Hotels for Christmas by the sea

Featured hotels with Special Offers

Knockinaam Lodge - July £100 Discount Special Offer

Portpatrick

A Victorian hunting lodge overlooking the Irish Sea, Knockinaam Lodge celebrates Christmas complete with a traditional Christmas lunch, boardgames, Boxing Day suppers, long walks and plenty of time for a good snooze

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weddings
walking
garden
dog_friendly
wifi
romantic
honeymoon
rooms_with_a_view
historic
gourmet
view
seaside
conferencemeeting_friendly
outdoor_pursuits_hunting
fishing
golf
for_winelovers
child_friendly
cycling
horse_riding
wildlife_watching
wheelchair_accessible
electric_charging_point
bird_watching
vegetarian_friendly
babyfriendly
country_house
great_breakfast
outdoor_dining
parking
foodie
veganfriendly

Cary Arms & Spa - 'Celebration Hideaway' Special Offer

Babbacombe

You can arrive by sea and moor at this secluded hotel, which clings to the cliffs above the Teign estuary. Beach huts in tropical coastal gardens have wall-to-wall glass doors, a sunbathing deck, views across Lyme Bay.

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gym
weddings
child_friendly
golf
garden
value
spa
dog_friendly
wifi
romantic
seaside
rooms_with_a_view
indoor_pool
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mooring_available
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The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer

Mawgan Porth

Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.

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weddings
walking
value
spa
dog_friendly
disabled_facilities
wifi
romantic
seaside
rooms_with_a_view
indoor_pool
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Shieldaig Lodge - 'Food Lovers Package' Special Offer

Gairloch

At this magical Highland retreat, you're welcomed in festive style, with a wee dram and Christmas cake, before a three-course dinner. The enchanting surroundings are perfect for waking to on Christmas Day when you can enjoy roaring fires, big breakfasts, afternoon teas and hot toddies, as well as the full Christmas lunch.

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weddings
child_friendly
walking
garden
fishing
wifi
parking
rooms_with_a_view
conference_meeting
outdoor_pursuits_hunting
conferencemeeting_friendly
country_house
romantic
vegetarian_friendly
for_winelovers
honeymoon
bird_watching
seaside
golf
horse_riding
cycling
wildlife_watching
wheelchair_accessible
boutique
babyfriendly
foodie
historic
dog_friendly

The UK has a variety of hotels for Christmas by the sea…

More hotels for Christmas by the sea

The Seaside Boarding House, Burton Bradstock

A playful mix of Edward Hopper’s Cape Cod and Edwardian seaside hotel, this white-painted villa above Chesil Beach has an easy-going stylishness, conducive to fun.

Loch Melfort Hotel, Oban

Choose a lodge rooms with sea-facing balcony or decking, or a more traditional house room, at this Victorian mansion beside Arduaine Garden, with bistro-style cooking and views across Asknish Bay.

Hotel Riviera, Sidmouth

With its white-stucco, bow-windowed façade and fluttering umbrellas, the Wharton family’s regency hotel has is a jolly presence on Sidmouth's esplanade.

The New Inn, Tresco

Sporting a fresh new look in bedrooms and dining areas, the only pub on this family-owned, car-free island still retains its innate charm.

Mullion Cove Hotel, Helston

An iconic white Victorian hotel on a cliff-top is today a dog- and family-friendly hotel with spa, outdoor pool, informal bar dining, and more ambitious cooking in the Atlantic View restaurant.

South Sands, Salcombe

Relaxed, informal, dog friendly, this contemporary hotel above South Sands beach, made over in New England style, has a good choice of bedrooms, some with seas view and balcony, menus to suit everyone, and a terrace for alfresco dining.

Coll Hotel, Isle of Coll

Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.

The Idle Rocks, St Mawes

With a waterside terrace, coolly stylish interiors, well-equipped bedrooms and a chef who honed his craft in Raymond Blanc’s kitchen, this Edwardian hotel in a fishing village on the Fal estuary is the place to idle away blissful days.

St Brides Spa Hotel, Saundersfoot

High above the town, a modern hotel with ‘exceptional’ seascapes that are as restorative, perhaps, as the calm that washes over guests in the award-winning spa.

The Green House, Bournemouth

Within strolling distance of the town and the beach is this eco-friendly hotel in a handsome Victorian clifftop villa.

The Pig on the Beach, Studland

There is a hint of Castle Gormenghast about this fairytale 1820s marine villa, with its jumble of roofs, gables, gargoyles, towers and dormers, in gardens running down to a sandy beach.

