Rick and Jill Stein’s boutique restaurant-with-rooms has been riding the crest of a wave since it opened more than four decades ago.

The Mount is St Michael’s, a tidal island best viewed from your bedroom balcony or the terrace of this hotel overlooking the bay.

‘Expensive certainly, but it’s worth paying for quality.’

‘An eligible, self-contained gentleman’s residence, very unique. . . with every modern convenience. . .’ So Kenneth Graham describes Toad Hall, which he modelled on this Victorian mansion, a baroque extravaganza with sumptuous interiors, overlooking the Fowey estuary.

‘A super place. The real deal.’ Praise from Guide insiders for Chris and Sally Searle’s B&B, in the rectory where Thomas Hardy courted Emma Gifford.

‘Perched high on the Lizard cliffs with views out to sea and the sound of waves at night, the setting could not be more romantic.’

‘They really want to give you a treat and spoil you.’ ‘A lovely and relaxing couple of days.’ Much praise this year for Charles and Edmund Inkin’s ‘buzzy’ dining pub.

‘It never fails to please,’ write Guide regulars in 2019 after a return visit to Charles and Edmund Inkin’s dining pub with rooms. ‘We highly recommend the accommodation and the food.’

‘We have stayed at this hotel for many years; it is still brilliant.’ High praise in 2019 for Hazel Billington and Ross Lewin’s ‘small, beautiful’ hotel, between the historic fishing ports of Looe and Polperro.

'Sitting on the cliff-tops on the outskirts of Mevagissey’, John and Susan Gladwin’s small hotel is ‘relaxed and informal with a nicely varied age range of guests’, writes a trusted reader this year.

‘Forget overcrowded St Ives – there’s a real treat of a stay in Penzance.’ Quirky character fills the ‘beautifully restored’ brick-and-granite former 18th-century former admiral’s house, but ‘this inviting boutique hotel is all about the hostess, Susan Stuart’.

Bird’s-eye views of the Lizard peninsula, little luxuries and a relaxed air turn this cliff-top hotel into a stress-busting retreat.

Surf’s up! Above Fistral Beach, the Armstrong family’s child- and dog-friendly hotel overlooks one of Cornwall’s surfing hotspots.

‘Great for a relaxing time’, Lynda and Malcolm Cook’s ‘delightful’ B&B has ‘fabulous’ views stretching across Falmouth Bay.

‘A very good environment.’ Whether testing the surf for the first time, or paddleboarding like an old pro, there’s a pursuit to suit at Will Ashworth’s ‘great’ beachside hotel.

In an unspoilt fishing village, stepped lawns are all that separates this ‘welcoming, relaxed hotel’ from the sea.

Tucked into a sloping street behind the harbour, this ‘achingly cool’ 17th-century house has ‘lovely staff’, ‘well-appointed bedrooms’ and ‘tasty breakfasts’.

Across the causeway from St Michael’s Mount, which, ‘caught in the evening sunset really is a magical prospect’, James and Mary St Levan’s ‘fabulous (and fabulously dog-friendly)’ inn wins praise for its ‘excellent accommodation’ and ‘attentive, professional staff’.

‘One of our favourite hotels,’ enthuses a reader about Teresa and Kevin O’Sullivan’s quirky and luxurious cliff-top hideaway in this south Cornish seaside hamlet.

'We found seats on the attractive terrace' with 'views across St Mawes harbour to Falmouth Bay' reports a lunchtime visitor to Caroline and David Richards’s 'superb’ hotel.

This ‘fantastic, large family home’ was repurposed a decade ago as a B&B and popular wedding venue by its owners, the Le Grice family, who have lived at Treave for seven generations.

In ‘glorious’ grounds’ Martin Barlow’s hotel, golf resort and spa on the Helford river returns to a full entry this year thanks to a trusted reader and frequent guest who loves ‘the personalised hospitality and the attention of good staff’.

Surrounded by farms and woodland, the gardens of Will and Lisa Lea’s family-friendly pub-with-rooms are verdant with giant ferns and tiny orchids and contain a lake, an arboretum and wildlife areas.

A tranquil retreat from the bustle of nearby St Ives, Mark and Fenella Thomas's chic Edwardian house stands above Carbis Bay.