Pentewan Sands
Pentewan Sands is a five-star holiday park on the sheltered south coast of Cornwall, set on its own privately owned half-mile of sand between St Austell and Mevagissey. The Tremayne family have run it for more than 60 years, and families come for the beach on the doorstep, two heated indoor pools that are free and never need booking, and a choice of self-catering holiday homes or touring pitches.
On this page
Is it worth it?
Who Pentewan Sands suits, what's on the park and the facts to skim first.
The draw at Pentewan Sands is its beach, a private half-mile of sand right outside on a sheltered stretch of the south Cornwall coast. Add two heated indoor pools you can use any time without booking or paying extra, and a self-catering base with your own kitchen, and it suits families who want a beach holiday with a few facilities rather than a big-brand park built around all-day clubs and shows. It's a smaller, more personal place than a Haven or a Parkdean, run by one family rather than a chain, and the trade-off is fewer facilities, with no soft play and entertainment only in the school holidays. You'll get the most from it if the beach and the pools are the plan, and the days out sort themselves around them.
Best for
You want a beach on your doorstep, free heated indoor pools you never have to book, and a self-catering base with your own kitchen; you'd rather a smaller family-run park than a big-brand one.
Maybe not for
You want all-day organised clubs and character entertainment, an outdoor pool or splash park, soft play for wet days, or you're bringing a dog.
Best ages
Babies upwards. The heated toddler pool and the beachfront play park suit the youngest; with no drop-off childcare, you're with your children throughout.
What stands out
The beach right outside the door, the two indoor pools included with every stay, and a smaller family-run feel you don't get at the big chains.
What to check
Which nights the restaurants open off-peak, and that you've packed a travel cot, cot bedding and towels, which the holiday homes don't provide.
Where is it?
On its own beach at Pentewan, on the sheltered south Cornwall coast between St Austell and Mevagissey; you'll need a car.
Quick facts for families
What the park is like
Where it sits, how it's laid out and what that means with a pram.
Pentewan Sands spreads over about 32 acres on the south coast of Cornwall, running straight onto its own privately owned half-mile of sand between St Austell and Mevagissey. The Tremayne family have owned and run it for more than 60 years, so it feels like a single family-run park rather than a chain such as Haven or Parkdean. There are 131 holiday homes and 416 touring and camping pitches, set out across fields lettered A to W, with the holiday homes gathered in their own zones: woodland ones inland in The Willows, others up near the beachfront or on higher ground with sea views.
Getting around the park
The Beach Club, the leisure building that holds the pools, the arcade and most of the eating, sits near the front of the park, and you can reach the beach from several points. The ground is mostly flat or gently sloping grass, which is easy going with a pram, though The Willows sits a little higher. There's no land train or shuttle, so you walk or push between things, and every facility has ramp or lift access.
No dogs on the park
Dogs and other pets aren't allowed anywhere on Pentewan Sands, including the beach, at any time of year. The only exception is a registered assistance or guide dog, with certification shown in advance. It's a firm, year-round policy, so families with a dog will need to look elsewhere.
New for 2026
The park had a major refit over winter 2025-26. The old Seahorse restaurant became the rebranded Beach Club, with Meksiko's and El Guapo's added alongside it, and the Jolly Roger pub reopened with a new pizza takeaway. The children's entertainment moved from a garden marquee to the first floor of the Beach Club building. Three accommodation types are new for 2026: the Beach Houses, the Glamping Pods on E field and the Diamond banding's Swift Morlaix home.
The accommodation
Holiday homes by banding, glamping pods and touring pitches, and what's included.
