‘A very nice hotel with its own private beach, secluded and quiet,’ writes a reader of this cliff-top hotel in gardens overlooking Gerrans Bay.

‘You feel as though you’re on the French Riviera' at Olga Polizzi’s seaside hotel ‘in one of the most idyllic locations you could hope to come across’.

‘In some of the most beautiful inland scenery in Cornwall,’ Chris and Sally Searle’s B&B is ‘a time capsule of Victorian virtues, rich in associations with Thomas Hardy’.

After a day browsing the galleries of this buzzy, arty town, you can escape the crowds to sit serenely sipping cocktails in the sub-tropical gardens at Michael Herring’s small hotel.

Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.

There is a friendly, open-house ambience at Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B with views over the harbour and Mount’s Bay: drop into the kitchen at any time for coffee, cake and a chat.

A cream tea (jam first, the Cornish way) on the waterside terrace of this Edwardian hotel in a fishing village on the Fal estuary is a perfect way to enjoy fine weather.

Where better for a sun salutation than on the cliff-top of the Lizard peninsula at this iconic white, late Victorian hotel, where yoga classes are a regular feature.

You're never far from watery views at this smart hotel which overlooks Cornwall's Fowey estuary.

Hidden in a back street of Padstow’s old town, these sybaritic B&B suites, created by chef Paul Ainsworth and his wife, are an ideal retreat for foodies.

A 'delightful B&B up a curving drive, through verdant grounds', Paul and Lesley Stapleton’s ‘lovely old stone manor house’ wins rapturous praise from readers.

This Victorian mid-terrace B&B, overlooking the harbour, zings with light from its white-washed exterior to its blue-and-white colour scheme and original paintings by St Ives artists.

Occupying a centuries-old farmhouse and its surrounding barns, this rustic-chic guest house and restaurant make an ideal base for exploring the meadows and woodland around – or simply for eating ‘stupendously’ well.