Cornish Gems Reviews 

Just how a holiday experience should be. Easy, smooth and speedy booking process. Informed at all the right moments to allow for relaxed start, access to property, and end of stay. Courtesy call appreciated. Felt in safe hands at all points to allow for a brilliant holiday in fantastic accommodation.

Had a wonderful weekend at Ilha View, great house, very spacious and comfortable with lovely views of Looe Island, good outside space. Walkable into Looe harbour in about 15- 20 minutes. A little cafe called The Lookout do fab lunches. Really good base for exploring East Cornwall, Polperro, Talland Bay very pretty.

Glas Mor (Mousehole)
Super location overlooking Mousehole harbour and a comfortable cottage. However, we were disappointed with the cleanliness of the cottage, plus one or two maintenance issues to the property needed (broken toilet seat etc). Aga style cooker was great but no provision of oven gloves (despite the property H&S assessment suggesting otherwise) - this was reported when we received the courtesy ‘welcome call’ from Cornish Gems and assurance given that they would rectify this at the start of the week. No further contact was received from Cornish Gems so it’s apparent their courtesy calls actually have very little substance!
Despite the cleanliness issue, no oven gloves and some maintenance needed to the cottage we did enjoy our holiday.

All their properties are top end. I’ve made contact with them a few times and they have been very helpful and professional. I would definitely book through them again.

Wonderful property with an amazing view, Water's Edge in StIves, Cornish Gems very easy to deal with and very helpful (we had a flat battery in the car and they kindly came out to help us with a jump start)

Dear Sirs

We wanted to provide some feedback on our recent stay (10-17 Sept 2022) at Talland View with Cornish Gems.

On initial review on the property on arrival we wondered when the property had been used last due to the level of dust on surfaces and cobwebs present in the lounge. The cleanliness is not up to the standards we are used to, please see attached images showing dust on surfaces, blinds and visible hairs etc on the floors and 'clean' bedding once the green fleece had been removed.

We were also very disappointed to experience noise and disturbance from the building work going on next door, especially as we had taken the time to call prior to booking to enquire about the note on the property about building work. We were assured that there had been no negative feedback about the building or noise and that the vehicles would only be using the the road for access. We question again when was the property last used as on several mornings we were woken shortly after 7am to lorries arriving before the site was open and parking outside the flats, engine's running, music playing. delivering building equipment and scaffolding. We also experienced drilling and general building noises, again after being told we would not hear any drilling noise. We ended up sleeping with the windows closed to minimise the disturbance but with the return of warm weather during our stay this was not ideal. Given this level of disturbance to what we had expected to be a relaxing holiday, we would have expected the property to have been heavily discounted. Have Cornish Gems themselves visited the property in recent months?

The Guidebook on the property stated specific instructions of when and where the rubbish needed to be left, what wasn't included was the code to access the area for the rubbish bins. Instead the instructions said that we would receive a message with the code, this did not come and instead we had to contact the emergency number requesting it. A message was left saying they were trying to find the code.... Surely this should be information easily available and we certainly shouldn't have to go out of our way to chase for this. I ended up having to taken the rubbish out in the rain and dark due to when I finally received the code.

We do not generally like to complain but given we have received an email asking for feedback we felt we should share our experience. Sadly our first experience of Cornish Gems has not been all positive which is a shame and it will unfortunately make us consider whether to use the service again.

Best wishes.

D. Goodwin

We stayed at Wavewatcher for a week. The property is modern, clean and built/furnished to a high standard. Even better than the pictures. Great views across Perranporth and down to the beach, particularly from the master bedroom. We loved it and didn’t want to leave. Cornish Gems made it easy to book, provided a great welcome pack and were always on hand to answer any questions.

We recently stayed at St Ives Bay Penthouse and cannot stress enough how disappointed we were with the property. We have used Cornish gems on a number of occasions and had great holidays but this place was well below those standards. Property still had loads of owners personal stuff in draws and cupboards. TV sometimes worked when you fiddled with the leads, the fridge couldn’t keep things cold in the daytime. No working TVs in the bedrooms, hallway full of bags etc so not usable for our storage which is quite vital on a seaside break etc etc etc.

We really enjoyed Little Polkerris, a secluded property with stunning views! The hot tub was an added bonus.

The house was lovely, with plenty of space and all finished well. Although the descriptions said that the garden were set over three levels with 21 steps, it should have said how steep and high the steps were. They were a dangerous for young children or pets. Also we were contacted by customer services from Cornish Gems on the second day to ask how the house was. We let them know that the downstairs wc light was not working, and with it not having a window meant it could not be used without the door open. Also that there was no soap in one of the bathrooms and a bedroom tv was not working because of the aerial cable. I was told that it would be passed over to maintenance. I heard nothing for the remainder of the week. Also the location. St Ives was lovely but the house location, right by the bus and train station felt like everyone going through St Ives were right there. The road was also noisy with people driving very fast past the front door. Apart from that, the pool was great, loads of happy days on the beaches and visiting the amazing places to eat and drink.

