Soar Mill Cove Hotel

A ten-minute walk through National Trust land takes you from this single-storey hotel enfolded in a gorse-clad valley to a beautifully uncrowded beach. In the Makepeace family for three generations, it happily accommodates children with its flexible family suites and high tea for tinies. Book a cove-facing room for ‘a wonderful view down to the cove with the sea beyond’ framed by floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto a patio. The look is contemporary and unfussy, with extras such as books and board games. ‘We had a spacious family room,’ a reader reports. ‘The beds were very comfortable, with good-quality sheets.’ Another praises a ‘good-sized room with comfortable chairs’, a ‘well-designed bathroom with the best shower in a bath I have ever seen’. At dinner, long-serving chef Ian MacDonald uses prime local produce in his tempting menus. ‘Food was first class. Wonderful soufflé, pan-roasted salmon, hand-picked Salcombe crab.’ Awake to a full Devon breakfast and take a packed lunch to the beach, or enjoy a scenic walk along the coastline. ‘The night sky was a deep navy with stars aplenty.’