Britain’s Most Spectacular Coastal Escapes

There’s nothing quite like the British seaside. From laid-back beach towns in Cornwall to quaint Scottish villages and arty hotspots in Kent, the UK’s waterside destinations are some of the most beautiful parts of the country. They’re also where you’ll find a scattering of idyllic hotels, which offer sweeping sea views, destination restaurants, world-class spas and much more. Whether you’re after a late summer sojourn or a moody autumn getaway, these are the best coastal hotels in the UK.

These reviews were taken from Great British & Irish Hotels 2025

Best Coastal Hotels In The UK For 2025

Carbis Bay Hotel, Carbis Bay, Cornwall, gardens, hotel, bar, rooms, restaurant

Carbis Bay Estate, St Ives, Cornwall

With its own 25-acre Blue Flag beach on the edge of St Ives, this is a dreamy Cornish coastal escape – which most famously hosted world leaders at the G7 in 2021. The biggest decision is whether the stay is in the main house, the suites and cottages in the wooded valley (ideal for families or larger groups wanting a little more space), or by the water’s edge in a luxury beach lodge which comes with its own hot tub and private garden. You’re spoilt for choice with food too, from international Walter’s on the Beach cocktail bar and restaurant, which has an alfresco terrace for sundowner barrel-aged Negronis, to Ugly Butterfly by renowned chef Adam Handling. There’s also the recently extended Beach Club; a deli on the promenade; and the Orangery restaurant, added as part of the renovation in 2021, when the big guns came to town. Part of the same revamp is the enhanced C Bay Spa, which has new candlelit treatment rooms for heavenly Bamford facials, a hydropool, sauna and – the star of the show – an outdoor infinity pool with sensational views of the bay below. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £225, carbisbayhotel.co.uk

Hell Bay Hotel, Bryher, Isles of Scilly

Perched on Bryher’s wild west coast, this stunning waterfront hotel blends California cool with Atlantic charm. Created by the Dorrien-Smith family, stewards of nearby Tresco, it offers a rare combination of untamed beauty and effortless elegance. The hotel’s 25 light-filled suites mix antique charm with contemporary sophistication. Expect plush fabrics, handpicked furnishings, and sweeping sea views. Relax with morning yoga, swim in the heated outdoor pool, or enjoy a massage in the Treatment Shed, while the new family room offers air hockey, games and creative activities. Outside, enjoy picnicking on hidden beaches, kayaking through crystal-clear waters, and scenic hikes along rugged coastal trails. Dining is exceptional: Scilly’s only three-AA Rosette restaurant delivers seasonal, island-inspired dishes, while The Crab Shack serves just-caught seafood with toes-in-the-sand informality. At Hell Bay, luxury isn’t loud – it’s elemental, deeply considered and wonderfully indulgent. Plus, this remote paradise is easier to reach than you might think: a helicopter flight from Cornwall to Tresco, followed by a short boat ride to Bryher’s shores. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £105, hellbay.co.uk

The Idle Rocks, St Mawes, Cornwall

Perched on the rocks in the heart of St Mawes on the beautiful Roseland Peninsula, The Idle Rocks, a Relais & Châteaux hotel, features 19 individually designed suites providing the ultimate seaside escape. A home away from home, this intimate hotel offers spectacular views over the harbour and Fal Estuary from its beautifully designed rooms. Head Chef of e Reef Knot Restaurant, Carla Jones, has launched a new menu with a strong focus on seafood. You can expect the freshest of seasonal dishes crafted from local ingredients and the catch of the day from the hotel’s dedicated fisherman Gareth Austin. Whether you seek long coastal walks, wild swimming or sailing lessons, the hotel is perfectly positioned for swashbuckling adventures. Reflecting pure Cornish style and understated elegance, this is a boutique haven to retreat to throughout the year, where time is dictated by nothing but the tide. The hotel’s sister property, St Mawes Hotel, is a short walk away and equipped with seven unique bedrooms, plus a hidden cinema, for dinner and movie nights. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £320, idlerocks.com

