Not for nothing is this fishing port town nicknamed Padstein, with 40 catered rooms spread around six properties, but here is the restaurant-with-rooms where it all began.

Fiona and Paul Robinson’s New England-inspired hotel, with ‘magnificent views over Gerrans Bay’, ticked all the boxes for a reader this year, from the ‘wonderful people’ to ‘food that is too good to be true’.

There are lots of good things to report about this family-friendly spa hotel this year.

The old rector was none other than the great-grandfather of Sally Searle, who, with husband Chris, welcomes guests to their loved and lived-in Victorian home.

What could be lovelier than to take breakfast on the terrace of Malcolm Herring’s small hotel, gazing over the harbour, or to sip a Blue Hayes Colada at sunset? This is an exclusive place (no dogs, no tiny tots, no walk-ins), done out in seaside blues and creams, with the garden gate leading to the Coast Path and Porthminster Beach.

‘Perfection – time seems to slow down the moment you enter,’ says one trusted reviewer of this contemporary take on a traditional coastal inn, which exudes a wonderfully relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.

You drive over moors on a near-deserted road to reach Charles and Edmund Inkin’s relaxed, informal dining-pub-with-rooms on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast.

While children let rip at sister hotel Bedruthan (previous entry), all is serene at the adults-only Scarlet, ‘perfectly located overlooking the beach and ocean’, with Ayurvedic-inspired spa and outdoor hot tubs.

‘Charm and dependability make this a comfortable, unpretentious place to stay,’ reports a regular returnee to John and Susan Gladwin’s cliff-top hotel on the outskirts of Mevagissey.

You can drink a cocktail on the sun terrace at Susie and Will Daniel’s stay-and-play youthful, family-friendly hotel, and see when surf’s up on Summerleaze Beach below.

A path leads from this cliff-top hotel to a stretch of private beach on the west of the Lizard peninsula – just one of several vantage points to take in the stunning coastal views.

Above Fistral beach, the Armstrong family’s child- and dog-friendly hotel basks in ‘spectacular views’ of the ocean and one of Cornwall’s surfing hotspots.

Tea and a home-baked treat greet arriving visitors at Rosie and David Reeve’s laid-back B&B overlooking Whitsand Bay.

‘Fabulous’ views stretch across Falmouth Bay from Lynda and Malcolm Cook’s relaxing B&B.

Tiered gardens step down to the sands at this dog-friendly hotel, in an unspoilt fishing village on the Lizard peninsula, with the South West Coast Path passing through.

High above the 14th-century fishing village, Andrea and Simon Copper’s sleekly designed, child-free retreat offers a stunning seascape, which stretches across Mevagissey Bay to historic Chapel Point and beyond.

‘The setting could hardly be more enticing’ at this spa hotel and golf resort on a ‘magical’ part of the Helford river.

Dinghies skim beneath the 150-foot terrace of Karen and David Richards’s hotel, in an enviable position overlooking the Fal estuary in a fishing village on the Roseland peninsula.

This striking cliff-top hotel on the Cornish Coast Path is on ‘excellent form’ and as ‘welcoming, friendly and helpful as ever’, says a fan.

Paul Ainsworth’s all-suite bolt-hole is a perfectly seasoned accompaniment for his Michelin-starred restaurant, his café, pub and cookery school, all of which he runs with wife Emma.

Above Carbis Bay, just far enough from the madding crowd, Jonathan and Marianne Bassett’s small Edwardian hotel is the epitome of coastal style.

‘The whole family feels welcome’ at this ‘great’ seaside hotel, which stands in a ‘fabulous’ location, on a two-mile stretch of sandy, dog-friendly beach.

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

Styled in a palette of blues and whites, Angela and Olivier Noverraz’s ‘beautifully appointed’ 1850s mid-terrace house, a short stroll from the harbourside, is ‘a delight’.