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Regarding the golf itself - we have a golfer in our midst, who obviously came here to play some serious golf! St. Mellion Golf & Country Club has two golf courses - the Old Course - the original course at St Mellion (free to play on all day every day), and the newer Nicklaus Course, which ... Read review
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Advantages: Peaceful, tranquil & wonderful views & surroundings, even if you don't play golf! Disadvantages: Maybe unsuitable for wheelchairs and the infirm because of steep steps to the property.
...to play some serious golf! St. Mellion Golf & Country Club has two golf courses - the Old Course - the original course at St Mellion (free to play on all day every day), and the newer Nicklaus Course, which is a Championship course that used to host the Benson & Hedges International. This can be played on for a fee of £20 per person, per round. If you are an 'Early Bird' or 'Twilight' player, this fee can be halved - times of day depend on the season. ... ...they can before it gets too dark! Rounds on the Old and New Nicklaus Courses have to be booked a week in advance (Dave played Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so had to phone to book them separately on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday the week before). We've found that if he booked an early start of around 7am - he was back by 10.30 - 11am and we still had time to drive out, eat lunch when we got there and had the afternoon at wherever we decided to ... more
The small village of St Mellion is situated about 20 mins north west of Plymouth, and is around 15/20 miles north of the coast where Looe, Seaton and historic fishing town of Polperro are situated.
The holiday cottages this review covers are provided by Neville & Frances Toptani under the company name of 'Holiday Cottages in Cornwall'. They own several properties, some at 'Trehill' in Callington, Cornwall, but the ones I am writing about are situated in the St Mellion Golf & Country Club, at 'Oakridge'.
'Oakridge' is a small development of stone built, heavily timbered cottages/lodges, situated in small clusters of five along a long driveway on the outskirts of the course. The one we stayed at for a week this August is called 'Fairways' and is in the first cluster, numbered 1 - 5, situated opposite woodland (and these five in particular have great views of the 12th fairway on the New 'Nicklaus Course'). 'Fairways' is No. 3, and as the properties are built stepped up a hill, 1 is at the bottom, 2 ('The Gallery' - 3 bedroomed cottage, also owned by the same people) along and halfway up, 3 'Fairways' is right at the top in the middle, 4 and 5 then step back down the hill again. If you were to view the properties from above, they would be in an inverted 'V' shape.
Because of the hilly surroundings, they would not suit the very elderly or disabled, wheelchair access would be impossible. We had to carry our two year old, as she couldn't manage the steps herself. We weren't worried about her being here though, as you wouldn't let very young children out to play on their own anyway (ours are aged 5 and 2 years). Obviously the ponds and water features/steep steps could be a concern, but there's a decking area out to the rear of the property and a large slope with odd shrubs dotted around - older children would love to explore!
Numbers 6 - 10 are further along the road and cannot be seen because of the heavy planting and trees, giving a feeling of seclusion. We stayed in No. 6 called 'Wentworth' last June - the only differences being that you can't see the 12th hole, just a view of woodland in front and a grassy hill behind with newly planted trees, but also in that it is a three bedroomed property. No. 20 is in another cluster further along and is called 'Treetops' - again owned by the same people.
In front of the cluster of five properties, there is a parking area, enough for maybe 8 - 9 cars, then steps off to each property. There's a lot of beautiful planting here, also a series of ponds/water features as you climb up the gravelled steps. There are also a series of small lamps, should you need to climb the steps at night - that are switched off early hours of the morning. There is also a brick built barbeque to the front of the property for your own private use.
The cottages are non-smoking and do not accommodate pets. All have an upstairs first floor triangular 'veranda' style decked area off the living area, including a table and chairs to sit out and admire the view. We ate our breakfast out here! The three bedroom properties have a larger decked area, and as all the cottages are all slightly different in design, some have decked areas wrapping around the cottage to make the most of the views. As previously mentioned, all also have a large ballustraded decking area at the rear of the property, situated where the sun shines all day! In addition to the table and chairs provided on the front first floor veranda, there is a larger patio table, four chairs and parasol provided on the rear decking.
