Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project

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Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project

We started our February Half Term trip to Cornwall in the best possible way with a short stay at Waterside Cornwall. You'll find Waterside just off A30 outside of Bodmin and it's an ideal base for exploring Cornwall including the Eden Project (7 miles), the Lost Gardens of Heligan (15 miles), St Austell, Fowey and Mevagissey. Out of all of the places we stayed, Waterside was definitely the most central. Prices for a 3 bedroom lodge (sleeping up to 8) are available from £78 per lodge per night which I think is super reasonable. You can also pay a supplement and stay in a lodge with a hot tub and if there are less of you in the party, smaller lodges are available from £43 per lodge per night.

Waterside Cornwall - 3 bedroom lodge tour 

What I loved most about the lodges at Waterside Cornwall are just how spacious they were. We had SO much room and our lodge here (#41) is the biggest lodge we've ever stayed in. Our lodge featured a spacious entrance hall, large open plan living/kitchen/dining area, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, private parking and patio doors onto our own terrace with picnic table. 


Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge exterior

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge living and dining room

I wouldn't describe the lodges at Waterside as particularly luxurious but they were fresh, clean and modern and had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. The kitchen was well equipped with full-size cooker, fridge-freezer, dishwasher and washer-dryer. We spent most of our money in Cornwall on eating out and if you're looking to save a bit of cash/visit on a budget, having such a well-equipped kitchen to cook in will definitely save you some pennies.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge kitchen

Our master bedroom was huge and even had a jacuzzi bath. Towels and toiletries were provided too and it really was a home from home.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge master bedroom

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge double bedroom

There is free WiFi across the site which worked well and our 4G reception on EE was good here too.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge twin bedroom

Having three bathrooms at our disposal was such a treat for us (we only have one at home) and the showers were hot and powerful and the kind you don't want to leave in the morning. There are two baths too.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge en-suite shower

The lodges are well spaced out so you feel like you still have your privacy and although cars are allowed to drive around the site, there is just one road which operates a one-way system and has a 5 mph speed limit. We hardly saw any cars driving around if I'm honest and it was the kids on bikes we had to watch out for. There's plenty of grass for kids to play and I felt perfectly safe letting my three play hide and seek with the other children between the lodges here. The site is small-medium in size and I think it would be pretty difficult to get lost here. 

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - 3 bed lodge picnic table


Waterside Cornwall - On-site activities 

I was really impressed with the abundance of activities on offer at Waterside. For a small-ish site, they certainly do pack a lot in. The grounds are beautiful and we enjoyed morning walks around the lakes and nature trail. Fishing is available if that's your kind of thing. We preferred to say hello to the resident ducks and geese. 


Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - road and space between lodges

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - bridge over lake

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - woodland walk

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - fishing lake

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - clubhouse by lake

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - nature trail

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - gardens

Waterside has it's own little play park with equipment which seemed like it was brand new. You can access the park from a lovely outdoor terrace over the lake (a favourite spot for morning coffee) or from the conservatory restaurant. Many families enjoyed letting the kids play out here as they finished their meal and the set up worked really well.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - terrace overlooking lake

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - park swings

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - outdoor play area

The main clubhouse is also home to a bit of a tween chill out/hang out area. Make sure you stock up on £1 coins to bring for the pool table and table football. There's also an XBox up here which impressed my three - you can hire games and controllers from reception free of charge if you leave a refundable deposit.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - indoor games room

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - pool table

If the weather's good, you can enjoy a game of footgolf which seemed to be really popular in Cornwall or you can hire bikes and even take a segway tour which looked like lots of fun. If you're on holiday with adventurous kids, you certainly won't be bored here.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - footgolf

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - bike hire

Inside of the main clubhouse has been tastefully decorated and there are several spaces to relax and unwind including a conservatory, bar, restaurant, lounge area and cafe. I loved the addition of plants in these areas and how they brought the outside in. Steve and I spent time in the lounge reading local magazines over a nice coffee whilst the kids were in the games room upstairs one afternoon and it was lovely. Such a fab use of space.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - conservatory restaurant in the evening

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - lounge area / cafe

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - restaurant / bar

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - bar area

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - reception area

The swimming pool is free to use for guests staying at Waterside. I am the first to say that I'm not a fan of swimming with the kids - definitely not my favourite activity and I wasn't keen on the communal (single sex) changing rooms available here. I think it's the first place I've stayed where there is no option of an individual changing room. I also thought the parent-child ratio was super strict. Under 16s are not allowed in the pool without an adult and non-swimmers need to have a 1:1 parent-child ratio. This means if we'd have visited when our children were younger and unable to swim, we would not have been able to use to pool despite there being 2 grown-ups in our party. It also feels a bit ridiculous that a 15-year-old can't use the pool without an adult, especially when the pool is small and there's a lifeguard on duty (our local pools allow children aged 8+ to use the pool unsupervised). Despite my niggles though, we did really like the pool here and it was one of the warmest pools we've ever been in. They offer adult-only swimming later in the evening and I bet it's so peaceful swimming here in the dark. You can book various pool/gym sessions at waterside too if keep-fit is your thing.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - swimming pool