You can stay in a holiday home, a glamping pod or on a touring pitch with your own caravan, motorhome or tent. The holiday homes are graded into bandings, from Bronze up to the flagship homes, mostly on how close they sit to the beach, their sea views and how new they are. The park doesn't publish room sizes, so the homes are best compared by their banding, how they're laid out and how many they sleep.
| Home | Bedrooms | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 3 | In The Willows woodland, open-plan living, a shower room and a sundeck; a short walk from the beach. |
| Silver | 3 | Open-plan living, a family shower room and a sundeck. |
| Gold | 2 or 3 | A family shower room and a separate WC, some with an en-suite master; most have a sundeck. |
| Gold Plus | 2 or 3 | Newer models in the Gold style. |
| Platinum | 2 or 3 | All with a sundeck; the 2025 ABI Wimbledon adds a second shower room. |
| Diamond | 3 | The most luxurious range, each with a sundeck; the 2026 Swift Morlaix adds a farmhouse-style kitchen and open-plan living. |
| Beach Houses | 1 plus mezzanine | Close to the beach, a fixed double plus a twin mezzanine reached by a step ladder, a decked veranda and parking with EV charging; sleep up to 6. |
| Glamping Pods | Mezzanine | On E field, open-plan with a full kitchen, a smart TV and private decking, a twin mezzanine reached by a step ladder, the sofa and dining seating converting to doubles, and a compact bathroom with a rainforest shower; sleep up to 6. |
| The Lookout | 3 | A flagship home on an old lime kiln with views over Mevagissey Bay, a private deck and a balcony through French doors, its own driveway, parking and an EV charger; sleeps up to 8. |
| The Retreat | 4 | A flagship woodland lodge with a private garden and BBQ, two parking spaces and an EV charger; Friday arrivals and whole weeks only, sleeps up to 8. |
Every holiday home has a fully equipped kitchen, with a hob, oven, microwave, fridge-freezer, toaster, kettle and crockery, which makes self-catering straightforward if you're weaning a baby or cooking around toddler mealtimes. Three homes (A16, D27 and E25) are adapted for wheelchair users, with wide doorways, a large wet room, a ramped sundeck and parking outside, and they come in the Gold, Gold Plus and Platinum bandings.
Beds come made up with duvets, covers, pillows, pillowcases and one sheet each. Towels, tea towels, bath and shower mats, and any linen for children under three, including cot bedding, aren't provided, so bring your own along with a travel cot for a baby.
Touring and camping pitches
Pitches run from budget non-electric up to the beachfront ones right on the sand, which are the largest and book up first. They average around 13 square metres and are among the more generous in Cornwall, and you can choose your own pitch orientation.
| Pitch | Hookup | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Beachfront | Electric | The largest pitches, right on the beach; April to September, Saturday arrivals and whole weeks only, and the first to book up. |
| Premium Plus | Electric | Extra wide and close to the beach; April to September, Saturday arrivals and whole weeks only. |
| Premium | Electric | Closer to the beach than standard and extra wide, some with on-pitch EV charging; Saturday arrivals and whole weeks. |
| Standard | Electric | Within walking distance of the sea, with a private hookup and communal water; some have on-pitch EV charging. |
| Non-electric | None | The budget option, with communal water and countryside views. |
What every stay includes
Unlimited free swimming in both pools, with no booking and no time limit; children's entertainment in the school holidays; beach access and the beachfront play park; four amenity blocks with private showers and baby bathing and changing; a launderette; a motorhome waste-disposal point; and 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi per pitch with free Wi-Fi at the facilities.
Several pitches have their own EV charger, billed for what you use through an app, with a small nightly charge for the pitch; there's charging in the car park too. Touring pitches are available from noon with no arrivals after dusk, and no pitching between 10pm and 9am. Holiday-home facilities open from 11am, keys are ready from 4pm, and check-out is by 10am.
The pools and the Beach Club
The two indoor pools, how swimming works and the Beach Club around them.
On a wet day the pools are where everyone heads, and there's no outdoor pool or splash park, so it all happens indoors in the Beach Club. Guests swim for free with no booking, in a morning and an afternoon session each day, and on a cold or wet day the fun pool fills up and can go one-in, one-out.
The fun pool is heated to around 30°C all year and runs to 18 metres long, with a maximum depth of 1.2 metres, two water flumes, a dedicated toddler area and an adults' whirlpool off to one side. The heated toddler area is shallow and gentle, and under-threes swim free. Alongside it is a second heated pool, also 18 metres, with floor-to-ceiling glass down one side; it's set up for a quieter, more relaxing swim and leans adult, though it isn't formally adults-only.
