A luxury guide to St Ives: part 1

When planning a luxury escape to a new destination it can be hard to know where to start. So to be sure that our guests do not miss out on the luxury that five star Cornwall has to offer we are going to make a regular feature listing our top spots in Cornwall for indulging… 

Dining can be a controversial topic, with most visitors to St Ives having their own personal preference, however from insider knowledge we know that two places come head and shoulders above the competition when planning a luxury feast in St Ives.

To start with Porthminster Beach Café, with its stunning location, multi award winning seafood restaurant, combined with it’s relaxed and friendly atmosphere, provides quintessential St Ives luxury, that no trip to St Ives would be complete without. The café specialises in Mediterranean and Asian seafood cuisine with sea view vistas. Our top tips for this hot spot would be to book early. We can place reservations on your behalf, or call directly and request a window seat.

Then there is the Porthmeor Beach Café, renowned for its laid back atmosphere, incredible view across Porthmeor Beach, along with the occasional chance of catching sightings of dolphins as you dine in the five star surroundings. Their tapas selection is revolutionary with tastes to suit all palates, and perfect for whether you fancy a light bite or a hearty lunch. Our top tip for the Porthmeor Beach Café is to book early and request a heated outdoor pod for the alfresco dining experience.

For luxury self catering in St Ives essentials you will need Scarlet Wines, conveniently located on the way in to St Ives on the roundabouts in Lelant, Scarlet Wines provide a continually evolving selection of hundreds of wines from around the world, craft beers, local ciders and first class spirits, served with excellent knowledge to aid in setting your five star break off in the right way. Or alternatively as a day trip, why not take the St Ives branch line to Lelant Saltings a short 10 minute trip where you can take in the St Ives bay’s spectacular scenery by rail, which conveniently drops you on to Scarlet Wines doorstop.

As a side note if any guests find themselves without mackerel pate or tasty tidbits, Norway Stores located just along the road from the Sail Lofts five star luxury apartments can be a life saver when you need just about anything. The friendly team is always on hand to help you out of a pickle (please excuse the pun)…

The Sail Lofts concierge service is on hand to aid in restaurant reservations, local knowledge and first class recommendations from Monday to Saturday every week of the year, so please make sure to pop by the office located in the central courtyard during your luxury self catering stay in St Ives, as we are always on hand and happy to help.

Katy x

See more St Ives restaurant recommendations...

A Guide to St Ives Beaches: Part 1...

When staying in our beautiful self catering apartments you are absolutely spoilt for choice with some of the most breathtaking beaches in the country. There’s something for everyone, with surfing coves, dog walking spots, and family friendly beaches safe for children. Why not make the most of your holiday by taking in the best beaches we have to offer? Here’s part one of our guide to the St Ives beaches. 

Porthmeor

Just a stones throw away from The Sail Lofts you will find Porthmeor, one of Cornwall’s most beautiful beaches. This Atlantic facing beach is a surfers paradise. It’s not particularly sheltered on a windy day, so make use of the Sail Loft’s wind breaks. It has all the facilities you could need with the Porthmeor Beach Café serving beautiful food to eat in or takeaway. If you’re interested in dabbling in some water sports Porthmeor also boasts the St Ives Surf School which offers lessons, board hire, kayaking and coasteering. 

Awards: Blue Flag & Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence.

Lifeguard Service: Cover during weekends in April, daily from 5th May to 30th September and weekends in October.

Parking: No Designated Parking.

Dogs: Seasonal ban from Easter to the 1^st October.

Toilets: Yes.

Porthminster

Only a 15 minute walk from our holiday cottages this sheltered, family friendly beach has easy access with great facilities. The award winning seafood restaurant, The Porthminster Café, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as having a takeaway service right on the beach, perfect if you forgot to pack a picnic!

Awards: Blue Flag & Trip Advisor Travellers Choice.

Lifeguard Service: Daily from 19 May to 30 September.

Parking: Parking close to the beach (Warning: it fills up quick)

Dogs: Seasonal ban from Easter to the 1^st October.

Toilets: Yes. 

Porthgwidden

This small, hidden beach is a real Cornish gem. Lying in the nook of the Island this beach is just a few minutes away from our luxury apartments. It’s extremely sheltered, great for kids and has plenty of facilities including beach huts that are available to rent from the council. The wonderful Porthgwidden Café also over looks the beach with a kiosk for coffee and snacks.