The cottages are based on an 'upside down' layout - open plan living/dining/kitchen area upstairs to fully utilise on the fantastic views all around, and in the case of No. 3 'Fairways', two downstairs bedrooms each with their own large bathroom (containing WC, basin, and bath with power shower over. Towels and bath mat provided, although they do encourage you to use your own towels when using the pool.) The master bedroom contains a large kingsize bed (all bedlinen provided) and built in wardrobes with plenty of coathangers etc.). The other bedroom is a twin, with two single beds, with a freestanding wardrobe.
The cottage is very tastefully decorated with lots of stained wood - stair ballustrading, window frames, window sills etc. are all stained pine. The upstairs living/dining/kitchen area also has a feature ceiling, using wooden beams and pine cladding. This gives a feeling of being light and airy, also spaciousness. There are plenty of windows and a small seating area just in front of the kitchen to maximise on the views. There is an open fireplace in the living room with fireguard, many paintings and pictures/ornaments on display.
The light and airy kitchen comes fully equipped - including full height fridge/freezer, electric oven and hob, dishwasher, washing machine, oil fired central heating boiler, microwave, clothes drying stand, iron & ironing board, vacuum cleaner. Also all cutlery, crockery, pots and pans, even down to the cling film! Basic provisions too, generally left behind by previous holidaymakers - tea, coffee, sugar, tomato ketchup etc!
There is a full size TV (terrestrial only in No. 3, No. 2 'The Gallery' has Sky TV), VCR and CD player. A small selection of videos, (including The Jungle Book a firm favourite with us!) also a small selection of music CDs and board games are available for use. Worth noting too, that there is no telephone in No. 3, only in No. 2. We both took our mobiles and are with Orange - reception fair to poor! Any text/voice messages came through when we got out on to the main road. When my mum came with us last year, she got full reception the whole time with T-Mobile.
Some reading materials have been provided - books, magazines, local 'what to do' leaflets and booklets, general tourist info - guestbook, and 'Welcome to Oakridge' folder containing info on the cottage (heating, bins (Large bins available on the way out of Oakridge to dispose of rubbish) etc.) also information relating to golf/clubhouse info, local doctors/dental surgeries, hospital, police etc. Also local petrol stations, banks, taxis, buses, trains, shops, pubs, places to go, places to eat (including a copy of menus etc.), beaches, cinemas, shopping, local history, walks, fishing, sports, everything you can imagine! Also a guestbook with previous holiday maker's comments - all are praising the high quality of the accommodation/facilities and surroundings, also too most of which asking for a tumble drier - I must admit although this would be useful, the clothes airer stand is more than adequate - stood in the kitchen next to the floor standing boiler overnight tend to dry four large towels by morning.
Regarding baby provision, a travel cot, highchair and stairgate can be provided on request at time of booking, free of charge.
Overall it is extremely well maintained. It is also a very quiet place to stay, and is renowned for being a 'peaceful retreat'. I think that even if neither of us played golf, we would still recommend staying here. The price of staying on the course is comparable to the cottages we've hired over the years. We paid £785 (Height of the season, mid August, ranging down to £325 in low season) for the week, with a 25% deposit (in our case £195) payable on booking. The balance is due four weeks before you go. Dave suggested that four men could all stay here easily, and chip in - making that around £200 each, not bad for a week playing golf all day and every day! Mind you, two of them would have to share the double bed!!! Maybe not then!!!
Keys for the cottages are collected and returned to Mr & Mrs Toptani's offices at the Trehill Cottage development down the road. Usually the cottages are available from 3pm on your day of arrival, and should be vacated by 10am on your day of departure, in order for cleaning to be carried out.
Regarding the golf itself - we have a golfer in our midst, who obviously came here to play some serious golf! St. Mellion Golf & Country Club has two golf courses - the Old Course - the original course at St Mellion (free to play on all day every day), and the newer Nicklaus Course, which is a Championship course that used to host the Benson & Hedges International. This can be played on for a fee of £20 per person, per round. If you are an 'Early Bird' or 'Twilight' player, this fee can be halved - times of day depend on the season. I guess Twilight players can play as many holes as they can before it gets too dark! Rounds on the Old and New Nicklaus Courses have to be booked a week in advance (Dave played Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so had to phone to book them separately on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday the week before). We've found that if he booked an early start of around 7am - he was back by 10.30 - 11am and we still had time to drive out, eat lunch when we got there and had the afternoon at wherever we decided to go. It worked out really well. Also Mummy got a lie in - kids permitting of course!