The published adult-to-child ratios
Every child and non-swimmer must have an adult of 18 or over with them in the water. The park's published ratios are one adult to each child under four, one adult to two children aged four to seven, and one adult to three aged eight and over. Under-12s always need an adult in the pool with them, and under-fives need an adult with them on every flume ride.
There's no splash pad or aqua park, and no indoor soft play either, so on a rainy afternoon the pools and the arcade are what you've got. The arcade in the Beach Club has 2p machines, prize cranes, air hockey and basketball simulators, and opens from 11am. Day visitors pay a per-person entry to swim, with under-threes free, but if you're staying it's included.
The beach
The beach is Pentewan's biggest draw: a privately owned half-mile of sand facing east into St Austell Bay. Because it faces east it sits sheltered from the prevailing westerlies and the Atlantic swell, so the water is usually calm and shallow a fair way out, and bathing is safe except in a strong easterly wind. The sand is pale and soft further back from the water and coarser and sharper near the tideline, a legacy of the area's china-clay mining, so water shoes are worth packing.
There's no lifeguard or RNLI service, though there are lifebuoys and an emergency telephone on the beach, and in summer a swimming area is marked out with red buoys and kept separate from the buoyed channel that boats and motorised craft use. It isn't a Blue Flag beach, but it's privately managed and cleaned by the park's own staff, and the sheltered setting keeps the water gentle. Right on the sand there's a play park with slides, swings, climbing frames and tyre swings looking out to sea, a favourite with younger families, and a watersports operator hires out kayaks, paddleboards and more through the season. You can launch your own boat for a fee from mid-May to mid-September if it's insured, and jet skis aren't allowed. Access is level and easy from the car park, there's a beach wheelchair for guests, and at the far end the silted-up basin of the old Pentewan harbour, once a china-clay port, makes a short walk with a bit of history to it.
Eating and drinking
Every place to eat on the park and which days they open.
There's a good spread of places to eat and drink on the park, plus a shop and bakery, and no meal plan, so you eat out, self-cater or mix the two. The table below covers them all and which days they open, which is worth a look before you travel.
| Place | What it is | Open |
|---|---|---|
| The Beach Club | The main restaurant and bar, glass-fronted with sea views and a sundeck; pub favourites, pizza, fish and chips, kids' meals and a Sunday roast, no booking. | Every day, breakfast from 9am and the main menu from 11:30am |
| Meksiko's | Mexican and fusion cooking inside the Beach Club, with sun-terrace seating. | Every day, lunch 12 to 2:30pm and dinner 5 to 8pm |
| Hubbox | An award-winning South West burger chain's beach-shack site on the sand, with smash burgers, loaded fries and milkshakes; walk in or book a table. | Every day, 9am to 9pm, breakfast until 11:30am |
| The Lower Deck | A coffee shop for cakes, milkshakes, snacks and pre-ordered bakery pastries. | Every day, 9am to 6pm |
| Stingi's | A 54-seat pan-Asian restaurant and cocktail bar with sea views; booking essential by email. | Thursday to Saturday, lunch 12 to 2pm and dinner 5 to 8:30pm |
| The Jolly Roger | A pub-style bar with live sport and films, and a pizza takeaway. | Wednesday to Sunday, 4:30pm until late |
| Pentewan Plaice | Fish and chips to eat in, take away or eat on the beach. | Wednesday to Sunday, 4:30 to 8pm |
| El Guapo's | A casual outdoor street-food spot, weather dependent. | Friday and Saturday, 11:30am to 4:30pm |
Only Meksiko's, Hubbox and the Lower Deck coffee shop open every day; the fish and chip restaurant, the Jolly Roger and Stingi's run limited days, so if you're eating on the park it's worth planning evening meals around the opening times, especially outside the summer holidays.
The Beach Club is the main family spot, with breakfast, pub favourites, pizza, fish and chips and a Sunday roast, and no booking. Stingi's is the grown-up option, a small pan-Asian restaurant you book ahead by email, better kept for an evening once the children are settled than for a quick family meal. Hubbox, the beach-shack burger bar on the sand, gets a lot of praise and stays open all day. The park shop and bakery by reception carries fresh produce, frozen meals, cupboard basics, toiletries, beachwear and an off-licence, with bread and pastries each morning if you order the night before. The Beach Club serves a children's menu; pack any baby food and formula you'll need for the youngest.
