St Ives September Festival 10-24 September

Ahh, the St Ives September Festival - one of those special times in St Ives. The school holidays are over, the sun is shining, the sea is at its warmest, a sense of relaxation settles into the town as the season is coming to an end - time to celebrate!

The September Festival is time for locals (and everyone in the know ;-) ) to celebrate the end of another summer with two weeks of live music, arts, poetry, and everything in between. Guests who stay during the festival almost always book for the next year, if you haven't been before - try it!

This years line up is even bigger and better than before, the important thing is to get your tickets early for the main acts...

Here is our pick of the bunch for this years festival:


The Big Chris Barber Band - Saturday 10th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
81 year old band leader Chris Barber is world renowned, now with an 11 piece band the combination of blues and jazz make this a must see! Tickets are £25 and we strongly recommend booking these early.

Brodsky Quartet & Jacqui Dankworth - Monday 12th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
The Brodsky Quartet are at the forefront of the international chamber-music scene, mastering the string quartet to become very well know for their work with other artists including Elvis Costello, Bjork and Sting. Their skill lies in their diverse performances of complex compositions from the likes of Hayden, Beethoven, Bartok, Britten and more. If you like this type of music it should be an excellent night of music.

Lau & Adrian O'Reilly Wednesday 14th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
 A must see if you like folk, winners of Best Group at the Radio 2 Folk Awards for three years in a row (2008, 2009 and 2010) this is the perfect time to see Lau. Three very talented chaps make up the group who are by no means restricted to the 'folk' genre and instead explore across genres to create a fabulously unique sound.


We'll be back with more recommendations as and when the acts are announced. If you still haven't arranged for accommodation in St Ives during the festival we recommend booking early as it is a very popular time.

If you have any other comments or recommendations do feed them back on the blog!

3 New (ish) Restaurants and a great weekend

For the first time I had the privilege of staying at The Sail Lofts. My partner and I chose Zennor, the big master bedroom, large bed and the living area made it 'The One' for us.

A quick trip back home to pick up some belongings and the other half and we were back in St Ives to watch the sunset over Porthmeor - perfect way to start the weekend!

After the madness of a Friday and with it being the end of the week we felt good old fish and chips were deserved, so we headed along to the recently opened and stylish Harbour Fish and Chips. We were surprised at how professional and friendly the service was right from the start, I opted for traditional fish and chips with homemade tartar sauce, crispy batter, excellent fresh fish and good chips, my partner went for the mussels which I'm told were excellent as well. Overall a great experience and great value with nice touches like fried parsnip crisps on the fish and reasonable presentation.

After a day pottering around West Cornwall including Sennen, Gwynver and back to St Ives through St Just, Botallack and a sneaky pint at the Tinners Arms we headed back to get ready for the open evening of St Ives' newest restaurant - Seagrass.

A great turnout and some superb examples of some of the food they will be serving made it a great evening and we can't wait to try out the full menu soon.

On Sunday, the clear blue skies drew us to the beach, and Porthmeor Cafe was just too tempting! Recently refurbished and with a change in direction last year we had to try it out. We shared a platter of tapas which was fantastic, coupled with a glass of wine it was all very pleasant with some of the best views in town.

A great weekend, great weather and some super food - #happydays

If you would like to enjoy this and more we still have limited availability in May and June, have a look at our last minute deals for more information.

20% Discount at Sail Lofts Ocean Spa

Sail Lofts Ocean Spa are celebrating the launch of a new treatment room this Friday by offering a 20% discount on all treatments over £40.


Start the weekend how you want it to continue by relaxing... From pampering your skin to easing your muscles from a week of work with a luxurious massage.

We are also offering a 15% discount on Spiezia Organics Rose and Vanilla Oil throughout May, this can be ordered over the telephone or purchased in store.

As part of our May offers, the luxurious Head in Heaven treatment will be reduced from £52 to £38 as well.

To book or find out more contact the spa team on 01736 448545.