10 cool hotels in Cornwall that still have availability for May and June
As well as the most sensational beaches, Cornwall has an extraordinary collection of that rare find in Britain: true beach hotels, set right beside the sand. And isn’t that exactly what we’re looking for, post-lockdown? An escape to the shores of our island, where we can run on the sand, surf the waves, swim in the sea, and taste the salt-tinged air (as well as the county’s wealth of superb food), is just the ticket. For many, Cornwall has a magic that cannot be beaten, no matter how busy and how popular it gets. Beat the summer crowds and grab a break there in May or June at one of these fabulous seaside boltholes which still, miraculously, have rooms still to be snapped up.
The Idle Rocks, St Mawes
When St Mawes was being touted as Britain’s answer to St Tropez in the 1940s, the Idle Rocks Hotel was the beating heart of that riviera scene. One hundred years after it first opened, the Victorian hotel was reopened after a facelift by new owners Karen Richards and her husband David to become one of the smartest hotels in Cornwall – though it’s family-friendly too. It’s set on the waterfront of pretty St Mawes, with a suntrap of a terrace above the water where lobster and oysters and champagne are served beneath the parasols. Upstairs, rooms are fresh, light and seaside chic, decorated with local artworks and antiques.
Doubles from £220; idlerocks.com; 01326 270270
The St. Mawes Hotel, St Mawes
Locals love the St. Mawes Hotel, whose funky French-bistro-feel bar is the social hub of the village, where fishermen and metropolitan ’makers rub shoulders over pints of Doom Bar and gin cocktails. The St. Mawes is the little sister hotel to Idle Rocks, and Karen Richards has worked her interiors magic here too, in the artsy eclectic rooms, but the vibe here is altogether younger and cooler – and more affordable. It’s even got a little private cinema.
Doubles from £140; stmaweshotel.com; 01326 270270
Hell Bay Hotel, Isles of Scilly
A jaunt in the Isles of Scilly might be the closest thing we’ll get to a private-island escape for a while, so how splendid that the Hell Bay Hotel still has some availability in May and June. It feels like a real remote escape, set as it is on a shore of sleepy little Bryher island facing the great Atlantic Ocean, with beaches and gardens to run wild in. It’s owned by the same family who own Tresco island, and is filled with their collection of Cornish art. Rooms are in a collection of wooden clapboard houses, each with their own entrance, so you have a sense of privacy and independence. In warmer months, the hotel’s Crab Shack pops up, serving wine and super-fresh crab beside the shore; but year round the hotel restaurant has a focus on hyperlocal seafood.
Doubles from £135; hellbay.co.uk; 01720 422947
Watergate Bay, Newquay
Not so much a hotel as a surfing destination, slap bang on one of north Cornwall’s most sensational beaches. The innovative team behind Watergate Bay are constantly working on keeping offerings up to date, whether that’s the activity breaks, the appealing menus in the hotel’s four restaurants, the range of accommodation, including some gorgeous new-for-2021 beach lofts which have access directly to the beach. Watersports are the order of the day here: the Extreme Academy surf school operates year-round, then there’s kitesurfing, and a glass-walled indoor Swim Club spa pool from which you can watch the sunset and surfers catching waves on the beach below.
Doubles from £185; watergatebay.co.uk
Carbis Bay Hotel and Estate, Carbis Bay
As if Carbis Bay Hotel’s location wasn’t glorious enough – right above the pale sands of one of Cornwall’s prettiest bays – they then went and built a series of beach lodges, right on the beach itself. Depending on what kind of break you want, you can stay in the main house itself where rooms are grand and grown-up, or go for the new beach lodges, which are contemporary and ideal for families and groups of friends, with three or four bedrooms, a kitchen and hot tub on the terrace.
Doubles from £290; carbisbayhotel.co.uk
Artist Residence, Penzance
In recent years the seaside town of Penzance has reinvented itself as buzzy creative hub, so this Artist Residence outpost is perfectly placed. They’ve brought their joyful mix of colour, pattern and eclecticism to a Georgian manor house in the old quarter of the town, with lively bar-restaurant The Clubhouse and 19 bedrooms and suites showcasing a mix of unique curios and statement textiles. Plus for this year they’ve created new loft rooms beneath the pitched ceilings, with writing desks and rolltop bathtubs.
Doubles from £135; artistresidence.co.uk
The Lugger, Portloe
Eating just-caught seafood beside the sea must be one of life’s greatest simple pleasures, and the waterside terrace at The Lugger in the fishing village of Portloe has been hosting such good times ever since the 17th century. A stay at this old inn is a delight, particularly if you can bag a room whose shuttered windows open right onto the water, or alternatively one of its cottages, gently modernised.
Doubles from £166; luggerhotel.co.uk
Fowey Hall, Fowey
With its towers and domes and colonnaded veranda, this Victorian mansion was the inspiration for Toad Hall, after Kenneth Grahame stayed. It remains just as impressive today, and its rooms have been beautifully updated, with a palette of contemporary neutrals that allow period details – such as panelled walls, elaborate fireplaces and carved pillars – to take centre-stage, complemented with modern art and furniture. The restaurant is thoroughly modern too; head chef Wesley Pratt does inventive things with top-quality local ingredients, served in a light airy space that mixes English stately home with colonial cane and Danish modernism. There’s also a spa, pool and al fresco dining – plus the whole place is family friendly.
Doubles from £169; foweyhallhotel.co.uk
The St Enodoc Hotel, Rock
Padstow may be booked solid this summer, but a boat-ride across the estuary in Rock, the St Enodoc Hotel still has a few rooms left. And what lovely rooms they are – light, spacious, with views out across the blue. Lovelier still is the outdoor pool in gardens with shades of the Mediterranean about it; and the dining terrace is a delightful place to while away an afternoon over oysters, mussels and sparkling Camel Valley wine.
Doubles from £170; enodoc-hotel.co.uk
The Nare, Carne Bay
Country-house hotel The Nare is set above Carne Bay on the unspoilt Roseland Peninsula, so guests can hop, skip and jump – should they be so disposed – straight down to the sand. The old-school grandeur of its 1920s origins remains, from butler service to croquet games on the lawn and billiards before bed. Bedrooms are traditional, featuring silk pelmets, chandeliers and a fair amount of highly polished walnut; gardens are abundant with hydrangea. A jacket and tie is expected in the formal dining room in the evenings (and children are no exception to the rule).
Doubles from £299; narehotel.co.uk; 01872 501111
All availability was checked directly through the hotels' websites and was correct at the time of publishing.