Two temporary memberships are included within the price of your stay, to both the Old Course and Leisure Memberships (Gym, Pools, Sauna, Jacuzzi, Tennis Courts at the Clubhouse, covering the duration of your stay. Children under 5 can use the facilities free of charge - over 5 and under 17 would cost a fee of £11 for the week, adults (over and above the two included) at £20 per week. If you present your membership cards (provided with the keys to the property) when paying for food or drink at the club, you will also receive 10% discount. The Clubhouse can be accessed via a 20 minute walk along pathways along the golf course from the cottage, but we found it was easier to drive (than pushing Millie in her buggy across the course!). It was five minutes by car.
On the Wednesday we just stayed 'at home' - Dave played golf in the morning, we went to Waitrose to buy lunch - had lunch and went swimming at the Club house. The facilities there are great, and the pools are wonderful. One small shallow one for toddlers/young children, one larger pool with 'mushroom' water fountain for the kids and underwater lighting - and one larger one divided into lanes for 'lapping' (no, not 'lapping' as in the way dogs drink, 'lapping' as in 'swimming laps' up and down the length of the pool!)
Changing rooms are immaculately clean and lockers require a £1 deposit. Membership cards have to be shown on entry and collected on exit. There is plenty of parking at the Club, and even at extremely busy times have had no problems parking at all.
We can't personally comment on the Sauna, Gym, Tennis etc. basically because we haven't used them. We've seen the facilities though, and they look great. Maybe when the kids are older! Mind you, apparently too the Clubhouse has a crèche (yet to 'suss' out! 10% discount on production of a club membership card.) A local babysitter is also available, with prior arrangement at £5 an hour!
Regarding activities outside of the course, we tend to travel out to the coast and visit Plymouth (12 miles - £1.00 toll payable one way on the Tamar Bridge over the River Tamar into Plymouth) while we're here. At the moment, our five year old is 'Finding Nemo' mad and loves the 'National Marine Aquarium' situated in Plymouth dockyard. We've visited both times and it's a fabulous place to visit (£8.75 for adults, £5.25 for children over 4, under 4's are free. For more info visit: www.national-aquarium.co.uk). Great for those not-so-sunny days too!
We also went to beaches such as Looe (about 20/25 mins away), Seaton (on the way back from Looe), Bude (approx. 35 mins) and wonderful white sandy Newquay (around an hour away) with it's Aquarium and Zoo, as well as a million other things to do, whatever the weather. We love the 'old favourite' - visited many times and still love going to - 'Teignmouth' (40 mins away). Polperro is well worth a visit too - a beautiful village, a 'typical Cornish' fishing town. We tend to go for the day, and the kids get a nap on the way there and back, so everyone's happy!
There's a local Waitrose five minutes away at Saltash for those daily supplies, as well as a Burger King. A fabulous Pasty Shop too - can't recommend these pasties high enough, although their opening hours are fairly erratic - we drove home from Newquay and decided to get some Burger King chips & Pasty Shop pasties to take home - but at 4.30 they were closed, even though they should close at 5pm! Obviously must be 'Cornwall Time'! So we ended up going back to Burger King to get burgers to eat with our chips! We tend to eat out while away, and found a great Beefeater restaurant 'The Marsh Mill' just on the outskirts of Plymouth (15 mins). Great food, great surroundings and fabulous service with reasonable prices. Family of four, two courses, drinks etc. £40 - bargain! This is next to Sainsburys - handy too for topping up on supplies. Another local pub well worth a mention is the 'Crooked Spaniard' in Cargreen - about 3 miles down a very long and winding road, off the main road to Plymouth - situated on the banks of the River Tamar, great food, reasonable prices and a fabulous view. Wonderful.
We found Mr & Mrs Toptani's site by searching for cottages in Cornwall, and booked the property via their website. Their site is well laid out and easy to navigate, including information on all properties available, with availability dates and prices. By return, we received an email from them confirming our booking, with an attached Word document giving full details of our booking and directions to the Trehill Holiday Cottages development, to collect our keys from, and then on to the properties themselves. We have always found Neville and Frances to be extremely helpful and would not hesitate in highly recommending a stay in one of their properties, even if you're not a golfer - just go to enjoy the surroundings, peace and tranquility and local sights - fabulous!
