We booked Sands because we wanted a hotel from which we could explore Cornwall easily, that had good facilities and childcare for our young children and which could provide accommodation that would allow us to all stay together, but not have to sleep in the same room - Sands had all this and good reviews, so we booked it expecting it to be very child-centric (as we have discovered our holidays need to be these days) but in doing so to make our holiday more enjoyable because the kids would be happy!
On entering the building, however, I was very pleasantly surprised to be in a large, calm, recently-refurbished (or at least it looked it) nautical-themed reception area, and despite it being a Saturday was able to walk straight up to the desk and check-in (slightly earlier than the check-in time). On making our way up to our room, again the decor was in keeping with the hotel's position, all clean and tidy, and despite there being no lift it was easy to carry our luggage up the stairs (we were offered assistance in doing so by reception). We had booked a Comfort Suite for the two-room option, and the fact it came with a restricted sea view was a bonus, but not essential to us. However, walking into our room (which was much bigger than we expected it to be) and seeing what we would class as an unrestricted sea view through our floor to ceiling windows had us grinning with delight. And the holiday continued in that vein.
I can't fault anything about Sands. The children's facilities (trim trail / park, zip wire, maze, bouncy castle, toddler-friendly park, tennis, basketball, bug hotel, ping pong, table football, soft play, children's clubs (morning and evening) and evening entertainment) were all well-thought out and in good condition. The hotel was always clean and tidy inside. The grounds were well kept. The gym was well-equipped and air-conditioned. The pools were clean and the indoor one was lovely and warm, with a separate area that our pre-schooler could splash around in. Mealtimes were easy, with a table always ready for us, plenty of food at the buffet and numerous options to choose from (for us and the children) - the quality of the food was excellent. And the surfshack was great for hiring out wetsuits and bodyboards.
And last but certainly not least, the employees: all friendly, helpful, welcoming, efficient. If you approached reception about something for the room, it was generally seen to within 15 minutes. Booking tickets for the Eden Project through reception was easy. Booking children's clubs straightforward, and the childcare manager was happy to talk through the format of the clubs and happily talked to my son as we lwere booking him in.
The only (very minor) thing that I would change is the breakfast coffee. The free stuff is not great (you do have the opportunity to purchase a 'proper' coffee, which is delicious). I had become hardened to it by the end of the week, but a decent filter coffee at breakfast in the morning would be hugely appreciated after a 6am wake-up with the kids.
So, if you got this far (or just skimmed to the end), in summary: the kids loved it, we loved it, their grandparents loved it, and we will be returning next year.