Tregenna Castle Hotel: what is the luxury Cornwall resort near Carbis Bay where G7 world leaders are staying?

World leaders are set to meet face-to-face this weekend during the G7 Summit, for the first time since the Covid pandemic began.

France, the US, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and the UK will be in attendance to discuss a range of pressing issues from global recovery from coronavirus to the climate emergency.

As the leaders of the various countries descend on Cornwall where the summit is taking place, many are wondering where exactly the likes of Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel will be staying in the idyllic coastal area for the three-day event.

Where are the G7 leaders staying?

While the actual summit is scheduled to take place at the Carbis Bay Hotel - a luxury hotel within the quaint village of the same name - attendees will be staying elsewhere.

Delegations from the seven so-called advanced economies will be living the high life during their stay at the grand Tregenna Castle Hotel.

What is Tregenna Castle Hotel?

Nestled on a hill-top with breathtaking views over St Ives and Carbis Bay, Tregenna Castle Resort is the 18th-century estate hosting the world’s top leaders during the summit.

The Grade-II listed building is thought to have been designed by famed Victorian architect John Wood the Younger and was built by prominent local landowner Samuel Stephens.

It is named after the hill in St Ives in which it was built upon.

The castle, which has 72-acres of grounds and an 18-hole golf course, only became a grand hotel in 1871.

It was acquired by the Bolitho family when it was sold. A descendant of the family is Col Edward Bolitho, the Lord Lieutenant for Cornwall and a representative of Her Majesty the Queen in the Duchy.

Tregenna Castle soon became a railway hotel when the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened its St Ives branch line in 1877, with the company leasing the luxury property as a hotel the next year.

While early railway hotels were traditionally located next to large terminals or junctions, GWR intended for Tregenna to be a holiday destination in its own right.

The railway eventually ended up buying the property outright in 1895, even naming two of its trains after it.

When Sir Daniel Gooch, the chairman of GWR, stayed at the hotel shortly after it opened to the public, he wrote in his diary that the house was “very fine” and described the property as “a castle within its own grounds of about 70 acres (28 ha), a great part of which are gardens and woods with pretty shaded walks”.

He added: "The house feels more like a private house than a hotel; the views from it are very fine, looking over the town and bay of St Ives and along the coast as far as Trevose Head."

What does the modern-day hotel look like inside?

The luxury castle originally included three pairs of bedrooms on the top floor and another bedroom on the ground floor, a school room, a billiard room, multiple bathrooms and servants’ quarters in the basement.

But it was later increased in capacity as the hotel grew and is now one of the biggest venues in Cornwall with 98 bedrooms.

The first golf course at Tregenna was built in 1929, consisting of nine holes. Shortly after, a croquet lawn was added, as well as three tennis courts, a badminton court, and a squash court.

Now, the modern-day resort boasts an 18-hole President’s Course, as well as two on-site swimming pools and two restaurants.

Up to 250 guests can be accommodated for wedding receptions in the resort’s four indoor and two outdoor venues in the grand grounds.

Rooms at the hotel aren’t cheap, however, and usually go for around £200 a night.

Secluded from the neighbouring bustling towns, the resort is the perfect location for the G7 leaders to relax, appreciate the views over Cornwall and enjoy some recreational downtime.

To protect their privacy, a tall fence has been erected around the resort, while there will be a heavy police presence and extra lighting.