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I had high hopes for the Marina Villa Hotel, having read reviews and looked at their nice website. I had put it on my list of must go places. On arrival we we’re handed map with directions of how to find the remote parking facility quite some distance away…
Approximately 3/4 of a mile I’d say. After some wrong turns we finally found the pound on a grotty industrial estate and left the car in the hope that it would indeed be locked in as the signs stated.
We tried our best to navigate our way back to the Hotel on foot down the steep hill. So when we finally arrived, I have to say other than the view of the harbour which was spectacular and the quality bed it was just one slight disappointment after another. The carpet in the entrance had seen better days and looked a bit sodden. The bathroom although quite stylish was extremely small, you could hardly swing a gerbil let along a cat in it! On unpacking I’d realized I’d forgotten the toothpaste, so went next door to the front desk and inquired if the y had such a thing (as is a quite common request I had imagined) in reply the matronly matre d’ announced ‘That I could try rubbing salt into my gums like they did in the war’. I think she was genuinely trying to be as helpful as she could, but i couldn’t help thinking of Basil Fawlty when she directed me to the local Spa supermarket in the town which was a lot further than I thought – not a relaxing start to the night.
We ate at Nathan Outlaws restaurant downstairs in the Marina Villa Hotel. This was outstanding. Superb! On a par with the Roux Brothers restaurant in Bray. The decor was crisp and modern, the food was amazing from start to finish, I’ll review this separately to give it full justice. A downside from the advantage of stumbling to your room after dinner is that you have to hear the rest of the restaurant trundle past your door at intervals through the night. Oh and there was a dog barking upstairs which was a bit annoying for dog lovers and haters alike.
The breakfast in the restaurant was again superb. However that is where the glory ends. The trip back to the car was less than salubrious! The young girl on the desk said her boss had taken the company limo out for the day and all she had was the company teeny tiny mini van (to get down the tiny streets) that they use to cart the rubbish to the dump in. In fact it was fully laden with rubbish as that was her next duty of the day a trip to the dump, as apparently the seagulls have a voracious appetite for bin bags. So off we set up the hill to the car pound on top of the hill! The girl was lovely, but the trip in the company dust cart was not!
I think Nathan Outlaw needs to dissociate himself with the Marina Villa or make strives to improve the customer experience in the Hotel as it did not live up to expectations at all, and is not somewhere I’d choose to stay again. I know that he has set up another restaurant on Rock, so maybe when that gets as good reviews as the one in Fowey he’ll move over and concentrate on the Rock venture.
Tags: Cornwall, Fowey, Marina Villa Hotel, Nathan Outlaw
