It’s no secret we enjoy finer things in life, but don’t let that fool you that we a) have the finances or b) have the energy to waste in hoity toity stuffy settings. What you should know is that we believe holidays are to escape the everyday and get a taste of somewhere different, whether that’s the food, the views or the experiences. We’ve put together a list of places we have enjoyed along the south west coastline, from sweet cornish bakeries and sunset dining terraces to the best boutique hotels, so if you’re joining us on the staycation hype, here's what to have on your radar!
A few things can get in the way of ticking off each of the top 10 trendiest hotels in one weekend break. Do we let time and realistic restrictions get in the way? Absolutely not. But we have a hack: yes, our 9-5 office jobs won’t allow us to stay a night in each hotspot on the wishlist, but a cheap and cheerful airbnb lets us save on accommodation with room to splurge on activities*. There are so many incredible airbnbs that can rival a hotel stay for their unique quirks and the freedom to live as much like a local as you please. And we do please! Or we'd stay a night or two in any of the below and airbnb the rest. It's all about balance.
*Activities include drinking, eating and drinking in hotels we can’t afford to stay in. Cue said hotels.
PENZANCE
STAY & EAT HERE
from £135 per night
This eclectic seaside bolthole has 16 individually designed rooms and had us losing sleep over which one we shot-gunned for the night. Turns out we needn't have worried, they were both the cosiest, homeliest rooms we could have hoped for. It has so many beautiful corners to chill and drink in. The barn is best for an all-day restaurant, the lounge for cosying around the fireplace, wine in hand, and the vibrant garden terrace for cocktails and small plates from the seafood shack.
Now that we've stayed here we are dying to stay at their other locations in brighton, bristol, oxfordshire and london.
from £160 per night
A beautiful townhouse overlooking the harbour with bright airy rooms and suites that make all your first world problems disappear. With 6 spacious rooms and 2 luxury private suites, this guesthouse is a gorgeous home from home. If you don't stay here, and you're in penzance over the weekend, it's worth booking for sunday brunch as it’s the only day they welcome non-guests for food! Sadly we weren’t here for sunday but we’ve made a note for next time!
ST IVES
STAY HERE
from £170 per night
Owned and run by a local couple, this boutique guest house is positioned between st ives harbour and our favourite, porthminster beach, ideal for coffee shop hopping and lazy days on the sand. The guest house is also committed to sustainability by using eco friendly cleaning products, seasonal british produce, recycling, upcycling and composting, taking part in beach cleans and implementing ethically responsible employment policies!
from £125 per night
Time to visit another hotel we didn’t stay in. The clue is in the name here as views are unobstructed, unadulterated and pretty unbeatable. Why is it when we have minimal furniture and bare walls it looks like we’ve just moved in but when others do it, it's japandi decor. The bright open space is inviting with its wicker lamp shades and rattan chairs but it is fairly intimate so we wouldn’t plan a school reunion here or a meet-up of more than 4. Brunch consists of the usual suspects; from scrambled eggs with smashed avo and seasonal granola bowls to a wild card breakfast burrito to spice things up.
EAT HERE
Head here for the beastiest pasties. We may be 98% rooftops and dramatic cocktails but that 2% we save for good wholesome culture. Slate-fronted and marble-topped this is not, but what it lacks in style, it makes up for in character. They also offer vegan and vegetable pasties for those that care. Watch the bakers filling and crimping away each morning and picture people stood in your exact spot watching this very art all the way back in 1985. Probably in black and white. For bakeries that date back even further, there is warrens bakery which has been going since ancient 1860! We were told gluten-free pasties could be found at the cornish deli but the filling still had things one of us can’t eat so we didn’t get these.
This was as close to our london pastry runs we could get with shelves of gargantuan meringue clouds and cronuts that were in fact not cruffins, but bruffins aka brioche muffins. Not great for restricted diets, the baker laughed in the face of gluten-free. Sorry my body doesn’t agree with it, sir!
