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.

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

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.

Let the sound of seagulls and views of sand and surf introduce the day: most of the ‘clean, fresh, contemporary’ bedrooms in this ‘marvellously situated’ quayside hotel have views over the estuary.

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.

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

The Le Grice clan’s ‘fantastic family home’ stands in parterre gardens and horse-grazed parkland, with lashings of home-made medlar jelly within.

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.

Janie and Mike Cooksley have brought a riotous combination of colour and eye-catching features to the Cornish countryside.