Watersmeet, Woolacombe

‘The location is stunning, with views of the Devon coast with its sandy beaches and tumbled rocks,’ writes a reader delighted by this family-friendly hotel.

Artist Residence Cornwall, Penzance

A hip, youthful vibe permeates this quirky hotel and local hangout above the harbour, with beach-shack chic bedrooms, café, cocktail bar and curated art collection.

The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham

A white-painted 16th-century beer house with views over salt marshes, this family and dog-friendly inn has an oak-beamed bar, rustic-chic bedrooms and relaxed restaurant serving seasonal dishes and daily specials.

The Westleton Crown, Southwold

In the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB, this dog-friendly former coaching inn has rustic-chic and contemporary bedrooms, cosy spaces, modern dishes served by smiling young staff in a light-filled dining room and alfresco.

The Ship Inn, Elie

The catch of the day could be Shetland hake in the restaurant or nifty fielding on the sands at this pub-with-rooms overlooking the Firth of Forth, with its own beach cricket team.

Bayards Cove Inn, Dartmouth

A stroll from the quay, behind a quaint, jettied, black-and-white facade, a drop-in café, bar and restaurant has excellent pet-friendly bedrooms, approached via creaky, winding stairs.

Twr y Felin Hotel, St Davids

Overlooking St Bride’s Bay, a 19th-century windmill tower forms the centrepiece of this contemporary art hotel with a wide choice of generously supplied bedrooms, and a restaurant serving creative, modern dishes.

Lympstone Manor, Exmouth

Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines has created a country house hotel for the 21st century, a foodie destination and place of soft-spoken luxury, in a Georgian mansion overlooking the Exe estuary.

Kinloch Lodge, Sleat

'In a beautiful position' on the shores of Loch Na Dal, in the lee of a wooded hill, this former hunting lodge offers 'comfortable bedrooms and public rooms and excellent food'.

Beadnell Towers, Beadnell

A stroll from the beach, this family and dog-friendly hotel offers a mix of individually designed bedrooms, a fun, quirky bar, and a restaurant serving locally sourced gastropub-style cooking.

Driftwood Hotel, Porthscatho

‘This hotel is all about position – on the cliffs above the beach and beautiful gardens,’ a reader writes.

Burgh Island Hotel, Bigbury-on-Sea

Pack your Schiaparelli gowns, beach pants and playsuits, and board the 'sea tractor' for a trip back to the 1930s at this Art Deco hotel on a tidal island where the beau monde came to play.

The Blakeney Hotel, Holt

Readers again lavish praise on this quayside hotel – ‘one of the best run and best maintained in Britain' – in a ‘stunning setting looking over salt marsh’.

The Millstream, Chichester

In gardens bordered by a stream, the Wild family’s hotel, converted from three 17th-century cottages, a stroll from its own quayside, has well-equipped, country-classic bedrooms, formal and informal dining in restaurant and brasserie.

The Wentworth, Aldeburgh

‘Our favourite hotel in the whole wide world,’ writes a devotee of this seafront grande dame, run by the same family for 104 years.

Fowey Hall, Fowey

Avowedly family-friendly and fun yet stylish, this hotel with spa occupies a Baroque Victorian mansion in five acres above the Fowey estuary.

The Headland Hotel, Newquay

A landmark Victorian building above Fistral Bay, this hotel is a mix of the grand and contemporary, with pools and spa treatments, a golf course, surf school, bedrooms in coastal colours, refined and informal dining.

Moonfleet Manor, Fleet

A Georgian manor house above Chesil Beach, this is a dog- and people-friendly hotel designed for holidays and fun, catering to everyone from tinies to grown-ups with sophisticated tastes.

The Old Quay House, Fowey

The Fowey estuary washes around the rear terrace at this white stucco Victorian hotel with boutique-chic bedrooms in restful shades, and restaurant serving classic dishes with a modern twist.

The Pier at Harwich, Harwich

Cranes, container ships, Holland-bound ferries … The views from this quayside Victorian hotel, with its striking iron-lace balcony overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries, are ocean-going, stirring, never dull.

Hotel Portmeirion, Portmeirion

Bedrooms are spread between properties in Clough Williams-Ellis’s extraordinary Italianate resort village, but this hotel centres on a Victorian mansion with Art Deco bar and fine-dining restaurant.

Tresanton, St Mawes

‘You feel as though you’re on the French Riviera’ at Olga Polizzi’s seaside hotel ‘in one of the most idyllic locations you could hope to come across’.

Thurlestone Hotel, Kingsbridge

In 19 acres of sub-tropical gardens, this family-owned 65-room spa hotel is a happy marriage of the traditional and informal, with well-equipped rooms, fine dining in the smart Trevilder, and a gastropub menu in the 16th-century village inn.