This summer we stayed at The Fish Cellar, St Ives through the booking company Cornish Gems. Having stayed at various properties previously through Cornish Gems we have always had a good experience. BUT the Fish Cellar was not a good experience. This property was very tired/dirty and so bad I decided to email and send photos to Cornish Gems to explain my disappointment. This was 2 weeks ago and I have yet to receive a response.

We’ve stayed at many Cornish Gems properties over the years and this was another great one - very well maintained and in the perfect location

We had booked Belvedere House for an extra special luxury family holiday . For the cost of the property I think we were all expecting a property of superb standard .
Whilst the location of the property is second to none and overall it is still a good place to stay we did encounter
several problems throughout our stay that in all honesty are not up to scratch and worth the money paid . Some relate to house maintenance and some to Cornish gems communication . I have listed the issues below :
1)
I had emailed ahead a few months ahead to ask if it was at all possible to check in a little earlier than the allocated 4.30 pm . I understand that properties need to be cleaned thoroughly before the next guest goes in so was not expecting anything too early but maybe a few hours early would have been nice if the property was completed then . Many other companies and properties all over the country have done this previously if asked in advance . I was advised by reply that if the property was ready earlier you would text me with arrival details . The previous guests would have had to vacate by 9 or 10 am . At approx 1pm my brother drove past the property where cleaners were present . At 2.45 I drove past the property and no one was there so I rang Cornish gems to enquire . I advised of my earlier email and that some members of our party had health problems and it would be lovely if we could get in a bit earlier ! I was advised the property was not signed off yet but they would check and get back to me as soon as possible . At 4.10 pm I still hadn’t heard anything ,by now it’s only 20 mins before official check in . I rang again to be told they would check again and was eventually told it was ready . The codes were sent through to my phone and we gained access !
We know the property was at least cleared at 3 so why couldn’t Cornish gems allow an earlier check in given the advance request ?
2) There were several large stains on the carpet in the lounge , in the ground floor bedroom and a few others . It had been vacuumed well but why was the carpet dirty . I understand you are at the mercy of previous guests not cleaning up after themselves but it rather lets down the supposed luxury holiday let. I did let Cornish gems know about this in the 24 hour follow up call and by email .
3) On Monday or Tuesday the property housekeeper just turned up with a fridge engineer . Apparently Cornish gems were supposed to have let us know in advance that the previous week the fridge soft close was not working and the fridge was not getting up to temperature properly . This actually could have been a potential health issue of which we were none the wiser !
Well I had no prior notification of this by email or phone . The housekeeper was surprised we didn’t know . This visit was inconvenient and also could be alarming without any prior notification. Poor communication by Cornish Gems yet again .
4) We had been told in advance about the pool mosaic tiles coming off so pool shoes had been provided . During our visit many more came off . We were told by the pool attendant just to collect them and post under the pool room door . Some pieces were sharp . In addition there were only 2 size 6 shoes provided and there were 3 members of our party who were a size 6 do not an ideal solution. In addition although the pool was clean I did notice some green algae in some of the grout .
5) Most of the inflatable floats in the pool box have punctures so thus need going through to test .
6)The gym photos imply more equipment than in reality . I also reported to you that the seat on the bench press is in disrepair
7)The private patio that you advertise in the property details is fully open to neighbours and the front of the property so a little deceiving in its description . On the private patio is a very old bench that needs a lot of attention .
8)The curtains in the ground floor bedroom have quite a lot of bobbling on the fabric that needs attention.
9) On Thursday - When closing the front door carefully the base of the door handle dropped off !
My sister in law texted the housekeeper immediately as we had been asked to do with any further problems on the Un notified fridge visit day . To be fair to the housekeeper she did ask if we needed a solution immediately . We thought it fair to leave this till departure day as with delicacy it was possible to close the door . The photos sent to the housekeeper showed this had happened due to it being rusty . I presume sea air had been damaging it for a while .
The above issues need to be addressed by Cornish Gems .

Scilly stack is a wonderful cottage located in a remote but not isolated working farm. The owners are incredibly nice and generous as you will discover when you open the gift box full of wonderful delicious surprises (I won’t spoil it for you). The cottage is small but perfectly formed and with great attention to detail and high spec, with everything you need for two people and our furry babies who also loved the place. The location is perfect, quiet, yet less than a 10 minute walk through lovely fields to St Just where you’ll find lots of eateries and friendly people. Try the butchers! Great steaks and pasties!!! And don’t miss the Cafe Dog and Rabbit, great chips and the best cakes!!!
If you like walking like we do you are in for a treat! You are minutes from the coastal path so great walks there: to the left towards lands End and right towards Botallack mine (if you’ve seen Poldark you’ll recognise the mine) or maybe if like us also want to discover circular walks, don’t miss Chun Quoit, one of the best preserved of all Neolithic quoits, kind of a mystical and magical location on top of the moorland, look out for Pixies :)
And the cherry on the top the Golden hour, the sunset, you can enjoy it from Scilly stack or like us, walk to the seafront and enjoy the sun going down. We spent a lovely week and can’t wait to go back!!! Thank you Scilly stack!

