The living space is light and bright with oodles of space.
Sociable living at its best.
The beautiful outside space at Octopus House.
With access to the outside space, bedroom 2 is simply lovely.
Gorgeous furnishings throughout.
A nod to the creative talents of the owners of Octopus House, the open plan living space is enchanting.
Relax in the bay window of this beautiful holiday home.
Just the place to write holiday postcards!
Sit back and relax after a day on the beach.
The kitchen has a double size fridge/freezer, perfect for keeping holiday drinks cool.
Everything has been thought of to make your holiday special including the Nespresso machine for your morning coffee (please bring your own pods).
Gather everyone round the table for a holiday feast and with so much local produce on offer, from fresh fish at the harbour to Cornish vegetables and fruit from roadside stalls, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Space to relax in bedroom 2.
The en suite to bedroom 2 has a super rainfall shower to wash salty toes.
The delightfully furnished bedroom 2 has a super-king bed, fabulous en suite and direct access to the outside deck where you can take in the fresh air with a morning cuppa.
Luxurious bedroom 2 has a super-king bed and a fabulous en suite.
Pretty as a picture!
Calming shades and lovely linens.
Four beautiful bedrooms await, all with luxury linens.
A quiet corner, perfect for a holiday read.
Plenty of storage space here.
The outside decking and garden is accessed either from a flight of stairs outside the property, or from the lower ground floor.
The fabulous deck has masses of space for both eating al fresco and sitting in the sun. Below the deck you'll find a small lawn.
The two twin bedrooms have 3ft beds, ideal for children or adults alike.
Gorgeous linens await.
Pretty things all around.
Pretty as a picture, the second twin bedroom.
The family bathroom is shared between the two twin bedrooms.
Relax with a long soak after a day on the beach.
All the bathrooms are elegantly designed.
Octopus House is reverse level with the main entrance into the living space down steps from the parking area. This is the rear of the property, the bedrooms are downstairs.
The outside space is gorgeous.
Towan beach is not far away at Portscatho.
The climate here is so mild even palm trees thrive.
Parking for two cars is a real bonus in St.Mawes.
Al fresco dining, it's what holidays are all about.
Delightful St Mawes harbour is a 5 minute stroll away.
The beaches at St Mawes are perfect for families, beach games, kayakers or for just sitting by the water.
From fish and chips by the water, traditional pub grub to fine dining, you will be spoilt for choice here.
Catch the ferry to Falmouth.
Portscatho is a lovely fishing village a short car journey away.
Visit the Hidden Hut for outside dining at its best.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan is a great place for a day out.
A little further afield, Fowey is a vibrant harbourside town.
Caerhays Castle is beautiful in springtime.

Octopus House

4913

St Mawes / Sleeps 8 + 2 cots*

20% off for parties of 4 + cot or less at certain times of the year, view offer...

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7 Nights from £893

Lovely, comfortable property. Very modern and stylish. Very well equipped and plenty of parking. An indulgence for two people, very spacious for an extended family or friends. Do be aware that the walk back from St Mawes is very steep.


Lovely spacious house with ample accommodation, beautiful soft furnishings and decor. Fantastic position. Amazing showers Comfortable inside and out. Excellent parking for two vehicles.

Sadly let down in our experience by poor cleaning that had to be rectified on the first two days of our stay.

Reply from Classic Cottages

We're delighted that Octopus House ticked so many boxes for you. We're sorry that the cleanliness wasn't quite up standard and appreciate you letting us know so that we were able to resolve this for you at the time. We'd love the opportunity to welcome you back in the future. Julie, Customer Support


good family accommodation larger than it appears in photos very steep climb from village back to house so be mindful of how much you may need to go up and down local Co-op and butchers well stocked eating out, nice choice from fish & chips to full on Michelin star restaurants so something for everyone


Octopus House is a beautiful house with plenty of space - we had a group of 6 adults and never felt crowded. The open plan living area was also ideal for sociable evenings.


Excellent property. Exceptionally well equipped & furnished to very high standards. Welcoming gift of scones (etc) & wine much appreciated. Only downfall for us was the very steep walk into St Mawes & the parking if you have 2 cars

Reply from Classic Cottages

We're thrilled that you enjoyed your stay - thanks so much for sharing your review. We're delighted to report that the next stage of parking improvements is now complete and Octopus House now benefits from two clearly marked parking bays which are easily accessible and accommodate two large / SUV style cars. We'd love to welcome you back in the future. Julie, Customer Support


Octopus House offers fantastic, spacious accommodation in a really great location to access St Mawes harbour and some of the other sites in the local area. We found the rooms and beds really comfortable and the house generally had everything we needed. It's clear that the owners have made progress resolving parking issues mentioned in previous reviews, through removing a wall to improve access, however, we were a bit at the mercy of the neighbours in the next door property (also holiday-makers) who had 2 large cars making access incredibly tight. As they were friendly, we resolved by swapping spaces, but it's hard to say that will always be possible. I'd say the parking still requires a bit of thought and collaboration with the neighbours.