La Fregate, St Peter Port

High on the clifftop above St Peter Port, this town house hotel has enviable views over the harbour and neighbouring islands, sleek bedrooms and an established reputation for its food.

The Greenbank, Falmouth

Life on the water’s edge doesn’t come much closer than at this large hotel, the oldest in the maritime town.

The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

A great white wedding cake of a hotel, this Victorian extravaganza invites you to take a step back in time, to take tea or cocktails to the sound of the Palm Court Strings, dine in style and retire to a deluxe bedroom at prices that won’t break the bank.

The Gallivant, Camber

The name says it all: a place to skip along Camber Sands, enjoy backgammon in the bar, chill in the garden or relax with yoga – and with no children to disturb the peace.

The Bay Hotel, Helston

Overlooking the beach and harbour in a fishing village, this updated Edwardian hotel offers bedrooms decorated in a soothing, muted coastal palette, while in the restaurant you can dine from short, highly creative menus of seasonal Cornish produce.

Captain’s Club Hotel, Christchurch

Berthed on the banks of the Stour since 2006, this child-friendly, dog-friendly, glass-and-steel hotel, with the sleek lines of a cruise liner, was built for leisure.

Hotels not in the Guide that you may want to consider

Watergate Bay

‘The whole family feels welcome’ at this seaside hotel, which stands in a fabulous location, on a two-mile stretch of sandy, dog-friendly beach. The modern building is breezy and bright inside, with a host of facilities to suit everyone. Bedrooms have a coastal vibe; many have views to match.

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babyfriendly
child_friendly
conferencemeeting_friendly
disabled_facilities
dog_friendly
ecofriendly
electric_charging_point
garden
gym
hot_tub_jacuzzi
indoor_pool
outdoor_pool
parking
rooms_with_a_view
seaside
spa
surfing
vegetarian_friendly
walking
weddings
wheelchair_accessible
wifi

Toravaig House

SLEAT

Ten minutes’ drive from the ferry, Anne Gracie and Ken Gunn’s whitewashed hotel has ‘fine views’ across the Sound of Sleat.

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weddings
walking
garden
value
fishing
wifi
parking
seaside
rooms_with_a_view
view

Southampton Harbour Hotel

Southampton

Jutting out over a private marina, this ocean liner-like hotel is ship-shape inside, with porthole-shaped mirrors, vintage glass fish floats and nautical bits and pieces. Bedrooms and suites, several with a Juliet balcony, are cheerily decorated with some retro touches, and supplied with decanters of gin and sherry. The buzzy sixth-floor bar has harbour views. Jetty restaurant pairs locally caught seafood with seasonal produce, eaten on the terrace in welcoming weather.

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babyfriendly
child_friendly
conferencemeeting_friendly
disabled_facilities
dog_friendly
gym
indoor_pool
outdoor_dining
parking
rooms_with_a_view
seaside
spa
veganfriendly
vegetarian_friendly
weddings
wheelchair_accessible
wifi

There’s nothing quite like a walk on the beach to work up an appetite for Christmas, or perhaps you’re the adventurous type and will even get in a swim or surf before the festivities really begin! Then again, you might be more like us and simply happy to enjoy views of crashing waves as you sip on mulled wine and tuck into, just one more, mince pie before the day is through. For something truly magical at Christmas time it’s hard to beat a setting by the sea. From spa hotels to pubs with rooms, family friendly escapes to romantic retreats, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to a coastal Christmas this year. We’re fans of loch-side lodges in snow covered woods, eco-friendly getaways and log fires in townhouse hotels. We’ve made our list and checked it twice and there’s definitely something for every mood and every type of Christmas celebration.

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Featured hotels with Special Offers

Hotels for Christmas by the sea

Knockinaam Lodge - July £100 Discount Special Offer

Portpatrick

Cary Arms & Spa - 'Celebration Hideaway' Special Offer

Babbacombe

The Scarlet - 'Slow Scarlet' Special Offer

Mawgan Porth

Shieldaig Lodge - 'Food Lovers Package' Special Offer

Gairloch

More hotels for Christmas by the sea

Hotels for Christmas by the sea

Hotels not in the Guide that you may want to consider

Hotels for Christmas by the sea

Watergate Bay

Watergate Bay

Toravaig House

SLEAT

Southampton Harbour Hotel

Southampton

Other hotels in this group

Similar hotels

JOIN THE GHG

BUY THE 46th EDITION OF THE GUIDE

Best Review Wins A Free Night for Two!

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