We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
The Best Luxury Hotels In Cornwall: An Ultimate List
Cornwall’s finest hotels, from stylish stays in St Mawes to heritage hideaways in Fowey.
Of all this island’s many coastal corners, few capture the imagination as much as Cornwall, a frontier of dazzling beaches, towering cliffs, charming seaside villages – and lots of luxury hotels for a dream staycation.
While you can't beat the mountain scenery of the Lake District and the picturesque villages of the Cotswolds, Cornwall always gets our vote for its heavenly beaches, from St Ives to Newquay.
Beyond the buckets and spades, Cornwall is the home of the jam-first cream tea, superb seafood in coastal towns such as Padstow, colonised by chefs Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth, and the artist enclave of St Ives, favoured by painters for its ethereal light.
When it comes to checking in to a luxury hotel in Cornwall, you're in for a treat. There are cute couples' boltholes, spa hotels and five-star luxury hotels by the sea to choose from. You'll find quirky places to stay in the form of arty addresses and super-stylish beach houses with a nautical nod.
Hotel queen Olga Polizzi has created Hotel Tresanton, a much-loved Cornish hideaway just outside St Mawes – a fishing village on the southern coast – with its own beach club and yacht to borrow.
Fowey Hall is a family-friendly option despite being an antique-filled, historic hideaway that you may think wouldn’t mix with kids. It's also dog-friendly, for those who wish to bring furry members of the family along for the ride.
Or, head down to the dunes at Three Mile Beach, where the colourful houses each have a sauna, hot tub and bright, breezy decor. Equally creative interiors await at the Artist Residence in Penzance, where local artists contributed artworks, some of which are for sale.
Read on for our edit of the best luxury hotels in Cornwall…
Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes
Olga Polizzi’s elegant Cornish escape, Hotel Tresanton is a small series of houses on the edge of the fishing village of St Mawes, with 30 sea-facing rooms. Muzak is out in favour of a soundtrack of waves and sea shanties.
Guests can also enjoy the private terraces down at the breezy, Mediterranean-style beach club, which also has a juice (and regular) bar; and the hotel has a classic yacht, built in 1938 to race for Italy, to loan out, too. There are lots of lovely corners within the hotel, but few can beat the south-facing, mosaic-floored restaurant on a sunny day.
Idle Rocks, St Mawes
On the harbour in St Mawes, Idle Rocks has fans flocking from all over the country to enjoy its colourful coastal suites, cinema with soft-leather seats, bar and 160-inch screen, and renowned restaurant.
The chef crafts produce sourced from Cornish fishermen and farmers into dishes such as confit Newlyn cod with ‘nduja and line-caught sea-bass with coconut dahl and pickled mussels, which can be eaten out on the sea-edge terrace during the warmer months. There has been a hotel on this site since 1913, when the building was constructed in place of the old bakery.
Driftwood, Roseland Peninsula
High on a cliff and with its own beach, Driftwood is an unassuming, independently owned sanctuary near Portscatho and St Mawes on the Roseland Peninsula. Some of the rooms have decks with direct access to the beach below via a path through terraced gardens with handy places to stop and enjoy the view.
There’s a library and games room, as well as seven acres to explore – making sure you’re back for pre-dinner drinks on the deck, unfussy tasting menus of lovingly sourced local produce (which extends to much more than just seafood) and excellent service.
The Sandy Duck, Falmouth
Overlooking Falmouth Bay, the Sandy Duck has been transformed from an Edwardian townhouse into an eight-room B&B, with its owner adding Scandi-influenced design details and artworks created by relatives.
The homely hideaway is conveniently close to the university town of Falmouth, which is a 10-minute walk away, with beaches awaiting in the other direction. Some rooms have views served up to window seats, as well as freestanding bath tubs, hanging rattan lamps and sheepskin throws. Breakfasts of Cornwall’s finest produce are served up every morning, with homemade cakes left in your room for a treat later in the day.
Trevose Harbour House, St Ives
With the most charming colour palette of white and blue this side of Santorini, Trevose Harbour House takes its nautical setting seriously. Inside the townhouse, the decor features mid-century furnishings, paisley prints and works by St Ives’ many resident artists.
The owners met two decades ago, honing their craft at Switzerland’s Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne before pouring all of their passion into this inviting, homely hideaway in St Ives. Curl up with a book by the fireplace in the snug, order an aperitivo out on the sun-trap terrace or people-watch on the patio.
Fowey Hall, Fowey
Historic stately homes and small children may not usually go hand in hand, but if you have little ones, Fowey Hall is one of the most family-friendly hotels in Cornwall. The coastal Victorian manor has a free crèche, plenty of play areas, rooms that can connect and even a spa that welcomes children.
Sunday lunch is the highlight of every weekend here (and there’s some competition), with piled-high plates of seasonal food and sharing sides in the middle of the table – and they’ll even look after the kids for an hour for free so you can really enjoy it.
St Mawes Hotel, St Mawes
Not to be outdone, Idle Rocks’ sister property, just over the marina in St Mawes, has a cinema room for rainy days, just like its sleeker big sibling. The cosy harbourside hotel has just seven rooms, some of which have the advantage of a sea view and all of which have a classic nautical design.
At St Mawes Hotel's Upper Deck restaurant, you can expect small plates, house-made pasta and wood-fired pizzas, or join the fun on the lively Lower Deck, popular with local fishermen (who you can thank for the daily catch you just enjoyed upstairs) for its live music nights.
