Going up the driveway of The Alverton through the trees, it’s hard to believe how close it is to Truro’s center!
Within just a 5 minute walk you can find yourself on the high street of Cornwall’s capital, but it doesn’t feel like it at all once you’re in the grounds of this 19th century estate.
The Alverton is a grade II listed, four star hotel with 51 rooms (including 9 suites), a restaurant, bar and event rooms, set on the hillside amongst beautiful private gardens. I’ve visited a couple of times before; once for a Christmas lunch I organised for a group of us bloggers (around 4 years ago now!), and once to enjoy their al fresco ‘Summer Garden Sessions’ out on their terrace.
However I’ve never had a look inside their rooms before – as is the way when you live just a 10 minute drive away! You never end up discovering some of the most beautiful places on your doorstep.
We were kindly invited to visit in December for a night; the perfect way to get away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas chaos. I’m very lucky to have these opportunities to stay in these wonderful places nearby to my home, but if you’ve never done it yourself, I’d highly recommend it if you ever feel stuck or stressed and just want a quick breather from your every day life. A staycation is so much fun!
Our room for the night was in their recently refurbished Courtyard area, and what a room it was! Just take a look at these high beam ceilings, and Chapel-esque windows and doors. It definitely had the wow-factor as we walked in.
We arrived in the evening after work, and were both blown away by how unique this room was. I believe it was number 53 or something similar? In case you’re interested. There was also a box of chocolates waiting for us on the huge queen sized bed – which we may or may not have gobbled up that evening!
My favourite feature of the room was, of course, the free-standing copper bathtub, which sat atop what looked almost like a ‘stage’ or wooden platform at the end of the room. I’d never bathed in a copper tub before, so the first thing I did when we got in was start running it and got in! I definitely felt like the lady of the manor here…
Once we’d settled in, we had dinner booked for 7pm in the hotel restaurant, which we were both very excited about. I’ve heard really good things about the food, and the hotel has a two AA rosette award for its restaurant too.
For starters, I chose the cheese tart which Alex went for salmon tartare, both of which were delicious! I rarely eat dairy nowadays but always make the exception when eating at fancy restaurants – it’s too good not to.
For our main courses, Alex chose the sirloin steak (look at how juicy it was!) and I decided on the catch of the day with crab risotto, leeks and tartare sauce. This was an incredibly tasty combo and if it’s still on the menu when you visit, I’d definitely suggest giving this a try! My belly is rumbling just thinking about it as I write…
Honestly we were both ridiculously full after our first two courses, and weren’t sure if we’d be able to fit a dessert in. But when we saw the list we knew we should try the chocolate tart and share it between us – and of course just as expected, it was heavenly and very rich.
We basically rolled back to our room and fell straight to sleep – incredibly full and extremely tired after a long week at work.
The next morning we got up and had a stroll through the grounds. The Courtyard rooms all have access to this cosy common area, which has a meeting space at one end and lots of comfortable chairs with tea & coffee facilities and board games to choose from. I really love this idea and of course it helped that the whole place was decorated so festively for Christmas!
Amazingly, we managed to fit in a cooked breakfast in the morning when we got down to the restaurant! Alex (as I always point out here on the blog) is somewhat of a breakfast snob, but even he was impressed by his dish (if it includes hog’s pudding and some kind of potato, FYI, you’re always onto a winner!). I went for the veggie plate and can safely say I was full to the brim when we finally left to go back home!
I’d definitely recommend The Alverton if you’re looking for somewhere luxurious with easy access to Truro, and it was lovely as a short couples’ getaway too. Also if you live nearby, book yourself a table for dinner in the restaurant soon – it’s so worth it!
* We were invited as guests for the purpose of this review, but all opinions are my own.
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