Watersmeet Shortlist*

On the South West Coast Path, this former Edwardian gentleman’s retreat has ‘wonderful’ cliff-top views over an expanse of sea and sand. Run with ‘friendly, helpful staff’, the ‘comfortable, relaxed’ hotel makes full use of its location. Its lounges, large, glass-fronted terrace and gardens have spectacular seascape panoramas and glorious sunsets; all but three bedrooms look out to Lundy Island and Baggy Point. In the informal bistro and candlelit restaurant (every table with a view over the sea), local produce features on British menus – John Dory, crab mayonnaise, samphire; Exmoor beef sirloin, roast shallots. Breakfast is ‘good and plentiful’. Walks through National Trust land; a beach on the doorstep.