The Headland Hotel, Newquay
Children of the Nineties may recognise the Headland Hotel as the setting for the (terrifying) adaptation of The Witches. As its name suggests, it’s isolated on a clifftop (perfect for a coven’s convention), overlooking Fistral Beach near Newquay, and has occupied this spot since it opened in the summer of 1900.
The spa includes the Aqua Club, which has six pools, a Mediterranean restaurant and an Atlantic-facing terrace. Room choices include sea-facing suites or, if you want to make like the film cast and stay in residence for a while, stake out one of the self-catering cottages.
Artist Residence Cornwall, Penzance
Bringing its signature creative style to Cornwall, the Artist Residence’s Cornish outpost is in a 16th-century coach house in Penzance. Each of the rooms was decorated by a local artist, in keeping with the group’s tradition, and painters were also commissioned to create works (some of which are for sale) that brighten up the reception and hallways.
The restaurant celebrates Cornish produce, with lots of in-house smoking. The lounge, and its log fire, is the perfect place to warm up after a walk along the coast, a stroll through the streets of historic Penzance or trips to the Eden Project and Land’s End.
Three Mile Beach, Hayle
A set of apartments rather than a hotel, Three Mile Beach, which was created by the owner of Audley Travel, is exactly the kind of Cornish beach house you’d dream up. The interiors strike the perfect balance of classic coastal charm and more contemporary additions.
Nautical nods include portholes and striped cushions, all with a backdrop of white wooden walls, log-burning stoves, cheerful bedding and high-ceilinged kitchens with breakfast bars and hanging lamps. The colourful houses, with exteriors painted pink and turquoise, also feature barrel saunas, sunken hot tubs and wine cellars. And the best bit: there are dunes on your doorstep, with the crashing Atlantic steps from your bed.
Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate, Carbis Bay
Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate near St Ives is one of the most luxurious hotels in Cornwall – there’s a reason it was selected as the venue for the G7 Summit in 2021. There’s an outdoor pool, but you’ll hardly need it, since there’s a Blue Flag beach right outside as well (for the ultimate accommodation, book one of the lodges at the shore).
The hotel is also home to a spa and 125 acres of grounds. There’s a restaurant by the water serving local seafood and, of course, sunset drinks, or you can book a table at Adam Handling’s acclaimed restaurant.
The Gannet Inn, Carbis Bay
Also just outside St Ives, the Gannet Inn is Carbis Bay’s sister property. The boutique hotel is in the namesake village, a mile from the famous harbour town. The inn is a cosy refuge, with stylish bedrooms and a restaurant, where you can dine on comfort-food classics, all made with ingredients sourced from the best Cornish producers. The menu was designed by the Carbis Bay Estate’s AA Rosette-winning chef.
Cornwall is obviously lovely in the summer, but the inn is equally enticing during the colder months, mostly thanks to the open fires.
Boskerris, Carbis Bay
Another Cornwall hotel in Carbis Bay near St Ives is Boskerris, from where guests can spy the Godrevy lighthouse, made famous by the Virginia Woolf novel To The Lighthouse. There’s a Blue Flag beach on its doorstep and if the weather’s insisting on being British, you can take shelter at the Tate gallery in St Ives.
And if the sun does decide to shine, the hotel’s terrace is the perfect spot for a glass of chilled rosé with a view out across the bay.
The St Enodoc Hotel, Wadebridge
In Wadebridge in north Cornwall, the St Enodoc Hotel has treatment rooms for Elemis massages and facials, and a restaurant with a terrace facing the Camel Estuary. At the latter, the chefs create dishes using their rather fortunate larder: Porthilly oysters, seafood caught in Padstow and venison and game in season.
If you’re hoping to try your hand at some watersports, you’ll be in the right place – activities on offer at the Camel Estuary ski school include water-skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking and paddle-boarding.
Bodmin Jail Hotel, Bodmin
Bodmin Jail Hotel, which is not as menacing as it sounds, is the perfect Cornwall hotel for fans of unusual accommodation. The 18th-century penitentiary has been repurposed into a luxury hotel, with threadbare sheets swapped for high thread counts, and Mediterranean meals replacing the gruel. The bathing conditions are much improved, too, with freestanding bath tubs helping to ensure far more salubrious sanitation.
Other new additions include a champagne bar and a formal restaurant in what was once the prison’s chapel.
Caroline Lewis has been a travel journalist for more than a decade, reviewing luxury hotels and covering destinations all over the world, but with a soft spot for Greek islands and absolutely anywhere in Italy.
Among her most memorable trips are a month spent subsisting almost solely on guacamole in Mexico, sleeping in a room made of ice in Swedish Lapland and a rather lengthy but thankfully bear-free drive across America's wild west.
She was previously deputy chief sub-editor on the print team at Harper’s Bazaar and is a long-time contributor and editor at Mr & Mrs Smith. She writes about travel for Hearst Digital titles such as Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, Red, Esquire and more. She read English and Philosophy at Durham, before doing a master's degree in magazine journalism in her hometown of Bournemouth.
When she's not testing out the buzziest new hotels, she's at home in London, probably baking.
From Bars To Boutiques, The 7 Most Fashionable Places To Visit In Copenhagen
ELLE UK's Guide To Bodrum
The ELLE Guide To Costa Smeralda
Forget What You Think You Know About Marbella