The Nare Hotel

The Nare, Veryan, Cornwall

Opened in 1989 by Bettye Gray, five-star The Nare is Cornwall’s highest-rated country house hotel – and is renowned for its genuine comfort and stunning sea views over Carne Beach on Cornwall’s idyllic south coast. Proprietor Toby Ashworth upholds his grandmother’s vision of warm, traditional hospitality and many returning guests are drawn in by the enveloping kindness, door-to-door chauffeur service and the fine food served in the hotel’s two sea-view restaurants. In the splendid, more formal dining room, waitresses dart about in white pinnies and the hors d’oeuvre, flambé and dessert trolleys are on hand. Children are embraced, dogs have their own menus, and there’s an indulgent spa with two pools. From coastal walks to visiting one of the many beautiful gardens, there is plenty to explore nearby. Plus the hotel has a tennis court, an artist in residence who offers painting lessons to guests, and a classic wooden motor launch, Alice Rose, for guests to spend the day exploring the beautiful Fal and Helford Rivers. A place of great British comfort, perfect for extended families. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £406, narehotel.co.uk

Watersmeet Hotel, Woolacombe, Devon

The proud recipient of Condé Nast Johansens’ hugely prestigious Best Waterside Hotel for UK and Ireland 2024 award, Watersmeet boasts one of the most stunning locations in North Devon, offering dramatic views of the rolling surf and beyond towards Hartland Point, Baggy Point and Lundy Island. Overlooking Combesgate Beach, the property has its own private steps down to this sandy cove, which is perfect for bodyboarding and rock-pooling, and rarely gets crowded, even in peak season. The 28 individually decorated bedrooms and suites offer comfort and luxury to complement the extraordinary vistas. At the heart of Watersmeet is a beautiful terrace spanning two levels, the perfect spot for lunch or afternoon tea in the sunshine, or a candle-lit dinner in the two-AA Rosette Rocks Restaurant, serving meticulously crafted dishes featuring local ingredients from the land and sea. Guests can further enjoy a treatment in the fabulous on-site spa or take a dip in the indoor or outdoor pools. New for the 2024 season is a multi-purpose area on the lawn for informal and formal alfresco dining and smaller wedding ceremonies and private parties. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £210, watersmeethotel.co.uk

Scarlet Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall

Overlooking the sweeping, romantic Mawgan Porth beach, this scintillating eco-hotel blurs the boundaries between inside and out, with glass walls, flat roofs covered in sea thrift and infinity pools that seem to reach to the sea. At its heart is the womb-like Ayurveda-inspired spa, with tented pods suspended in the dark for deep relaxation. There’s an indoor pool and a reed-fringed, rock-strewn outdoor one and a cedar barrel sauna overlooking the ocean. Plus four clifftop hot tubs, complemented by two cold drench buckets for hot and cold therapy. Bedrooms are soothing, with deep coastal colours, funky touches, excellent lighting, gorgeous beds and sea and sunset views. Head chef Jack Clayton has a passion for fusing flavours, foraging and sustainability. The result is exceptional seasonal dishes, using everything from fresh samphire from the beaches of North Cornwall to herbs plucked from the coastal path below the gardens. There’s also an impressive collection of sustainable, slowaged wines. An adults-only sanctuary which is also dog friendly, Scarlet Hotel is a thoroughly restorative retreat, with a feeling of soothing, sybaritic luxury. The ultimate escape. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £235, scarlethotel.co.uk

THE PIG – at Harlyn Bay, Padstow, Cornwall

‘Which is your favourite PIG?’ I am often asked. That’s a tough question because I love them all, but it’s this one in the litter that comes trotting to mind first. The hotel is a brooding, mysterious beauty overlooking sweeping Harlyn Bay near Padstow. It’s another sure-fire hit, with gorgeous, dark, velvety interiors behind dramatic Cornish slate walls and heavy oak doors that were inspired, designer Judy Hutson says, by the stillness of Mark Rylance in Wolf Hall. Contrast these rich and opulent rooms with the airy bistro and separate Lobster Shed restaurant, lawns strewn with wooden easy chairs and wild owers, and a clutch of wonderful wagons to complement the bedrooms in the house and sympathetic new Stonehouse wing. It’s a special place with a special atmosphere – weaving Cornish heritage and wild coastal charm into every detail – and one that is as pleasing in winter as it is in summer. Though only opened five years ago, this PIG feels as if it has been there forever, with a burgeoning kitchen garden, two treatment huts, a great wine cellar and fabulous food from the 25 Mile Menu. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £260, thepighotel.com