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - pool timetable

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - gym timetable


Waterside Cornwall - Evening entertainment 

When our children were younger, we lived for mini disco. It's something which entertains the kids, tires them out before bed, is fun and gives the grown-ups a chance to enjoy a glass of wine. The evening entertainment on offer at Waterside would have been perfect for us a few years ago and the families with younger children seemed to really enjoy it. I think they used external entertainers and they certainly looked like fun/high quality. Unfortunately though, my three find this kind of thing to be pretty lame now though so it just wasn't for us - we preferred to watch movies back at the lodge and chill out instead. It's great that there's the choice to do both here.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - waterside evening entertainment

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - wine in lodge


Waterside Cornwall - Dining options 


There's a restaurant on-site at Waterside and we found it to offer very good value for money. They did run out of a few options during our stay but that was our only issue. All of the food was freshly prepared and of a very high standard. I couldn't believe the value if I'm honest. Normally, holiday parcs will charge through the roof for food and drinks because they can get away with it OR the quality will be poor but that certainly wasn't the case here.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - a la carte main meal

There are some incredible offers to be had at the Waterside clubhouse restaurant including kids eat free between 4-6pm and during our stay two people could enjoy afternoon tea and a glass of prosecco each for just £7.50 pp. I don't think there is a better value afternoon tea anywhere in the UK. It was lovely too (pre-booking advised). I would honestly book to eat at Waterside even if I wasn't staying here.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - afternoon tea

Our favourite menu was the dinner a la carte which offered 3 courses for £20.95 - the food was of such good quality and just like eating out in a city centre restaurant. If you fancy something a little more casual there's a pizza menu and even a sneaky Cornish pasty, chips and beans on the bar menu too. Eating on-site really is recommended and if we were to stay here again, I think the mix of self-catering accommodation plus being able to eat out on your doorstep at such a good price is a winning combination. You can also eat breakfast in the restaurant. Here are some of our foodie highlights from the restaurant/bar at Waterside Cornwall: 

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - roast lamb

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - seared tuna

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - Cornish cheese board

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - scones

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - children's pasta meal

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - children's fish and chips

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - pizza in the bar

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - cornish pasty, chips and beans

Waterside Cornwall - Location 


I mentioned in the introduction to this post that Waterside's location is very central. Out of all the places we stayed in Cornwall, Waterside was definitely the best location for exploring Northern Cornwall. You are just off the A30 which is the main road running through Cornwall and pretty equidistance from both the East and West coast. Padstow, the Eden Project, Mevagissey and the Lost Gardens of Heligan are some of the places we visited which were in very easy reach.

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - map of waterside

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - eden project selfie
The Eden Project 

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - lost gardens of heligan rope bridge
The Lost Gardens of Heligan 

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - mevagissey harbour
Mevagissey Harbour 

Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project - padstow harbour
Padstow Harbour 


Waterside Cornwall - All you need to know 

I would 100% recommend staying at Waterside Cornwall and using it as a base. We could have happily stayed here for a full week. I loved the mix of spacious, well-equipped lodges with a fantastic range of facilities on your doorstep and a cracking restaurant too. Sometimes accommodation in Cornwall can come at a premium but I really think Waterside offers excellent value. If I was to book again, I think I'd stay for longer and book a lodge with a hot tub for that extra luxurious touch.


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Waterside Cornwall Review | Self-Catering Lodges Near The Eden Project




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18 comments

  1. Looks like a brilliant base in Cornwall for all of the surrounding attractions. Love the idea of the kids hangout and the activities on offer on an evening. I'm partial to a game of bingo myself! Now if i can only convince alan that driving to cornwall is do-able with two whingeing kids in the back!

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  2. Looks like a fantastic park Sam, and a great place to explore Cornwall. We love staying in lodges in the UK, and I don't think we have ever stayed in one that has had three bathrooms. What a luxury x

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    Replies
    1. It was SO big! So much room for us all to spread out which was fab x

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  3. Great to hear you enjoyed your stay here Sam. The food is wonderful and that cream tea looks amazing!

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    1. I was so impressed with the food on offer. Really made a difference to our stay x

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  4. What great trip! I've seen the Waterside advertised and was wondering what they were like. All those activities are cool!

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  5. The food looks amazing, especially that afternoon tea! I do love places like this, where you can let the kids run wild. Your lodge looks great, but I'm intigued by the tall pointy ones. Were they smaller chalets? They look cute!

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    Replies
    1. Yes we were intrigued too - they looked super cute. Yes - they were smaller for 2-4 people I think x

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  6. It sounds like a great place for families to stay and explore Cornwall, the lodge looks really comfortable and spacious. The food looks amazing, compared to other holiday park places and the afternoon tea is amazing value. I have never heard of foot golf before x

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    1. We honestly had soooo much space. After seeing footgolf at lots of places in Cornwall, I spotted it at Whitley Bay next to the golf course last week. LOL

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  7. Three bathrooms?! Well, that is a luxury indeed! Our mornings are rather comical/manic with just one at home! I love the look of these lodges. So open and clean. And my boys would be all over that playground!

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  8. Wow that lodge looks fabulous, I love how they are all spread out, ooh the afternoon tea looks fab, I bet the Eden Project is fabulous xx

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  9. I loved watching this break on Stories and the lodge looked so great for a family break away. We'll be keeping it in mind for our next Cornish holiday - hopefully in the not too distant future! x

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