Babies and toddlers
The seasonal entertainment, the toddler pool and what to pack for a baby.
The children's entertainment runs only in the peak school holidays: Easter, May half term, the summer holidays (18 July to 30 August 2026) and October half term. It's a run of shows and events rather than a club: magicians, a puppet and comedy show, discos, quizzes, bingo, karaoke and animal encounters, with the Screech Owl Sanctuary and Mark's Ark among the 2026 acts, held on the first floor of the Beach Club. What it isn't is a crèche or a drop-off kids' club, with no scheduled daily sessions and no age-band groups, so you stay with your children at the shows and plan on being hands-on rather than getting childcare.
For the youngest, the heated toddler area in the fun pool is the easy option, shallow and warm at around 30°C year-round. The self-catering kitchens help with weaning and fussy toddler mealtimes, and baby bathing and changing is provided in the four amenity blocks. Two things to plan for: the holiday homes don't provide travel cots or cot bedding, so bring your own, and highchairs aren't guaranteed, so ask when you book if you'll need one.
The nearest pharmacy is in St Austell, about 3 miles away, and St Austell Community Hospital there (Porthpean Road, PL26 6AA, 01726 873000) has a minor injury unit open every day from 8am to 8pm. The nearest 24-hour A&E is at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske, in Truro.
On and off the sandThings to do
Plenty is included, and plenty more is a paid extra. The 12-hole adventure golf course in the Beach Club is low-cost with clubs included, open every day from 9am to 6pm. Two tennis courts nearby are also inexpensive, rackets and balls thrown in, booked through reception or the guest portal: £6 an hour for the full court, £4 an hour for the compact court (last checked June 2026). Down on the sand, Cornwall Watersports runs from Easter to the end of October, seven days a week, hiring kayaks, stand-up paddleboards including tandem and XL group boards, bodyboards, surfboards, windsurfers, pedalos and self-drive motor boats by the hour, plus deckchairs, parasols and windbreaks by the day, with wetsuits to hire and one-to-one or small-group paddleboard taster sessions if you want a lesson (£75 for one-to-one, £50 a head for a group of two to four, both 90 minutes; last checked June 2026). Buoyancy aids come free with any equipment hire, and the self-drive boats take up to four adults and two small children. In July and August it's walk-up only, with no advance booking, and buoyancy aids aren't available as a separate hire since they're already included.
| Hire | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single kayak | £14 | £20 | £30 | Buoyancy aid included. |
| Double kayak | £20 | £32 | £45 | Buoyancy aid included. |
| Stand-up paddleboard | £14 | £20 | £30 | Buoyancy aid included. |
| Surfboard | £12 | £18 | £28 | |
| Bodyboard | £5 | £8 | £10 | |
| Wetsuit | £5 | £8 | £10 | |
| Windsurf board and sail | £35 | £50 | £65 | |
| Self-drive motor boat | £40 | £60 | £80 | Up to 4 adults and 2 small children; from late May. |
| Pedalo for 4 | £35 | £60 | — | |
| Tandem paddleboard | £25 | £45 | — | |
| XL paddleboard (8-person) | £50 | — | — | |
| Buoyancy aid, separate hire | £3 | £5 | £8 | Included free with any equipment hire in July and August. |
| Deckchair, parasol or windbreak | £5/day | — | — |
The Sands Sauna is a barrel sauna on the beach with sea views, booked privately or in social sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, with a twin tin bath for cold plunges new for 2026, and the odd yoga, meditation or sound-bath evening; it doesn't take under-12s, so it's one for a parents' hour rather than the children. The arcade is in the Beach Club, and bikes for the Pentewan Valley Trail come from Pentewan Cycle Hire rather than the park itself. You can launch your own boat for a fee through the summer. Over the early-May bank holiday the park hosts the Riviera Run, a classic Mini and car festival, when pitches sell out fast.
The area and days out
The village, the fishing towns, the gardens and the days out around the park.
Pentewan village is right next door, with the Ship Inn and its beer garden over the old harbour a short walk from the gate. Mevagissey, a working fishing village with pasties, seafood cafés, shops and boat trips, is 2 miles by road or about 1.5 miles along the coast path. St Austell, the local market town with its brewery visitor centre, is 3 miles away and on the bus route.
