SCARLET BY NAME, GREEN BY NATURE

May 23, 2010 by Editor
Filed under TRAVEL

CORNWALL HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DESTINATION THAT CONJURES CARE-FREE IMAGES OF BOHEMIAN OUTDOOR LIFESTYLES IN OUR MINDS HERE AT AGENT2: SOMETHING THAT AS DEVOTED, FAST LIVING, CITY DWELLERS WE OFTEN STEER CLEAR OF WHEN PLANNING A WEEKEND AWAY.

However, The Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall peaked our interest with its promise of being ‘a place to eat, dream and play in peace and be influenced by the natural rhythms of Mother Nature.’ We were also more than a little curious to see if the UK’s first, purpose built, eco-luxe hotel could successfully shake off our preconceptions of sawdust toilets, hemp cloth bedding and self-righteous eco-warriors scowling at our every over-indulgence.

It is apparent that our pace of life begins to slow with every twist and turn of the roads leading to the hotel. The sleepy pace is soon jarred on arrival by the spectacular location carved into the North Cornish cliff above the crashing Atlantic Ocean.

The Scarlet was the brainchild of three sisters who also own the well established; family orientated Bedruthan Steps Hotel, further on up the hill. The entrance to the hotel ensures the mood is set for luxurious self-indulgence, with floor to ceiling glass offering us the unbroken view of an infinity pool, leading the eyes to the sea. Designed to blend into the surroundings with features such as a flat roof covered in sea shale, copper walls, sweeping timber curves and rock plants reflecting the cliffs and beach below; the hotel offers an ideal base to explore the Cornish coast and countryside if you can manage to pull yourself away from the lure of the hotel’s luxurious trappings as the interior seems to effortlessly melt into the beautiful exterior.

With the number of doors in the Scarlet purposely kept to a minimum in an effort to retain an air of tranquility, light envelops each of the spaces found in the hotel. The library is the perfect place for lounging in comfort while outside, two terraces; a natural reed pool and a scarlet, fire-heated hot tub offer views of Mawgan Porth Beach from a stunning, cliff- top location.

If you’d rather see than be seen then anyone of the hotel’s 37 rooms provides the perfect private sanctuaries. Each of the luxurious rooms offers a private balcony and sea view. Large head showers, deep bathtubs, thick and soft robes and towels and natural Cornish soaps make this little slice of heaven complete. The only thing that is going to get AGENT2 to leave the hotel is the fire alarm and even if that were to sound, we’d still need a little coaxing to leave this lap of luxury.

The word ‘sanctuary’ cannot be over used when describing the offerings at the Scarlet and one place we can really lay the use on thickly is when it comes to describing the hotel’s spa. Individual Ayurvedic ‘journeys’ are the relaxation du jour after a therapist’s consultation to identify your body type (they did refrain from hurting our feelings). The treatment rooms are tented with heavy curtains rather than doors, ensuring no sounds break the tangible peace and quiet. Wallowing in the subdued glow produced by a myriad of tea lights while a deep tissue massage is performed is followed by cocooning in one of the cushioned deep relaxation pods, suspended from the ceiling. This is just the ticket for pushing our feeling of deep relaxation into a more coma like state.

This seamless luxury that envelops each aspect of the hotel is not a miss in the hotel’s food offering. Ben Tunnicliffe (formerly of the Michelin-starred Abbey in Penzance) casts his masterful touch over the menu. Breakfast offered choices such as poached rhubarb with thick yoghurt; kippers and a full Cornish breakfast of locally sourced produce. The evening’s menu choices are equally as delicious and as you would expect from a hotel proud of its eco status, the items are locally sourced with an emphasis and great, fresh produce and fish that tastes as though it was just plucked from the sea. An extensive wine list compliments the menu but in the thoughtful fashion seen throughout the Scarlet, only European wines are stocked reducing ‘food miles’ in line with their green policy.

Luxury aside, we cannot brush over the Scarlet’s green credentials. As well as minimizing their visual impact on the landscape the hotel boasts solar panels that heat both the indoor and outdoor pool. A bio-mass boiler burns woodchips from local sources to heat the rest of the hotel. With a £120, 000 price tag, the boiler demonstrates the hotel’s green resolve. Grass roofing, water recycling initiatives and a team of litter picking staff discharged to the beach make sure this resolve never waivers.

A weekend at the Scarlet is more than enough to change our city-loving mindset and take a small timeout from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. With high-design meeting the beauty of the natural surrounds of the Cornish coast, wonderful food and a spa that will tame the fastest of lives all topped off with a fantastically world conscious ethos, this is certainly one lavish, luxurious weekend retreat that will definitely leave you relaxed – mind, body and soul.