Head here for sweet sit-in cafe scenes. Think white-washed wood panelling, pastel blue hues and a gallery wall of local artists curated by @newcraftsmangallery. We picked up a selection of baked goods including the flapjack, pastel de nata, bolo de arroz (naturally gluten-free) and their dairy-free and gluten-free brownie and even if we could eat gluten/lactose without a care in the world, this brownie would be a winner. Definitely order.
Coffee from a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop tastes better. Fact. Hiding in plain sight along the harbour front, this charming kiosk is the perfect pitstop for coffee and a pastry to go or to cosy up in above for breakfast with beautiful sea views. Humble interiors, tick. Ethically-sourced coffee, carbon neutral couriers and partnering with trees for life, tick, tick, tick. This solar-powered coffee shop has big feel-good energy and offers actual exciting brunch from plum crumble granola to tarragon mushrooms with aioli and salsa verde on herby eggy bread.
It doesn’t get more holiyay than dinner at sunset, and just because we are giving overseas a miss for now, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them on home turf. This spot just beneath the tate on porthmeor beach has a few places to enjoy a summer evening in malibu. Up top serves seafood sharing plates and below is the pizza bar where we ate, or a beach cafe for coffee and deli vibes. No need to dress up here as it’s super chilled but some atmospheric beach chillout wouldn’t go amiss.
We had booked here for a white sand beach and cocktail day but luckily for our pockets, the uk weather was having none of it and we could sit inside in the rain anywhere so instead went for a hike to kynance cove. But had it been sunny we’d have drowned ourselves in rosé, shellfish and come home poor, gladly.
DRINK HERE
On a sunny day, there are two options. Be out in it or have delicious views of it.
White sand, turquoise sea and scorching heat (21°), this is as close to the bahamas as we will get. The lovely porthminster beach café is set back, nestled in the trees looking out at the sea. Sadly they didn’t have any tables free on our one sunny day in st ives so we stocked up on snacks and a magnum of the pale stuff and hunkered down for a beach picnic instead. Once they’d run dry, floral notes of local gin and crackles of a bbq lured us over to a buzzing beach deck, aptly named cocktail & gin bar. We can't find a link but walk along the walkway at the back of the beach and you'll find it.
A sunny rooftop hideaway providing an escape from lovely and happy but screaming kids with views of the harbour, not quite panoramic but views all the same, complete with cover if the weather is predictably unpredictable. Plus their happy hour is 12-3pm sundays so that’s holy day sorted.
We miss spoons, said no-one ever...until we were 3 shots and 2 pints of fruity cocktails down. Listen, we fancied a drink and a good time and it delivered. Super casual, good atmosphere and actual young people which we haven’t been around for so long it seems.
Handwritten blackboard menus (and on the window pane), café curtains, natural wines and small plates. Did we even leave london? ~ the thieving seagulls and friendly faces told us yes ~ This neighbourhood bar and bottle shop happened to be sat next to us along the meandering cobbled street, set back from the main strip. We didn’t have a chance to spend an evening here but it looked like the perfect spot for romantic date night. Low intervention wines and charcuterie boards, what else is there to love. It’s worth noting as well they don’t take bookings, so a good one to have up your sleeve if you arrive unprepared!
Home to st ives gin, the searoom on the harbour front serves their own fresh gin cocktails and tapas in a charming tudor cottage front.
PADSTOW
STAY HERE
from £150 per night
A 5 minute drive from padstow harbour is the pig hotel; a quirky hotel based in a historic 15th century house and has rooms ranging from the snug to romantic garden wagons. Recently featured on bbc two's remarkable places to eat where the country hotel delved into their commitment to homegrown and local produce, their kitchen garden restaurants are the ultimate wholesome dining experience.
