The Lugger in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

We were really looking forward to our stay at The Lugger Hotel, having visited back in 2006 and being thoroughly impressed with the food, service, and beautiful location. Based on that fond memory, I booked a two-night stay as a Christmas present for my partner, expecting the same level of excellence. Unfortunately, from the moment we arrived, it became clear that The Lugger no longer lives up to its 5-star reputation. First Impressions & Accommodation: Upon arrival, the receptionist gave the impression that she was disinterested and unwelcoming—a stark contrast to the warm hospitality we expected. While the room was clean, it lacked basic amenities like hotel information, brochures, or instructions for using the facilities. The TV wasn’t working at all, and the WiFi was weak and kept disconnecting. Though there were some complimentary items, they did not reflect the luxury standards one would expect from a 5-star hotel. Additionally, the stairs leading to our building were covered in rubbish and debris, again falling short of even basic hospitality standards. The Dining Experience: The most disappointing part of our stay, however, was the dining experience, which we had eagerly anticipated as a key highlight of our visit. Breakfast: My partner ordered the Full Cornish Breakfast, but it was far from “full.” Not only were standard items missing, but the portion was surprisingly small. The taste was mediocre at best—certainly not what you’d expect from a luxury establishment. Dinner: We chose to dine at the hotel to treat ourselves to what we thought would be an exceptional culinary experience. The menu sounded promising, and while the staff were polite and helpful, the service felt disjointed, with multiple mistakes occurring around us. For starters, my dish was fine, but my partner’s included granola crumbs that were toasted to the point of being rock-hard—so much so that he genuinely feared he had broken a tooth. It was unpleasant and should never have been served in that condition. The main course was even more disappointing. We both ordered the same fish dish, which turned out to be bland, overcooked, and entirely devoid of flavor. While British politeness kept us from speaking up immediately, we did write a discreet note on my phone and shared it with the front-of-house manager after the main course. She acknowledged our concerns and assured us she would discuss it with us later. Sadly, the dessert continued the trend of underwhelming flavors, though I will say the presentation of all the dishes was beautiful—it’s just unfortunate the taste didn’t match the aesthetics. Post-Dinner & Final Impressions: After dinner, the manager asked us to move to a quieter area of the restaurant and offered us tea. Given the poor dining experience, we assumed this was a complimentary gesture. To our surprise, we were charged for it, and no one ever followed up with us regarding our feedback—despite sitting there for over an hour. When we checked out the next day, we expected some form of acknowledgment—whether a reduction in the food bill or a simple apology. Instead, the receptionist seemed unaware of the situation and showed no interest in finding out more. Her passive-aggressive response, “You ate your food, and we can’t do anything about it,” was not only dismissive but deeply unprofessional. Hotel’s Lack of Cooperation: Following our stay, we reached out directly to the hotel in an attempt to resolve the matter privately. We provided detailed feedback and requested a partial refund, given the premium we paid for what was advertised as a luxury experience. The hotel acknowledged our concerns but refused to offer a fair resolution, only refunding us for the tea that was incorrectly charged. Despite multiple follow-ups, they stopped responding entirely, leaving us no choice but to escalate the matter through our credit card provider and share our experience publicly.

What a beautiful hotel and the location and views were amazing. The staff were so helpful and friendly and the food was out of this world. Definitely would stay again. So much better than just a hotel

Friendly helpful staff great breakfast clean warm rooms good food great relaxing place to enjoy a winter break highly recommended

Proper posh is exactly what I'd call the Lugger. My assistance dog was treated like a celebrity! And welcomed everywhere. Beautiful, spacoius room, spotlessly clean. Bag of dog treats and fridge in the room. All the staff were extremely welcoming from arrival to departure. Beautiful location for coastal path walks. Very old building so expect quirky steps and low ceilings. Food was fantastic.

I love this little gem! Down the end of winding Cornish roads you will find the Lugger sat on a little beach in an old fishing village. They still have fishing boats even now and thr lobster pots sit on the beach next to the boats. The staff here are amazing, it's dog friendly, there's a log fire in the lounge and the restaurant looks out over the beach. Food is absolutely delicious and very high quality but reasonable prices. Ooms are cozy and cute, they even do a turn down service and I had a hot water bottle they tucked I to the bottom of the bed last night! Bliss! Free parking too.

Absolutely stunning location, rooms tastefully decorated and superbly clean. The staff are friendly and happy to help. The food was outstanding. There is a cosy charm that is homely like a big hug. Will definitely be going again

What a beautiful hotel in a picturesque coastal location. We felt at home immediately. Thank you to all the staff for making our stay so perfect.

It's beautiful there, quiet and the food is simply delicious! The staff very accommodating and friendly!

