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The hotel Biden and G7 leaders are meeting in is the worst in the area, TripAdvisor said. Recent building work has enraged guests and environmentalists.

Jun 10, 2021, 22:30 IST
Business Insider
The beach in front of the five-star Carbis Bay Hotel which is set to be the main venue for the upcoming G7 summit.Carbis Bay/Getty Images
  • Tripadvisor reviewers are unhappy with the hotel that G7 leaders are using for their summit.
  • They complained about building work, which has been controversial locally.
  • A leading hotel reviewer questioned the choice, saying it would likely never be included in his guide.
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The five-star hotel hosting the meeting of President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders in England is the lowest-rated in the area on Tripadvisor, and is mired in controversy over building permits.

The Carbis Bay Hotel, in St Ives, Cornwall gets four stars out of five on the basis of more than 2,500 Tripadvisor reviews, and was dubbed an "odd choice" by one of the UK's top reviewers. Overall, it has a "very good" Tripadvisor rating, but it's not as highly-rated as the other two in the surrounding village.

Adam Raphael is the author of the Good Hotel Guide - a longstanding publication that UK hotels vie to be listed in. But in a March blog post, Raphael said that the hotel chosen by Boris Johnson's government is a "cruel and unusual punishment" and that it has never been listed by his guide.

"The reports of Carbis Bay Hotel that we receive from our readers do not inspire confidence," Raphael wrote. "It has never had an entry in the Guide, and probably never will."

He went on to republish a damning reader review, which said that the hotel is "beautiful" but doesn't "quite work" as a luxury experience.

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G7 leaders will only be using the venue for their meetings, rather than staying over. They will instead be sleeping in the 18th-century Tregenna Castle, as MailOnline reported.

Tregenna Castle at St Ives, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall. Picture date: Wednesday June 9, 2021.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

Construction complaints

A recent Tripadvisor reviewer - who did not mention using meeting facilities - said they paid five-star prices for a two-star experience. "Vicky A" complained about rude service and the spa being closed due to the G7 meeting, which they said they had not been told about when they booked.

They also complained about noise from building work - and is one of several TripAdvisor reviewers to do so.

The hotel has been building meeting rooms for the G7 leaders, for which its owners did not seek the required planning permission until after work had begun, local newspaper The Falmouth Packet reported.

Locals and environmentalists are continuing to object, the paper reported.

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A G7 Summit venue is seen at Tregenna Castle Hotel prior to a meeting between Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden, near St Ives, Cornwall on June 10, 2021,Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

But other visitors to the hotel have the opposite impression on TripAdvisor. One unnamed reviewer, who said they stayed there in May, said they really enjoyed" their stay and said that the G7 preparations gave "a lovely little buzz around the place."

"As far as I am concerned this place is a fantastic find, yes, in the middle of some improvements & you have to go (right now) with that in mind," they continued.

Carbis Bay Hotel did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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