EAT HERE
Padstow wasn’t part of the plan, but since it was wet and miserable in st ives we thought we might as well be wet and miserable exploring somewhere new. On such short notice, we didn’t have much of a foodie itinerary so were on the hunt for walk-in-only spots. Luckily this charming fishing port appears to be #sponsored by one name in particular.
Rick Stein’s fish & chips is just that, and if plan b is Rick Stein you’re not doing too badly. It’s your local chippy with haddock, cod, mushy peas (always), gravy (sure), curry sauce (why not), but it’s the sea bass, lemon sole and battered oysters that makes it all that but better. If unlike us you will be planning a visit, the flagship restaurant, café and st petroc’s bistro are where to book in advance.
Not the only Rick in the village, Rick and Katie Toogood appear to have the same plan to take over this charming fishing port with these two under their belt.
You know when you throw a tantrum to see how far you can push someone before you reign it in? Us neither. But it’s not far off what POTL have done here; originally bringing fresh fish from cornwall and devon to the big city, this trendy fishmongers/seafood bar decided to open up their second branch back at the source. Plough through their daily changing menu of seafood sharing plates with the metro-tiled, brick-exposed industrial styling giving this space a relaxed feel.
PRAWN ON THE FARM
We just missed it when we visited but they should now also have their pop-up at trerethern farm well underway, which brings their quality fish dishes to a grand gbbo-style marquee overlooking rolling scenes of cornish countryside. Worth checking out on a sunny day for casual alfresco dining. Only 25 minutes walk from padstow town apparently!
Small plates, much like fun-size mars bars, do not do what they say on the tin, and seeing these on a menu will by no means result in a small bill. They are, however, delicious and let you feel like you’re discovering more of the menu than you otherwise would. Either way, this dark and stylish restaurant serves up a whole menu of them. Set in a former victorian tearoom, barnaby’s is just up the road from its sister restaurant, prawn on the lawn, and shares the same passion for bringing quality fresh fish to laidback dining.
NEWQUAY
STAY HERE
from £185 per night
If floor to ceiling ocean views are your thing then make sure this hotel is your next staycation. Make the most of their indoor pool that overlooks the bay, a great spot to watch surfers whilst you swim, before choosing which of their 4 restaurants to dine at or simply take a wander down to the beach and pay a visit to the hotel's food market. Don’t forget to check out their latest room, the new dreamy beach lofts.
from £810 for three nights
Now camping isn't our thing but we may make an exception for beach glamping, to quote the owners ‘A place where you’ll feel like you’re on your own little paradise island, but a G&T is only a wave of the hand away’ - sounds perfect to us! Don’t fancy sand in your bed?? They also offer chalets and cottages sat on the sand at the back of the bay.
from £240 per night
If you’re going to book this hotel for anything, book it for their iconic wood fired hot tubs perched on the cliff top overlooking the bay below and the barrel wooden sauna, the perfect spa break.
SALCOMBE
Okay, we know salcombe isn't technically cornwall but we couldn’t leave our favourite place off the list.
STAY HERE
from £140 per night
We also couldn’t not shout about this beauty of a hotel! The rustic chic interior perfectly compliments the rough environment the hotel surrounds itself with and is perfect for a weekend away from the city. Don't forget to pay a visit to their new 'garavan' for snacks and a view.
EAT HERE
THE SALCOMBE YAWL
Another hole-in-the-wall coffe shop. Our weakness. This one also treated our parched pup to a puppiccino but be warned, he’s been a diva ever since. Another one we can't link, but the streets of salcombe aren't big so mooch about and you'll stumble across it. Grab baguettes, pizzas, crab tarts and pasties including vegan and gluten-free ones, too.
Pulling up in this carpark you may think sat nav has done you dirty, but look past this side of the location as the other is a serene quayside terrace overlooking the harbour. Extremely accommodating with food intolerances.
Walk-ins only. Music to our ears. We found this waterside inn as we waited for the ferry across to the most stunning uk beach we’ve found and made a note for the cute outdoor terrace literally on the sea and buzzing atmosphere.
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