Hell Bay Hotel

Robert Dorrien-Smith, who has the lease for Tresco, also owns this hotel on the 'wilder, less manicured' neighbouring island of Bryher (the smallest of the inhabited Scilly Isles). It is built in the style of cottages, on an isolated bay facing jagged rocks on the western shore. Inspectors found the style and colours of bedrooms and public areas 'appropriately seaside'. Accommodation is in suites, some with two bedrooms and a lounge, in buildings around a courtyard and in the garden. Many face the bay; some first-floor rooms have a private balcony. 'Our corner-facing studio was light, bright; a huge bathroom (with notes about the conservation policy). A door led on to a decking patio; you can walk straight to the beach.' Mainly Cornish artworks (by Barbara Hepworth, Ivon Hitchens and others) are displayed in the large lounge. Huge paintings by local artist Richard Pearce are in the panoramic dining room where Glenn Gatland serves a 'well-balanced' daily-changing menu of modern dishes, eg, cauliflower and cumin soup; beer-battered haddock, Parmentier potatoes. Breakfast has a 'superior' buffet; cooked dishes include three kinds of fish. 'Lovely, relaxed, relaxing.' Hell Bay has facilities for disabled visitors but 'Bryher has no made-up roads and no dedicated transport system'.