As usual, Classic Cottage were faultless - they're now our go-to holiday rental company

Reply from Classic Cottages

We're thrilled you enjoyed your stay at Octopus House - thanks so much for sharing your review. It's great to hear you appreciated the progress made so far to improve the parking and we're pleased to report that the the owners are currently working on the next stage of the improvements. This will make parking much easier and this phase is due to be compete by June 2023. We'd love to welcome you back again soon. Julie, Customer Support


This is a wonderful house in lovely St Mawes. It's been decorated beautifully and suited our two families with small children perfectly.

Reply from Classic Cottages

We are so pleased that you enjoyed Octopus House - the owners will be delighted to hear you found it so well furnished as a lot of thought goes into preparing the property for guests. We hope to welcome you back. Sarah, Customer Support


Octopus House

Impossible parking if the house next door is occupied. Had to leave the cars in a road opposite and received notes on the cars.

Couldn’t get through to house keeper or emergency number for 2 days.

Newish house thin walls etc so very noisy if trying to get children to sleep on the lower floor.

Flimsy cot thin mattress

Uncomfortable beds especially the single beds

House is at the top of a very very steep hill. Not ideal if you have mobility issues or pushing a pushchair down or up.

Julie answered my email on the Monday She was very helpful and arranged a cream tea and wine to be sent.

I do think they should be honest about the parking and the hill !

Reply from Classic Cottages

We're so sorry that you found the parking tricky. We're pleased to confirm that the owners have plans in place to improve parking in the future by removing a large section of the front wall and moving the road sign. Subject to planning, the work should be completed in early 2023. It's such a shame that you weren't able to reach anyone, but we were glad to be able to follow up your concerns as soon as we were made aware. The cot mattress is supplied with the travel cot and is a standard mattress which complies with UK cot mattress regulations. We're sorry that one of the single beds didn't suit comfort-wise, and as a result of your feedback the owners have since purchased four brand new single divan beds. We do try to describe our properties as accurately as possible and we're very sorry that your party struggled with the hill. Octopus House is a five-minute downhill stroll to the beautiful harbour at St Mawes, however the walk back up may take a little longer! We're delighted that you enjoyed the treats we arranged and hope that you enjoyed your stay overall. Julie, Customer Support

* UPDATE PARKING IMPROVEMENTS JANUARY 2023 *

Planning permission has been granted and the wall has already been removed. The remaining work should be completed in Spring 2023.


We had a lovely stay in Octopus House. It is a short five minute walk downhill to the village, and a further five minutes or so to Summers beach. The walk back uphill takes longer, but you can rest on the benches outside the church halfway up the short hill. St Mawes has everything you need.... bakery, butcher, fish shop, pharmacy, Co-op, Post Office, as well as lovely unique shops, cafes and pubs. The property itself is gorgeous, and was bigger than expected. The main living area is spacious and airy, and the kitchen is very well equipped. The fridge /freezer is large and there is another small fridge downstairs which was very useful in the recent hot weather for extra cold drinks. The upstairs bedroom is enormous, very light and airy with windows on both sides. The downstairs bedrooms are also a good size and were pleasantly cool in the hot weather. We found the single mattresses a little uncomfortable for adults, but the children were happy enough. We did find the parking tricky, as the two spaces are against the wall, and next door, with three cars, were inconsiderate when we were there. The front wall and road sign add to the difficulty. Overall, we were delighted with the property, and the parking was a minor niggle because we didn't need to get the cars in and out much.


Octopus house is beautifully presented, was immaculately clean & in a great position. Its a shame it doesn't have a better view across St Mawes / the harbour, but is still a lovely place to stay.


This is a lovely property that has clearly been very recently refurbished to a very high standard. The location is only an 8 minute walk down into St Mawes, but it is up (or down!) a hill from the harbour. It is a bit steep at one point. Classic Cottages were brilliant when we asked for a new can opener, and delivered one straight away. Great holiday


We really enjoyed our stay at Octopus House. There were just the two of us but we could see how the house would lend itself to a family stay with plenty of space for all. The living space was light and airy and the chairs and sofas were very comfortable. The large dining table would easily accommodate guests for full occupancy. The kitchen had everything we needed to cook the lovely fresh fish which we collected each morning from the harbour. The hill leading back up to the property provided extra exercise in addition to our walks! We slept well in the lovely, large, comfortable bed in the Master bedroom and all of the bedrooms had excellent storage space. The en-suite showers and the family bathroom were spacious and the towels were of a good quality. We would certainly stay here again.


Great house to stay in to enjoy St Mawes and surrounding area. Location great House facilities excellent Would stay again for sure


We booked Octopus House for a family get together, we couldn’t have hoped for better. The house was spacious and immaculately clean, the beds were very comfortable and everything we needed had been thought of and provided. The welcome pack of scones, home made jam, clotted cream and a bottle of wine were much appreciated. It was a perfect base for exploring St Mawes and The Roseland Peninsula, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a stay here.


Good or bad, we publish all the reviews left by the guests who have stayed in this cottage, with the few exceptions stated in our Review Guidelines.