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Shopping in St Ives
From books to jewellery to freshly made food, shopping in St Ives is a Cornish tradition thanks to the cobbled streets and independent shops that line them.
Recently refurbished, Balgwidden is conveniently located on Back Road East, in the heart of the Downalong area of St Ives, and is a great family friendly property, just a stone's throw away from two of the town's five sandy beaches: Bamaluz and the Harbour. Being so central, you can spend your holiday exploring St Ives on foot with ease. Start out sunbathing on Porthminster beach, then perhaps enjoy a spot of lunch, overlooking the stunning blue waters from the popular Porthminster Beach Café, and then if you can tear yourself away, make your way along Fore Street to browse the variety of shops and boutiques on offer. Families and children can enjoy some competitive family fun in the arcade, while the adults can head to a nearby bar, or a quick stop for a Cornish cream tea, with harbour views. The property is spread over four floors, with some of the most incredible views of the harbour and Smeatons Pier from the sitting room and top floor bedroom. You can open your window in the morning, climb back into bed and listen to the waves lapping against the Harbour wall, then later on, watch the ever-changing tides and local fishing boats, from the comfort of the sofa.
six slate and stone steps lead up from Back Road East into:
dining area with window to Back Road East, Smart TV, dining table with built in bench seating, window seat and four chairs, fridge/freezer, boiling water tap, induction hob, electric oven, dishwasher. Staircase rising to first floor sitting room and staircase leading down to:
washing machine and tumble dryer, door with access to back lane. Door to:
rainfall shower, basin, WC.
bunk beds, (sash window opens fully to provide escape in the event of an emergency).
corner sofa, Smart TV, large tilt and turn window offering superb harbour and sea views. Stairs to second floor. Doors to:
rainfall shower, basin, WC.
bunk bed with single bed over a double bed, hanging pegs.
kingsize bed, large double opening tilt and turn window offering superb harbour and sea views, open hanging, en suite with bath, rainfall shower, basin, WC. Located on the top floor.
gas central heating, although family friendly, please note that the property is set over four floors with some steep stairs and includes a bunk bedroom on the lower ground floor, alongside a door with access to the back lane, WiFi.
A truly delightful home away from home. The location is just perfect and our family just love being there.
Ms Harbert August 2023
Great location and internal design of the house, nice touches throughout, amazing views.
Mr Ellis April 2022
20% off - 21 Dec 23 to 28 Dec 23
20% off - 28 Dec 23 to 4 Jan 24
Do you have any special requirements?
Call us on 01736 754242
Steeped in history, Downalong is a timeless haven that captures the fishing heritage and thriving art community of this enchanting area of St Ives. With all that St Ives has to offer on your doorstep, spend endless days exploring the sandy shores, stunning coastal paths and bustling harbourside.
Downalong is a historic Cornish term for an area of harbourside fisherman's cottages 'down along the harbour'?
From books to jewellery to freshly made food, shopping in St Ives is a Cornish tradition thanks to the cobbled streets and independent shops that line them.
We know how important honest reviews are when it comes to booking your holiday. To help you choose the right property for you, we publish all reviews left by guests who have stayed here in the past, with the few exceptions stated in our Review Guidelines. Please bear in mind that some facilities referred to by past guests in reviews can be removed or changed at any time.
A truly delightful home away from home. The location is just perfect and our family just love being there.
Ms Harbert Aug 2023
Well-equipped beautiful accommodation with fab views in central St Ives. Beware stairs if you have small children or limited mobility - there are lots and they are narrow and steep!
Mrs Goodwin May 2022
Reply from Aspects Holidays
The owners have certainly done a lovely job with the refurbishment of this property. Whilst it is a great space and location for a family, it will not suit everyone. It is a refurbished traditional fisherman's cottage that is set over 4 floors, and these cottages are known for their quirky layouts, lower ceiling heights and steep narrow stairs. All things which add to the charm and popularity of these properties. We try to show all of this within the website photos and website description, so that guests can make an informed choice on whether this will be suitable. We do hope that this was therefore what you had expected and that you had a great time here. Tanya, Customer Services
Great location and internal design of the house, nice touches throughout, amazing views.
Mr Ellis Apr 2022
Excellent location. Great wetroom/shower space in basement can be accessed from outside but stairs are steep down to it from kitchen. The kitchen is very dated and basic and not the standard we expected from Aspects.If you want a top location and eat out a lot it will be fine but not very good if you want to cook/entertain. Not very cosy.
