Home Travel Inside the stunning seaside hotel overlooking a pocket-sized Cornish harbor that stars in BBC’s Poldark and Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park film

Inside the stunning seaside hotel overlooking a pocket-sized Cornish harbor that stars in BBC’s Poldark and Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park film

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Carlton Reid checks into the Pier House Hotel in Charlestown Harbour. Says:

The views on Charlestown Harbor of the recently reopened Pier House hotel are so glorious that it is entirely appropriate that there is a ‘daybed’ in my room, a space under the window to rest and enjoy the scenery.

And what a landscape! The Grade II listed Georgian port, a Unesco World Heritage Site south of St Austell in Cornwall, it reeks so much of period drama that it has been used in numerous film and television productions, including the BBC’s recent version of Poldark.

The sage green Pier House overlooks tall ships, a curved pier and St Austell Bay beyond.

One of the port’s square riggers is permanently docked here.

This is the Kajsamoor, a two-masted wooden commercial ketch that filmmakers routinely use as a historical backdrop, although it is decidedly mid-20th century and not Georgian.

Instead of looking out at the big ships, my room had a direct view of the curved pier, and I would have gladly spent hours people-watching on the daybed if it hadn’t been for the lure of swimming in the sea, which made it fun. made it even more tempting. thanks to the provision in the room of a hotel brand dry robe.

Despite the sun, the sea was freezing and I was glad for the wool coat.

Charlestown, once a bustling port exporting copper and china clay, today is sometimes a movie set where filmmakers only have to make a simple prop for Poldark to lift the place.

Carlton Reid checks into the Pier House Hotel in Charlestown Harbour. It says: “The Grade II-listed Georgian harbor reeks so much of period drama that it has been used in numerous film and TV productions, including the BBC’s recent version of Poldark.”

1737463299 606 Inside the stunning seaside hotel overlooking a pocket sized Cornish harbor

“The Pier House (pictured) was built in 1794 as a harbor hotel,” says Carlton, “and described as a ‘comfortable hotel’ in a traveler’s guide to Cornwall from 1808. It remains the largest retreat in Charlestown, with 27 beautifully furnished rooms.

Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean would also feel at home here, but this isn’t a Disney theme park: the granite piers are real, the uneven cobblestones are original, and the china clay gate looks like it was last used yesterday. . .

However, the two cannons are replicas, the rum barrels serve as ambience, and the harbor dovecote is modern, built to house the descendants of the white pigeons featured in the 1999 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.

The harbor was excavated in the 1790s (it was Poldark, then) on the instructions of local bigwig Charles Rashleigh. A new Georgian town, named after the money man, absorbed the sardine fishing village of West Polmear and, at its peak in 1911, Charlestown had a population of 3,184.

Charlestown, and its tall ships, is now owned by Sir Tim Smit, founder of the nearby Lost Gardens of Heligan and co-founder of Cornwall’s Eden Project.

The Pier House was built in 1794 as a harbor hotel and described as a “comfortable hotel” in an 1808 traveler’s guide to Cornwall.

Rooms at Pier House start from £109 per night, based on two people sharing a classic double room (above)

Rooms at Pier House start from £109 per night, based on two people sharing a classic double room (above)

Carlton's room had a

Carlton’s room had a “direct view of the curved pier,” and he says he “would gladly have spent hours people-watching on the daybed (pictured).”

Carlton says:

Carlton says: “The hotel is owned by local brewery St Austell, known nationally for their Tribute beer.” Upstairs – the hotel bar

It remains Charlestown’s largest retreat, with 27 beautifully furnished rooms, many with harbor and sea views.

They all feature Roberts radios, Elemis toiletries and luxury Richard Haworth bedding.

While some hotels, if you’re lucky, offer a couple of cookies in your room, my room at the Pier House was stocked with two bags of gourmet potato chips, two chorizo ​​sausages, and a packet of dry roasted peanuts.

There was also a Nespresso machine, of course.

The doors inside the Pier House are heavy and rigid, a belt-and-suspension fire prevention measure, reminding guests that the hotel has suffered two recent conflagrations.

Out of service by fire in January 2023, Pier House reopened in June this year after a multi-million pound refurbishment. The new decoration is a country house by the sea.

Charlestown is sometimes a lived-in movie set, Carlton says, and the filmmakers only have to make a mere prop for Poldark to lift the place.

Charlestown is sometimes a lived-in movie set, Carlton says, and the filmmakers only have to make a mere prop for Poldark to lift the place.

The image above shows the filming of Poldark in Charlestown in 2015.

The image above shows the filming of Poldark in Charlestown in 2015.

Carlton went 'swimming in the sea' in the harbor (pictured) and says 'despite the sun, the sea was freezing'

Carlton notes:

Carlton went “swimming in the sea” in the harbor (left) and says that “despite the sun, the sea was freezing.” Of the town, he adds: “Charlestown’s granite cobblestones are original, but the barrels (both pictured at right) are for show.”

Charlestown Harbor is a place

The port of Charlestown is a “virgin” site declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The hotel is owned by the local. St Austell BreweryKnown nationally for its Tributo beer.

The brewery’s ownership of pubs and hotels began with founder, Walter Hicks, who started his liquor business in 1851.

I know this because I took the brewery tour at the company’s headquarters in St Austell, a ten-minute bike ride away.

The company is still run by a descendant of the founder, while all shareholders are members of the extended family and cannot sell to anyone outside the offspring.

This sense of family is evident in the immense care that surrounds you during your picturesque stay at Pier House – you won’t want to leave.

TRAVEL DATA

Rooms at Pier House start from £109 per night, based on two people sharing a classic double room. Visit: pierhousehotel.com.

A mainline train service runs from London Paddington to St Austell and takes between 4.5 and five hours. From St. Austell, you can take the number 24 or 25 bus to Charlestown. There is no parking at Pier House. On the other hand, those with a car can park in the Rashleigh Arms nearby, another pub in the West Country St Austell brewery empire.

Advantages: In a prime position in a pocket harbour, Pier House has been stunningly beautiful for a long time and, with the recent refurbishment, is now luxurious too.

Cons: Charlestown is very popular in high season, so be prepared for crowds during the day.

Rating out of 5: *****

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