Hell Bay Hotel

Sitting above a secluded cove on Bryher’s rugged west-facing coast, with ‘nothing in between to Canada’, this pretty blue-and-white weatherboarded farmhouse-turned-hotel is ‘wonderful in every way’, say smitten guests. ‘Comfortable and stylishly decorated and furnished’ rooms are spread between several similarly weatherboarded buildings. All share a light and breezy New England style of ocean blues and sandy hues, Lloyd Loom furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows. Most have sea views, some have balconies, others a patio; all have bold Cornish seascapes. The ‘consistently wonderful’ food on the short-choice, daily-changing menu focuses on local and Cornish products. 'For one particularly memorable dinner, we both had pan-fried scallops with an artichoke purée and ox tongue as a starter, followed by fillet of turbot with a potato, carrot and samphire fricassée.' Or you can eat more casually in the bar – perhaps home-made burger, or bouillabaisse. In the summer, get messy on fresh crab, scallops and mussels in the rustic crab shack. Throughout, staff are ‘talented, pleasant, efficient'. (Andrew and Hannah Butterworth, D and KS)