Awards: Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence.

Lifeguard Service: No Lifeguard Cover.

Parking: Parking in the Island car park. (Warning: it fills up quick)

Dogs: Seasonal ban from Easter to the 1^st October.

Toilets: Yes.

Beach towels and wind breaks are provided in every apartment and buckets and spades are available from our wet room. If you need directions to any beaches don’t be afraid to ask, we’re here to help. Stay tuned till next week for part two of our St Ives beach guide.

Onna x  

Fuel for the day...

Early mornings have never been my thing but thanks to the arrival of our beautiful baby girl I have a newfound appreciation of early starts and I’ve fallen in love with St Ives all over again.

Now, don’t get me wrong a lie in would be nice from time to time but I’ve decided to embrace the dark circles, get out nice and early and sample what St Ives’ breakfast menu’s have to offer.

Porthminster Beach Café

Topping my list has to be this beautiful little beach café that you usually have to book weeks in advance. At sunrise however it’s a different story. We arrived at 9.30am on a Saturday morning and had our choice of tables and it really was perfect in every way – the weather, the view, the food and the sleeping baby! I plumped for the free-range poached eggs with a cheeky side order of local sausage and bacon and it was divine. The other half of course went for the full fry-up and without even a smidge of brown sauce left on the plate I’d say it was a winner. Washed down with locally sourced apple juice and freshly squeezed orange juice, it really couldn’t have been better.

Porthmeor Beach Café

Continuing the beach theme (well we are in Cornwall!) we headed to Porthmeor Beach Café. This is somewhere I’ve always wanted to eat but until now simply haven’t gotten around to and breakfast seemed a great place to start. It did not disappoint. Being a sucker for granola, yoghurt and compote I couldn’t resist this when I saw it on the menu and I must say it was one of the best. Hubby built his own brekkie and ordered most items on the menu despite my encouragement to try something a bit different. Again we managed to dine alfresco and the view really is one of my favourites in St Ives and despite the baby being far from asleep she was impeccably behaved and charmed the other diners with her cuteness.

Hub, St Ives

Being massive fans of The Hub for lunchtime and evening food we decided to give this harbour front hang-out a go for breakfast. The breakfast menu itself is fairly simple but what they do, they do well. This time around we decided to share a stack of pancakes with summer berries & maple syrup and a ‘Pig me up’. Both delicious but the pancakes were a definite hit for me. Whilst the weather wasn’t quite so kind on this breakfast outing the cosy booths and décor create an American style diner feel which is a refreshing change for St Ives.

There are a few more breakfast outings planned this summer so if I come across any other gems I’ll let you know.

Kelly x

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.

Summer is upon us

Its been a manic couple of months at The Sail Lofts, hence the lack of a recent post. Since our last post our new spa in St Ives has opened, two websites have gone live, we have a new look email newsletter and we have uploaded 2011 prices. 

The Sail Lofts Ocean Spa has gone down a treat with holiday makers and locals alike, the Spiezia products are receiving great feedback and we are really proud that almost all of the products used are organic and natural (we'll always tell you if they're not). Shelley Worth is the new Spa manager, and can be found posting on Facebook with the rest of the team. Have a look at the website and let us know what you think - and don't forget to make the most of the launch offers before the end of July. 

Enough about us though, St Ives is really coming alive now that the school holidays have begun. Boat tours, trips to the Minack, events at the Tate and of course the beaches. 


The surf has been a mixed bag, with some really nice swells cropping up and many of those small summer onshore days. The week ahead isn't looking to promising but if you have a longboard or summer board to hand there should be a wave or two. I'm hoping to get my summer board this week from Freeriders - fingers crossed it has arrived!

The recently refurbished Porthmeor Cafe has proven popular and we have had some excellent reviews of the food there as well, so we wish them the best of luck this season. It doesn't get much better than watching the sunset from the terrace with a great selection of tapas. 


Finally, we have some availability during August because of the inevitable cancellations etc.. Our Curno apartment is available from the 20th August for one week and 5 Bethesda Place is available for the weeks of the 20th and 27th August.