Haven't even made it home yet and we couldn't wait to write this review! What a beautiful hotel, location & team! We enjoyed a 3 night stay at The Lugger, location was lovely, views from around the harbour were stunning and the hotel was perfect. We ate at the restaurant for both breakfast and dinner, fantastic food and the service was spot on. The staff could not have made us feel more comfortable. It was the first time away with our 3 month old and dog, Stan, and the team went out of their way to make it at streamline as possible. We celebrated our anniversary and my husbands birthday whilst we were here too and everyone made us feel very special. Thank you all so much! Special thank you to Callum - Stan misses him already. Could not recommend this hotel anymore!

Decent seafood, great position overlooking the sea. Excellent service

Wonderful location. Nice staff apart from the manager. Ann and the restaurant manager deserve special praise. Terrible coffee, meals with good products but very small portions for a lot of money. Ours was very oversalted.

Amazing staff and service at really peaceful hotel.

Great little hotel, in a lovely old building with great views from the restaurant. Very good evening meal and breakfast. Highly recommended.

Wow! We really have had an amazing night away, my husband and I had the lookout room and it was absolutely beautiful. The room was very clean and bright, the bathroom had a shower only which was clean and a good shower. I loved the White Company products, and there was extra little bits available such as vanity, sowing kits, shower cap ect. The bed was very comfortable and a good night sleep was had by us both, listening to the sea and wind really helped us relax. The staff from the minute we arrived were lovely, we had a giggle with them all. The restaurant staff were very attentive and would try to give everyone a table with a view if they could. The food was stunning, there was fish and meat option (expected mainly fish due to its location) it was well presented, cooked and came quickly. We had a lovely bottle of wine to complement the food choices we made. Breakfast again looked lovely, we had the choice of pastries, fruit, toast with homemade jam & marmalade and honey. There was yogurt with fresh fruit compotes, porridge in a heated pot for you to help yourself. We then had Eggs Royal which was beautiful. We left with a very full belly. Thank you to all the staff for a wonderful experience, we will be back and highly recommending to others.

The overall rating for this review is low down to one main area which was level of service. The welcome was ok, standard service, nothing to note and unremarkable. We called down from our room at 6:45pm to ask if we could eat at the restaurant and were told we could be fitted in at 7:15pm. On coming down to a nearly empty restaurant we both pondered the wait and couldn't really figure out the reason. The menu was heavily seafood focused only leaving 1 option for non-seafood lovers to choose. We decide to have a starter and pudding as we were not keen on the mains. My friend and I both chose what was labelled as an onion bhaji and tempura battered broccoli in sweet chilli sauce. When the food arrived, the onion Bhaji appeared to be uncooked in the middle. There was nothing about it having a sauce filled centre on the menu and both being keen cooks, we agreed it looked and tasted like uncooked batter. We got the waiter and explained that we both felt unable to eat it and were not happy with it. The response was not one of accountability and making sure we knew it would be resolved and that they were sorry. The food was instead taken away briefly only to be returned moments later, telling us this was curry paste. Having been a waitress myself I was a bit taken aback at the lack of service in this matter. It would be more usual to offer an apology and ask if another dish would be preferred or if the dish could be removed from the bill. To have it returned and be told like naughty school girls it was supposed to be like that, was certainly not 5 star service. I left mine on the plate and felt aggrieved at the experience. I also felt that we were not seen well after that incident. The breakfast offering was poor and lacked fresh fruit other than what looked like tinned fruit and some fruit bowl classics. Porridge was counted as a cooked breakfast so you could not have a cooked breakfast if you chose the porridge. Another anomaly to standard (not even 5-star) levels of service. I bought my own fresh fruit from a market to breakfast on the second day. The room was tidy and pleasant. It had a fridge which was nice. It was well stocked with tea and coffee and had fresh milk. The toiletries were all from The White Stuff and that was nice. The bath screen was tired and had areas that needing painting, there were pubic hairs in our shower on arrival and the bath did not drain. Based on the accommodation my friend and I both agreed it felt similar to what we have experienced as 3-star. Based on customer service we felt it was 1 star. So I have gone in the middle and given 2 stars. The location is beautiful, although I imagine would be challenging for someone who has a physcial disability. The local walks are on uneven terrain and the hotel lacks accessibility. On settling the bill at checkout I was surprised that the starters had not been reduced or removed. The wine was also extortionate for standard wine. The meal cost nearly £80 for 2 starters, 2 desserts and about 3 glasses of average wine. I challenged this and got 50% off one starter, which I felt was poor. There was also no apology or sense of accountability or wanting happy customers. After leaving and realising I wanted an itemised bill, I returned to ask for one. The receptionist was not there so the waiter asked me if I wanted him to get her. He went to get her and I heard him say, "we were just about to say goodbye" or something similar and it felt overwhelmingly that he was referring to my friend and I and that we were being spoken about in a derogatory way. We spent most of our time out of the hotel so we managed to have a great trip, but the hotel was the worst part of our trip and I would not recommend or return myself. Kind of makes you realise that the level of service is kind of the most important thing about hospitality. My friend and I both reflected, it felt like it was missing a mature, friendly, warm front of house manager who really cares about experience and standards.