The Old Coastguard, Mousehole, Cornwall

Of Charles and Edmund Inkin’s collection of effortlessly laid-back places to stay, this has the best location: overlooking the sea in the enchanting fishing village of Mousehole, noted for its artists, Christmas illuminations and invention of stargazy pie. A hotel since Victorian times, the Old Coastguard’s 14 attractive sea-facing bedrooms have superb beds, Roberts radios, Bramley products, auction room finds and striped curtains (the best come with knockout views from the balcony). Downstairs in the open-plan bar and dining room, you’ll tuck into superb dishes showcasing local ingredients, from Tregassow asparagus and dressed Newlyn crab to plaice and cod caught that morning – all cooked by head chef, Danny Garland. Making the most of the vista through picture windows, the sun-filled sitting area runs the length of the ground floor. Lazing there, looking through the palm trees and agapanthus, or reclining on the new sea-facing garden sun terrace, you’ll keep delaying your departure by another hour. It’s that kind of place.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £182.50, oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk

Penally Abbey, Tenby

Penally Abbey, Tenbury, Pembrokeshire

This grand Welsh mansion exudes bonhomie, making you instantly relax and feel at home. Owners Lucas and Melanie Boissevain brought the lovely, late 18th-century Gothic house, with its romantic ogee-headed doors and windows, stunningly back to life in 2014. You enter a spacious hallway with a welcoming wood-burning stove; there follows a bar opening onto a pretty conservatory, an elegant yet homely sitting room and a glamorous candlelit dining room Filled with locally collected antiques. Here, you’ll dine on delicious, local and homegrown produce, dished up in imaginative ways – try the halibut and brown shrimp in a homemade bisque. Melanie’s aesthetic – handily, she has a background in interior design – mixes the elegant and the traditional with judiciously stylish touches. The result? All 12 bedrooms are equally restful and comfortable spaces, some with floral wallpapers, statement bedheads and wood panelling; most with sea views, in which it’s a pleasure to spend time idly looking out of the window. Each one includes a delightful hand-illustrated guide of things to do in the area, which sums up the charms of this exceptional, friendly hotel.

Wander outside and you’ll find peaceful, beautifully tended gardens that lead towards sweeping views of the sea. Just a 10-minute stroll from the front door lies the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path – a dream route for walkers and ramblers, offering breathtaking scenery and access to hidden coves and beaches. The hotel’s location within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park also makes it an ideal base for exploring nearby Tenby, heritage sites, and charming local villages such as Saundersfoot and Amroth. After a morning of adventure, afternoons are best spent with steaming cups of tea and homemade cake in the drawing room or basking in the sun on the terrace overlooking Carmarthen Bay. Breakfasts are also a highlight, with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, Coaltown coffee and freshly baked pastries. Penally Abbey balances style and soul with ease – a quietly special place where thoughtful details, natural beauty, and warm hospitality come together effortlessly. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £160, penally-abbey.com

THE PIG – on the Beach, Studland, Dorset

With its wacky profusion of turrets, gargoyles, stone casements and overlapping tiles on steep roofs, this enchanting 18th-century house will bring an instant smile to your face and memories of tales of Hansel and Gretel. As for the views? You’ll be entranced – they’re particularly epic, especially looking across the sheep-flecked green fields and the sea to Old Harry Rocks. Built as a grand summer house, this Studland Bay delight is a muchloved seaside sibling in the droves of PIG hotels and it positively brims with charm. In addition to the usual conservatory restaurant (with signature 25 Mile Menu) and walled kitchen garden, there are quirkily different bedrooms. This includes two charming shepherd’s huts. Each has a bedroom and bathroom hut and a lounge hut with a sun deck, boasting the best views in the house. There’s a buzzy outdoor bar with a wood-fired oven for sourdough pizzas, as well as a private dining room in a dreamy thatched hut on the lawn overlooking the cliffs – perfect for gatherings of up to 12. A thrilling, wildly popular hotel. 

BOOK IT: Doubles from £350, thepighotel.com