Weekend Away St Michaels Resort, Falmouth

ST MICHAELS RESORT, FALMOUTH

Get some coastal calm and revive your senses with a short break in Falmouth, carefully crafted by the crew at St Michaels Resort to punctuate the hustle and bustle of daily life.

The resort is mere footsteps from the white sands and crystal-clear waters of Gyllyngvase Beach, meaning you don’t need to risk a flight cancellation or a ferry queue to feel good again this year.

Home to an award-winning spa and hydrothermal experience, and not one but two restaurants, St Michaels Resort offers more than your average coastal hotel, and all located within walking distance of the sights and sounds of Falmouth.

The Twilight Spa Break encapsulates tranquillity, relaxation and indulgence, and is especially popular with locals. The highlight is the two-hour hydrothermal experience in the largest hydrotherapy pool in the South West. Heated up to a comforting 35C, it’s the perfect place to ease away stress and tension. After a soak, stretch out on the poolside beds and heated loungers, cleanse the skin in the herbal Finnish sauna, bubble away in the outdoor hot tub and take in the views of the stunning Falmouth Bay from the outdoor barrel sauna. Step back inside and bask in the thermal paradise of the rainforest steam room before breathing deeply in the world’s only Cornish sea salt steam room. Whatever

relaxation looks like for you, you’ll find it here.

Following a brief interlude, you’ll be guided upstairs into St Michaels’ relaxed restaurant, the Brasserie on the Bay. Overlooking subtropical gardens and on to the shimmering sea beyond, expect a three-course menu devised by executive head chef Darren Millgate to showcase the very best in Cornish ingredients.

Local boy Darren trained under Michelinstarred Ben Tunnicliffe and honed his craft in the south of France. He is now back on home turf with a food philosophy centred on honest Cornish produce, taking diners on a laid-back tour of Cornish fields, farms and waters. Darren makes regular trips to local markets and fields to source fresh produce; his food revolution at St Michaels centres on dishes big in flavour and low in food miles.

“One of my earliest memories was going out with my dad on our boat at Portholland to pull up the net and see what was in store for dinner,” he recalls. “Sometimes it was mackerel, or fiddly spider crabs, occasionally bass. The excitement of not knowing what would be in the net still guides me today. It’s far more important than the flamboyance and waste of a fine-dining operation.” Spend the evening taking in sunset views across the ocean, sip on something ice-cold and refreshing (or perhaps something with bubbles), before slinking back into one of St Michaels’ comfortable coastal bedrooms. A true home away from home for the night. l

The Twilight Spa Break is available on Wednesday and Thursday nights, from £140 per person. St Michaels Resort, Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth TR11 4NB. Tel 01326 312707 www.stmichaelsresort.com