Up 137 steps, through ‘glorious’ gardens, ‘one of the most comfortable establishments I’ve ever stayed in’ occupies a higgle piggle of houses with ‘extraordinary views’ across Falmouth Bay. Olga Polizzi exploits its yachting-clubhouse origins with nautical hues, ‘original Cornish art’, a Poseidon mosaic. All but two of the ‘magnificent bedrooms’ face the sea, all have ‘bags of charm’: deckchair stripes on ‘comfortable’ bed, coastal prints, ‘exceptional cleanliness’. ‘The curtains were rich and heavy,’ writes one trusted reader, ‘and the windows opened (oh joy!). I could hear waves – and very little else.’ Apart from the room above: ‘slightly better soundproofing would have been even more luxurious.’ It wouldn’t worry youngsters, exhausted from a day spent in rock pools, the hotel’s cinema and playroom. Adventurous guests can sail aboard Pinuccia, the hotel’s vintage yacht, while, back on land, chef Paul Wadham’s modern, Mediterranean menus include Basque-style monkfish; Porthilly oysters; spicy crab linguine. ‘Prettily presented, delicious’ breakfasts include ‘perfect poached eggs; almost exactly spherical with yolk delightfully soft’. Hotel Endsleigh, Milton Abbot (see entry), is a sister. (Trevor Lockwood, Richard Mitton, and others)