Family of six adults recently returned from a lovely week's holiday in Cornwall, but it was not without a few issues regarding the property, which were raised with Cornish Gems a week ago.
The matter has been chased up again but for a second time they appear to have decided not to respond.
As in all walks of life, the best way of keeping customers onside is by communicating with them, especially when the feedback is perhaps not what they want to hear.
The rating above reflects my experiences with Cornish Gems rather than the holiday itself.
Of course, if radio silence continues I will publish a further review, naming the property, which may affect future bookings.

Meva Seas - Mevagissey. Sadly what was advertised on there web site / you tube and what we personally experienced was completely different. On arrival the first experience - were weeds, weeds, weeds everywhere and clearly no garden maintenance had not been done in months. Weeds were even growing out of the artificial grass and swimming pool edges. The swimming pool was dirty, hot tub did not work properly and later advised by the pool service maintenance team - the owner would not pay to have the hot tub repaired. Decoration state in the hall stairs area very poor, and never found the advertised media / cinema room. We found a room with a TV and a sofa - where the TV was not even connected to the DVD Player (no HDMI cable), no aerial connection and not even linked to the wifi.
Coffee machine when switched on - advised - please descale and could not use. Toilet Seat was not attached to the bowl. Tap was not mounted to the sink. To make it worse the electric gate failed and in simple terms Cornish Gems did not know what to do as it was a bank holiday - we nearly called the fire brigade to get us out of the property.
All we were offered was 150.00 pounds in compensation with a very minor discount on another booking. Why would you book another property with them when they advise - everything is meticulously checked. Clearly it was not. very disappointed with Cornish Gems and the owners response

Mill Cottage, Mullion - Exceptional very well equipped cottage in an idyllic environment. Very quiet and private with easy access and ample parking. Excellent for walks, near the harbour and a beautiful beach within walking distance. Ideally situated to visit many well known sites and towns.

Stayed at Harbour heights for 7 days early August. The house was situated in a wonderful position overlooking the beautiful harbour and village of Mevagissey. The views are truly superb. The house it-self was good too, not the biggest house, but adequate for the three of us and our small dog but this house is all about the view from the veranda overlooking the harbour and coast. It was well equipped and clean and we would recommend this place to visit. Mevagissey it-self is a thoroughly charming harbour and village that we would visit again, well positioned to explore the surrounding area's with some great beaches close by.
Good customer service from Cornish Gems and we had no issues.

We stayed at Lantic Barn in Fowey the second week in July. This was supposed to be the Luxurious part of our holiday and we were all so looking forward to it however it definitely didn’t come close to what we had expected. Check in was 6pm so you can imagine my surprise when greeted by cigarette butts and dead leaves (which must have been there since last autumn) right by the front door not to mention a pile of old newspapers dumped next to the door too. Upon entering the property we found paint flaking off the wall in the kitchen and scuff marks on many other walls. I could also tell it hadn’t been cleaned very well either with dead flies on window sills, cobwebs, crumbs on the dinning table and dirty floors. There were quite a few reed defuses around the property and some were empty but the cleaner obviously couldn’t be bothered to even dispose of these. The two sofas in the lounge were filthy. We found a pin on the floor too which was quite concerning as a toddler could have easily picked it up and put it in its mouth. The big sliding door in the lounge could not be opened as the key was nowhere to be found. The fridge had a broken shelf which was taped up with black duck tape and the freezer was in need of defrosting. The bed in the master bedroom had toilet roll stuffed in each corner of the bed frame (I suspect this was probably because it squeaked). In another bedroom the headboard was thick with dust and there were two stickers just left there. Two patio chairs had broken spindles and there was no parasol. The garden wasn’t what I would call manicured especially around the pool which meant lots of debris in the pool. Our issues were raised with Cornish Gems but only an offer to get the cleaner in again was offered. The company confirmed that this property had been inspected in May which baffled me as surely most of the points I raised were visible at that point! I don’t complain unless I feel it’s justified and if Cornish Gems really cared about their guests then they would have come back to us with some kind of compensation but I am still waiting for a reply to my last email. We worked hard to afford this holiday but it felt like the owners haven’t cared for this property and it’s purely a money making scheme. Live up to your ethos Cornish Gems as I feel you have lost your way as your portfolio has grown… you could take a leaf out of Sandy Toes Stays which I have to say gave us better customer service and value for money when we stayed with them in St Ives… they truly did care.