A stroll from the town centre, Rick and Jill Stein’s restaurant-with-rooms – ‘a foodie destination’ – opened as a modest bistro in 1975.

A spirit of fun flits about Teresa and Kevin O’Sullivan’s cliff-top hotel, from the sub-tropical sculpture garden full of surprises (‘you feel like Alice walking into Wonderland’) to the ‘delightfully humorous artwork scattered throughout’.

A short stroll from the beach, this ‘top-of-the-class’, ‘exceptionally family-friendly’ hotel is ‘in a great cliff-top location’ overlooking the sea.

There’s no escaping the sweep of the sea at this ‘really super hotel’ above Falmouth Bay: a wraparound deck catches the sun; French doors in the restaurant open on to terraces; nearly all the bedrooms look across the water towards St Anthony’s lighthouse.

Close to heritage coast and sandy cove, this ‘delightful old mansion’, the Victorian pile that inspired Kenneth Grahame’s Toad Hall, is packed with ‘first-rate facilities’ for young and old.

Literary pilgrims follow narrow single-track lanes to this Victorian rectory in a ‘magical setting’ in the Valency valley, where Thomas Hardy met and courted his first wife, Emma Gifford.

The ‘wonderful sea views’ from this ‘fantastic’ hotel are but part of its charm: it is equally praised for its ‘pleasant, helpful staff’, ‘most delicious food’ and ‘great atmosphere’.

‘Our favourite pub-with-rooms, it truly lives up to its motto of “simple things done well”,’ say regular Guide correspondents in 2017 of the Inkin brothers’ ‘excellent’, family-friendly spot in rugged west Cornwall, minutes from the cliff edge.

Clean, contemporary design, eco credentials and ‘wonderful views’ attract guests to this voguish, adults-only hotel overlooking ‘a classic Cornish bay’.

An ‘enchanting, peaceful place’ surrounded by wild flower meadows, trees and wildlife, Hazel Billington and Ross Lewin’s ‘friendly’ hotel continues to charm Guide readers.

‘There is something Enid Blytonish about this place, romantically set just above the Coastal Path on the way out of Mevagissey. A big house (rather than a hotel) in feel, it has an endearing mixture of eccentricity and solid good taste.’

‘An inviting building in a lovely location’, this 18th-century admiral’s town house-turned-chic B&B has undergone a sea change in the hands of ‘caring, hands-on’ owner Susan Stuart.

Whether junior swimming enthusiast or mini film fanatic, pint-sized gourmand or budding artist, there’s a pursuit to suit children at this family-friendly clifftop hotel (Luxury Family Hotels).

Make waves at the Armstrong family’s imposing red-brick Victorian hotel which gazes seaward above the end of sandy Fistral beach.

A two-minute stroll from Gyllyngvase beach, Lynda and Malcolm Cook’s ‘delightful’ B&B occupies an Edwardian town house with ‘fantastic views’ across the garden towards Falmouth Bay.

Almost all the incoming calls come from the birds at Victoria and Nicholas Sanders’s ‘welcoming hotel’ on the Lizard peninsula.

The setting is rugged – the building stands on the edge of a rocky headland – but, inside, everything is sleek and stylish at this laid-back modern hotel.

‘Achingly cool yet comfortable’, this youthful hotel receives praise for its ‘very nice staff’, ‘well-appointed bedrooms’ and ‘great breakfasts’.

Admire St Michael’s Mount across the sandy causeway from this ‘unpretentious’, ‘superbly located’ beachside inn.

At the end of a long driveway, this ‘magnificent, lovingly restored’ castellated mansion is now a grand country B&B surrounded by extensive grounds on the banks of the River Tamar.

Seaside style and modern Cornish plates attract locals and passers-by to this casual, buzzy hotel, bar and restaurant on the quay.

‘The beautiful location, wonderful service and excellent food keep us coming back.’

Down ‘the narrowest of Cornish lanes’, find a picture of jolly rusticity at Will and Lisa Lea’s family-friendly pub-with-rooms, near-hidden in a secluded wooded valley.

From water sports to yoga to simply sprawling in the sun, this ‘great’ modern hotel on a stretch of sandy beach has something for everyone.