The two big garden days out are close: the Lost Gardens of Heligan is about 2 miles away and the Eden Project about 8 miles, and staying at the park gets you a guest discount at both. Charlestown, 4 miles off, is a historic sailing port with tall ships and a shipwreck centre, and a regular film location. Further afield there's Fowey and Lanhydrock House, both about 12 miles, and Truro, the county's main city for shops, museum and cathedral, about 18 miles. Camel Creek Adventure Park, a family theme park in the north of the county, is a possible day out too.
For walkers the South West Coast Path runs right past on its Mevagissey-to-Par stretch, and the Pentewan Valley Trail follows the old clay railway through woodland to St Austell, on foot or by hired bike. A bus stops outside the entrance for Mevagissey, Fowey, Charlestown, St Austell and the Par and St Austell mainline stations, so a car isn't the only way to get about.
Loves and gripes
What families rate and what frustrates them, how it compares and getting around.
What families love
- The private half-mile beach right outside, and the play park on the sand.
- The two heated indoor pools, free and never needing a booking, with the flumes and the toddler area.
- How clean it's kept, from the shower blocks to the beach.
- The friendly, family-run feel after 60-plus years with one family.
- Generous pitch sizes, with room for big family groups.
- Being a short hop from the Eden Project and Heligan, with a guest discount.
- Hubbox on the beach, and quiet evenings even at full capacity.
Common gripes
- The fun pool gets crowded on wet days, with one-in, one-out waits some families put at up to an hour.
- Fewer facilities than the big Haven and Parkdean parks, and mixed feelings about how much entertainment there is.
- No soft play for a rainy afternoon.
- No dogs, anywhere, all year.
- Patchy Wi-Fi in places.
- Not every beachfront pitch is level, so it's worth checking when you book.
- Number-plate cameras at the entrance and a charged car park for day visitors.
Across review sites the picture is consistently good. It's rated around 4.6 out of 5 on Google from roughly 1,800 reviews as of June 2026, and it holds AA and VisitEngland five-star Holiday Park ratings and a place in the Alan Rogers guide. Mumsnet's 2026 round-up of Cornwall parks named it best for location, placing it behind Haven's Perran Sands for the overall spot. Treat the numbers as a rough steer rather than a precise score.
Against the alternativesHow it compares
The trade against a Haven or Parkdean park is all-day organised entertainment on one side and, on the other, a beach of your own, a smaller more personal park, larger pitches and pools you never book. What the big chains do that Pentewan doesn't is run clubs, character shows and soft play all day, and they often have an outdoor pool too, so if you want the children entertained from morning to night, a Haven park like Perran Sands will suit better. Compared with Center Parcs there's no Subtropical Swimming Paradise or forest lodge and less that's weatherproof, with the beach as the trade, usually at a lower price. Hendra, near Newquay, has a bigger pool complex with more flumes and a river ride, but it charges for the pool and sits inland, where Pentewan has the beach on the doorstep and free swimming. For a quieter, baby-focused stay, Bosinver Farm Cottages nearby is a different thing altogether, with stair gates, farm animals and enclosed gardens, where Pentewan is a bigger, busier beach park.
Getting aroundAccessibility and buggies
The park is mostly flat or gently sloping grass and good going with a pram, and every facility has ramp or lift access, with accessible bathrooms in all four amenity blocks. The beach is reached on the level from the car park, with a hard, level run down via the boat launch slipway too, and there's a beach wheelchair for guests. Three holiday homes (A16, D27 and E25) are adapted for wheelchair users, with wide doorways, a large wet room, easy-access patio doors, 3ft divan beds, a ramped sundeck, an EV charger and parking right outside; two bedrooms sleep up to 6, and the kitchens are standard height rather than lowered. The pool area has an accessible changing cabin.
Getting there and when to go
Getting to the park, when it's open and the weather month by month.
