the hotel is scenic and there are attractive views over the bay. However, upon reaching the hotel, the car park outside is awful. There are potholes and cracks in the tarmac which conveys an appearance of being run down and does not give a good first impression. The hotel exterior is pleasant enough. It wouldn’t be the usual style of hotel I would choose for a wedding, though the entrance was decorated with lots of brightly coloured hanging baskets which was a nice touch.
Main Hallway through The Carbis Bay Hotel ~ Taken September 09
An attractive hallway links the reception and main stairway to the function suite and conservatory. This is where I believe this hotel comes into its own. On entering the conservatory, we were bathed in light and had a lovely feeling of space. The views overlooking the bay are simply stunning and in certain light, it really does feel like being abroad.
The Carbis Bay Hotel Conservatory ~ Elsa11’s Photostream via Flickr
The conservatory can be divided off to create a smaller private function area. This is said to seat 60 guests for a wedding ceremony. However, it is fairly small. At the end are two large doors that can be opened to let the sea breeze in. I think this would be a beautiful room to exchange vows in. I am not too keen on the black furniture but this can be covered. The larger part of the conservatory is not as private as the hallway runs directly behind it. Therefore, it probably would not be suitable to hold the wedding ceremony in.
The Private Conservatory Section ~ Taken September 09
At the end of the hotel and overlooking the swimming pool, (a feature I am not mad about but there are curtains), is the function suite. This room is a lot larger and could definitely seat over 100 guests. There is a hardwood floor which makes a nice change from the numerous garish carpets we have witnessed over the last few weeks! However, after seeing the conservatory, this room did feel a little dark. On talking with the wedding coordinator, who was lovely, we found out that this room is due to be refurbished in February next year. The owners are planning to knock away some of the sea facing wall and add some large bay windows and doors. This is something I am eager to see as I believe this will make all the difference to this room. I can imagine a wedding breakfast looking out to sea, tables decorated in muted blues and greens. We began to get excited!
The Carbis Bay Hotel Function Suite ~ Taken September 09
The wedding coordinator explained that the hotel owner is not keen on having amplified music at the hotel out of concern for the other guests so live bands are unfortunately not allowed. Something we wanted to arrange for our reception and so this was a definite negative to the venue. However, a DJ and accoustic music is permitted and as always, a comprimise would be needed to hold the wedding here.
A Bedroom at the Hotel ~ Picture from The Hotel Website
The bedrooms are quite nice and inividually decorated. I did hear a couple complaining that their room was leaking while I was there but I saw no sign of neglect in the two rooms we visited. Some of the rooms have sea views and private balconies. Something that would be lovely for the wedding night.
View from The Hotel ~ Picture from The Hotel Website
Much to my surprise, The Carbis Bay Hotel seems to have charmed us quite unexpectedly, due to it’s spectacular views and beautiful location. Though we have seen other hotels with great seascapes and pretty exteriors, the big plus for this venue is that they can still be appreciated once inside. As we originally wanted to be married outdoors, this venue seems to feel a lot more at one with nature. I never thought we would fall for this hotel. It is not particularly grand nor is it the typical style we would usually go for. I wanted something much more rustic with lots of character. There are so many lovely places to choose from in Cornwall but the feeling we had in The Carbis Bay Hotel was that it was somehow right. We will be visiting once again and hopefully staying there after the renovation work early next year to see how the hotel has improved. Pending this research, we are hopeful that this somewhat unforseen hotel may in fact, actually be, dare I say it, ‘the one’. Watch this space!
2 Comments
Hi Samantha
Just had to drop you a note on the Carbis Bay review. I am having my wedding reception there in June this year. I think you have got it spot on with your description of the place, not perfect yet we still fell in love with it. I didn’t realise they were refurbishing the main room, I am visiting at the beginning of March (I live in London) so can’t wait to see what they do. Keep up the good work! Claire PS I am having Kirstin Prisk as my photographer and you might be interested in his blog he posts to his website. I love looking at all the local weddings – lots of inspiration!
Thanks for your comment Claire. It’s fantastic to hear from someone who is also planning a wedding at the hotel. I wanted to give an honest review as I couldn’t find much information on the venues in this area of Cornwall and wanted to get in touch with others for their opinions. We are also in London so the planning becomes somewhat harder doesn’t it?
The main room should be finished by the time you visit so I am told. You must let me know how you get on. I am eager to see some pictures so I am hoping that they update their website. We are also planning a visit around that time so I can’t wait to see the improvements.
I have taken a look at Kristin Prisk’s work amongst others. His photography is lovely and I too have looked at the local weddings for inspiration! As our wedding is next year, I haven’t looked at the finer details yet but I will be sure to post updates as much as I can.