Mrs Birtles Aug 2020
Reply from Aspects Holidays
PLEASE NOTE: This property has undergone a full refurbishment over spring/summer 2021
This is a lovely appartment has a good view of the harbour from the lounge and the double bedroom . Very close to the harbour one street back only a 3-4 minute walk into the hub of everything and access to all the beaches and the island and was very peaceful at night. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and as usual St ives was as beautiful as every as the weather favoured us.
Miss Turner Jul 2020
The apartment in general looks very ‘tired’. We expected access to two bathrooms but the one in the basement had lukewarm water so we only used the upstairs bathroom. The sofa is stained and could probably be deeply cleansed or replaced. The bedroom with the bunk bed has a door that is jammed and can sometimes take a few minutes to open. Directly outside this bedroom and towards the upstairs bathroom, the floorboards are loose. The oven wouldn’t ignite so used the grill as an oven, a few days into the trip the grill also stopped igniting upon pressing the ignition. The basement is generally dirty looking, we made use of the washing machine and dryer but two nights before the end of the visit, the dryer packed in too. It stopped every 5 minutes so we had to air dry the clothes and actually brought some clothes back in a damp state. The holiday was amazing, but due to the location and not apartment Itself I’m afraid.
Mr Hussein Jul 2020
Reply from Aspects Holidays
PLEASE NOTE: This property has undergone a full refurbishment over spring/summer 2021
We have used Aspects to book our holidays in Cornwall for 10 + years. They are always helpful and friendly. Balgwidden is perfectly located in St Ives, with amazing views of the harbour. Clean & tidy, but could do with some updating which reflects in rental price.
Mrs Peacock Jan 2020
Reply from Aspects Holidays
Thank you for your feedback, and for your lovely comments about the service. It was great to see you back here again. Your feedback was passed on to the property owners, and we are pleased to report that they have been working hard on some updates and have further plans for the future as well. Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you back again soon. Tanya, Customer Services PLEASE NOTE: This property has undergone a full refurbishment over spring/summer 2021
First time we've booked a fortnight, so was a little concerned that we'd get bored. No chance of that! Could have happily stayed for 3 weeks!
Mrs Tillson Oct 2019
Lovely cottage. Good position for easy access to beaches and shops. Great views over the harbour.
The only slight downside was the steepness of the stairs.... but it is an old property. You just have to keep your wits about you!
Mrs Cufflin Oct 2019
Reply from Aspects Holidays
Thank you for your helpful comments. Whilst we already stated that although the property is family friendly, it is set over four floors and includes a spiral staircase from the kitchen to the basement level; to make the nature of the stairs even clearer, we have now added a note about steep stairs to the website description. We would always want to be as open and honest as possible, and to ensure that they are accurately represented within the photos and descriptions, so we hope that this will help. Thanks again. Tanya, Customer Services.
Excellent location. Beautiful sea views. Great for families but be mindful of the steep staircases and no bathroom for two bedrooms so you have to come down one flight of stairs. Good quality bedding and towels.
Mrs Grunow Sep 2019
Reply from Aspects Holidays
Thank you for your comments and it is great to hear how much you liked Balgwidden. Traditional fishermans cottages like Balgwidden, whilst full of character, can be a little smaller, with layouts/stairs more quirky and steeper than in more modern buildings, so it is definitely an important consideration when booking a property like this. This property is set over 4 floors and includes a spiral staircase from the kitchen to the basement level, which may not be suitable for some. We always try to give an accurate representation of properties within our photos and descriptions, and hope that we have achieved that in this case, but we will continue to monitor feedback. We hope that this property worked well for all of your family and that you enjoyed everything that this fantastic location and cottage had to offer, and hopefully we will see you back here soon. Tanya, Customer Services
We had a wonderful family stay at Balgwidden. If you want great views and a perfect location for the dog beach chose this house. Service from Aspects was excellent too.
Mrs Ricks Aug 2019
Had a fantastic week staying at Balgwidden and the sun shone all week. I was a bit concerned after booking that from the description of property there might only be one bathroom for six persons but my worries were unfounded as the proposed alterations as described were done prior to Easter. Hence 2 shower rooms and 2 wcs and even 3 extra beds. Great facilities. Just , when cooking, worktop space is a bit lacking. Would definitely stay at this property again.
Ms Griffiths Apr 2019
A lovely cottage and the view gives it that little bit of something extra special.
Mrs Durman Oct 2018
Lovely views and perfect location where you can walk to everything. The separate entrance and space downstairs was really useful for all the body boards and wetsuits.
Mrs Roylance Sep 2018
A beautiful cottage in an absolutely fabulous location. Amazing views from the upper 2 floors. Holiday thoroughly enjoyed by 3 generations and a very happy dog.
Mrs Hunt Jul 2018