“Excellent traditional cottage with designer touches in great location”
We spent two very happy weeks at 4 Elm Terrace this summer. It's a really lovely place to stay - roomy, comfortable, well done up and convenient. The cottage is actually two knocked together so it is very spacious - the pictures don't quite do it justice. The conversion was well done (we even met the builder who did it while staying there) and the owners have done a superb job on the interior design. I believe they do it professionally - it certainly looks it. The kitchen is a decent size and well equipped, the open plan living room / dining room is charming, spacious and filled with nice furniture. The sofas are a real step up from typical holiday lets - big, deep, comfy and capable of wooing the unwary into mid-afternoon snoozing. The TV is large and good quality and there is a decent little stereo too so it's comfortable place unwind after a hard day's holiday on the beach or the hill. The bedrooms are big and nicely done with good-sized beds and excellent mattresses. It's very nice place to be.
The cottage's position in Mevagissey is what is really special. Elm Terrace is a pedestrianized cobbled lane just on the edge of the centre of the village. This is great because it's incredibly convenient - you are literally seconds away from the sweet shop, the vegetable shop and the spar, not to mention the many pubs and restaurants. Equally the elevated position means excellent views across Mevagissey's valley and (at a sharp angle!) out to the sea. Yet you're also apart from the flow of people heading in and out of town. It's quiet, and you can sit on the cobbled lane and look out over it all while enjoying a privileged privacy. The cottage has its own bench on the lane, so you can sit in the sunshine outside the cottage and watch the world go by, from early in the morning through to 3 or 4 PM. The rest of the lane is mostly locals and we got to know many of them in our stay - they're all lovely. The main car park is a couple of minutes walk away and it's easy to park there and take your luggage (or shopping) up to the cottage. And Matt, who runs the car park, will give you a wonderful welcome to Mevagissey and show you how to get to the cottage.
Mevagissey itself is fab - a wonderful, real working fishing village with an endlessly fascinating active port. It's gorgeous, it feels like you're in a different country not just from England, but from the rest of Cornwall! The countryside around Mevagissey is exquisite and there is lots to do. It's a real foodie destination too - the restaurants are tremendous, with incredible local caught seafood and excellent local produce.
Downsides? For a family staying for two weeks a washing machine would have been nice, although we got the hang of the laundrette fairly well. The shower was good once it was repaired (the owners were VERY responsive when we asked about it) and the bathroom is decent but not quite as nice as the rest of the cottage. The cottage is built right into the rock and there's a teeny bit of damp smell at times, and a few moths around the place after dark.
But these are really very minor issues. Mevagissey is an extraordinarily nice Cornwall holiday destination, and Elm Terrace is a fantastic base from which to enjoy it. We thoroughly recommend it, and we'd love to stay there again.
- Paul H, August 2015
