Rockleigh Place is a guesthouse located in the city of Saint Austell in the United Kingdom, a city built near the edge of St. Austell Bay. The business has four units that are available year-round. Two of these units are apartment-style living arrangements, while the other two are single rooms, none of which are capable of accommodating pets. Breakfast is provided for those who reserve the single rooms and is optional for those in the apartment units. Rockleigh Place owners try to be environmentally friendly and have made an effort to use recyclable energy like heat pumps instead of gas or oil and LED lightbulbs rather than incandescent or halogen bulbs. The guesthouse is located about ten minutes from the bay by car and less than four miles from the Eden Project.
Rockleigh Place is a guesthouse that offers a total of four uniquely decorated units. There are two one-bedroom apartments and two rooms that visitors can choose to reserve. The rooms can house up to two people, and the flats can do up to three. The smaller units each come with two twin beds that can be combined to make a queen-sized bed. The one-bedroom apartments offer several more amenities that the others do not, including a kitchenette, a more considerable amount of space, and according to the owners, views of the ocean. Regardless of which unit is reserved by a guest, each room comes with access to Wi-Fi, a television, heating and air-conditioning, a parking space, and more. Each unit is located on the ground floor of the house. Common rooms that can be found include the breakfast room, which is where guests can eat their food, and outside, one can find a garden with a gazebo and fire pit. On the roof of the building, there is a terrace with a glass ceiling and walls where people can take shelter during bad weather or view the city and surrounding area.
Breakfast is included with a reservation in one of the two double rooms. However, the one-bedroom apartments have the option of booking with or without breakfast, at the discretion of the guests. This is because the apartment-style units have a kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave, stovetop, electric kettle, and a tea and coffee maker, allowing visitors to make their own meals if they like. A few items that the owners have served for breakfast in the past include dishes like omelets, pancakes, crepes, continental options, and more. They also have a small buffet-style section where people can get toast and cereal. Patrons can request gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian meals ahead of time, which the owners of the property say they will do their best to accommodate, but also explains that he and his wife are not always capable of meeting the requests that guests may have.
Rockleigh Place is capable of organizing kayaking trips, as they have all of the necessary equipment and qualifications. The usual location that they do it at is about five minutes away from the business by car. The owner's wife is a qualified masseuse and offers massages to patrons at an additional cost. They also have facilities for scuba diving and a place to store diving equipment for guests that plan on doing that sort of activity during their time at the guesthouse. People can also spend time at The Eden Project, which is a botanical garden less than ten minutes away by car, with large domes that replicate biomes from other places around the world and grow a variety of trees and plants. The Charlestown district is known for the harbor and where all of the boats sail in and out of the bay. Another aspect of the town that can be popular with guests is the abundant seafood restaurants serving dishes of various fish caught in St. Austell Bay.
One of the owners of Rockleigh Place says he would like his guests to feel like they are coming to "a home away from home." One way he tries to help his guests have this specific experience is he has created what he calls an "informal process" to make things easier for people when they check in or check out. The owner considers the "scope of [their] services" as aiding in accomplishing his goal and a unique aspect of the business. He explains that he and his wife, Natalia, enjoy being able to offer things like breakfast, massages, storage for scuba diving gear, kayaking, and more for those who come to Cornwall.
The property has several policies enacted that guests are expected to abide by while they are staying at Rockleigh Place. Due to the size limitations, patrons cannot host any events at the property. Another rule that the owners have in place is that pets are not allowed on the property, as they are unable to make accommodations for them. The business makes an effort to be environmentally friendly, so they do certain practices. The company uses heat pumps rather than gas or oil to heat the house. The owners do not have any plastic products, so toiletries and single containers are not provided. Products and ingredients they use for breakfast and dinner are locally sourced from farmers that live in the area. Finally, the lights are LEDs, and there are no incandescent or halogen bulbs in the house.
Many people who come to St. Austell are there to visit the city, so the owners do not interact with their guests often, though one of them does mention that they see people in the morning for breakfast and sometimes during the evenings. Patrons who have come to Rockleigh Place before have sometimes left reviews of their experience at the guesthouse. One person who recently stayed at the bed and breakfast wrote, "An excellent stay at a beautiful house in St. Austell. The hosts were very friendly and hospitable throughout the duration of my visit. The house is located near the top of the town and provides a great view over the sea on a bright day."
Rockleigh Place has been in business for about six years, with its first month of opening being July 2016. Before the building was used as a bed and breakfast, it was a private home that the previous owners used to raise their families. The current owner converted it into a guesthouse when he purchased the acreage. Currently, the property is owned and operated by Igor and Natalia.
The land was owned by a bishop, having purchased it in the 1800s when kaolin clay was discovered in parts of Cornwall, including the area around where the property currently resides. The land was used to mine and process the clay, and eventually, in 1881, the house was built. Sometime later in the 1960s, a new type of clay was discovered and shipped from Brazil that was significantly cheaper than kaolin clay, causing the business to eventually close. It was then picked up by a family to be used for private residence, then reworked to become a guesthouse under the name of Rockleigh Place. While the house is not listed as a historical landmark, the owners explain that they do what they can to maintain its history. The updates that have been made since Igor & Natalia took ownership of the land have been done to help improve guests' experiences, but they have refrained from changing or removing the historical aspects of the house.
Rockleigh
Bodelva, England
United Kingdom
Bed and Breakfast
Igor & Natalia Naberezhnykh
