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. Rick and Jill Stein opened it in 1975 to serve fish landed almost on the doorstep. Bedrooms, styled by Jill and featuring her Porthdune toiletries, have fresh, nautical decor in soft tones of white, blue and sand. Two have a roof terrace with Adirondack chairs to sit on and enjoy the view over the Camel estuary. This is a family-friendly, dog-friendly place. Although children under three are not allowed in the restaurant, there is always Rick Stein’s Café, Stein’s Deli and Stein’s Patisserie (pick up pasties for a picnic). There is, too, 
St Petroc’s Bistro, where the Seafood restaurant’s new head chef, Pete Murt, started 11 years ago as a kitchen porter, before working his way through the ranks, via two Michelin-starred Hibiscus in London. If you like what you eat, you can learn to make it in the cookery school. Typical dishes include grilled hake with beurre blanc, Indonesian seafood curry, or cod and chips washed down with lager – in a stein, no doubt.