By road you come off the A30 at Bodmin, down to St Austell, then onto the B3273 towards Mevagissey, with the park on your left. Satnav using the PL26 6BT postcode tends to send you down narrow single-track lanes, so the park's own advice is to head in through St Austell town instead. There's no park transfer, so you'll need a car; there's parking beside the accommodation, and a separate, charged car park for day visitors with number-plate cameras at the entrance. A bus stops right outside for Mevagissey, Fowey, Charlestown, St Austell and the Par and St Austell mainline stations. The nearest airport is Newquay Cornwall, about 30 miles and 45 to 50 minutes away with some direct UK flights; Exeter is around 80 miles.
The park runs from 20 March to 31 October 2026, while the Beach Club, with the pools, arcade and restaurants, stays open year-round for day visitors bar a few days over Christmas and New Year; the beachfront pitches are April to September only. Outside the peak weeks most holiday homes take short breaks of three nights or more, though the flagship homes and the peak periods need whole weeks. A deposit holds a booking, with the balance due six weeks before you arrive.
When to goWeather
South Cornwall has one of the mildest, sunniest climates in England, and Pentewan's east-facing bay gives it more shelter than the north coast. For families with little ones, July and August bring the warmest days and sea and the full entertainment programme, though they're also the busiest and dearest weeks. May and June are quieter, with long daylight and, in May, the most sunshine of the year, so they're a good middle ground even though the sea is still cool. October half term can work but it's cooler, with the pool the main swim. The figures below cover the whole year; the park itself opens from 20 March to 31 October.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 10.5° | 5.5° | 68 mm | 13 | 9° |
| April | 12° | 6.5° | 68 mm | 12 | 10° |
| May | 15° | 9° | 70 mm | 11 | 12° |
| June | 17.5° | 11.5° | 60 mm | 10 | 15° |
| July | 19° | 13.5° | 65 mm | 11 | 17° |
| August | 19.5° | 14° | 68 mm | 11 | 17° |
| September | 17.5° | 12° | 70 mm | 11 | 16° |
| October | 14.5° | 10° | 111 mm | 16 | 15° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Even at its warmest, in August, the sea only reaches about 17°C, so a wetsuit helps for a proper swim, which is why the 30°C indoor pool is the more comfortable option for babies and toddlers.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this was last updated.
Is there a kids' club or crèche?
No. Pentewan Sands has no crèche and no drop-off kids' club. The children's entertainment is a run of shows and events during the peak school holidays, and you stay with your children throughout, so plan for a parent to be on hand rather than counting on childcare.
Can we bring the dog?
No dogs or other pets are allowed anywhere on the park or the beach at any time of year, and the only exception is a registered assistance dog with certification shown in advance. If you're set on bringing a dog to this stretch of coast, the Tremaynes' sister site, Heligan Caravan and Camping Park a few miles away, does take them.
What do we need to bring for a holiday home?
Beds come made up with a duvet, pillows and one sheet each, but towels, tea towels, bath mats and any cot bedding aren't provided, so pack those. For a baby you'll also need your own travel cot, since cots and cot linen aren't supplied.
Can one adult take two toddlers swimming?
Not two under-fours at once. The pool rules ask for one adult of 18 or over for each child under four, so a lone parent with two very young children would need a second adult in the water. From age four the ratio eases to one adult for every two children.
Do you need a car?
In practice, yes. There's no park transfer from the airport or the stations, and you'll want a car for days out. A bus does stop right outside the entrance for Mevagissey, St Austell and the Par and St Austell train stations, so the odd car-free day works.
Will somewhere be open for dinner every night?
In the school holidays, yes. Outside the peak weeks only Meksiko's, Hubbox and the Lower Deck coffee shop open every day; the chippy, the Jolly Roger and Stingi's run limited days, so check the week's opening times if you're relying on eating on the park.
What time can we use the pools?
There are two sessions a day, 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, with last entry about 45 minutes before each one ends. Guests swim for free with no booking, though the fun pool can go one-in, one-out on wet days, and the times can vary, so check on arrival.
See more Pentewan Sands photos
Open the Pentewan Sands photo gallery →Useful links
- Pentewan Sands: the park's own site for accommodation, tariffs and booking.
- The Beach Club: pool times, opening hours and the places to eat.
- Cornwall with little ones: our guide to the wider county, its beaches and days out.
Last updated 17 July 2026.
