driftwood hotel

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’. Superior courtyard rooms in creamy hues have the best sea views, with a Juliet balcony or decked terrace. Another reader’s main-house room was ‘beautifully furnished, but approached through the restaurant’. Soundproofing could have been better, and how much nicer if he could have opened the large picture windows. A four-person cabin with kitchenette on the path to the ‘gorgeous, secluded’ hotel beach would suit a family. A change of chef sees Olly Pierrepont (from La Trompette in Chiswick, London) using seasonal Cornish produce to create such dishes as Newlyn cod with smoked ox cheek, lentils, wild garlic and morels. Tasting menus for omnivores and vegetarians must be taken by the whole table. At breakfast there are freshly squeezed juices, kedgeree, St Ewe eggs and Driftwood honey. You can order a picnic for a day on the sands, light bites or a cream tea to eat in, or on the terrace.