A good start to the day
Cosy but practical rooms
Good reads for the perfect holiday
Plenty of spirits in the bar
A thoroughly decent tea tray
Drinks menu with attitude
Breakfast treats
Room with a view
If I was going to run a seaside hotel these would be the rules:
A simple kettle, a teapot, a jug of fresh milk, Tregothnan Cornish tea, small bone china mugs, plus a cafetiere with choices of coffee and home-made biscuits in every room … simple luxuries instead of fiddly plastic cartons of milk, those yellow packets with weak tea and complicated coffee machines.
A Roberts radio and a sea view would replace a television and iPad, plus plenty of good books would be on the shelf to help guests’ transition from work to play in their precious holiday time.
Rooms would have a subtle sea-side theme in blues and cream, pale grey and sandy gold. The bed would be seriously comfortable with fluffy pillows and crisp white linen. Maybe a soft checked wool blanket to add a cosy feel, sash windows that open to breathe in the sea air plus chunky radiators and air conditioning for full comfort when the weather’s too hot or cold.
Classic period furniture, original paintings on the walls (all for sale) and fresh flowers in Cornish-ware jugs would create a warm welcome while a pristine bathroom with polished fittings, a simple-to-work shower, soft white towels and generous quality amenities – shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand lotions would be also absolute musts.
To complete the picture, let’s throw in a garden with tropical planting that leads down to the harbour, plus a private terrace to enjoy morning tea to watch the sun rise.
Next, I would turn my attention to the menus; sourcing fresh, local produce to be served in a bright, light, flower-filled bar-cum-dining room that would be neither crammed or stuffy.
Breakfast would offer a choice of waiter-served or help-yourself delights with squeezed juices and fruit, freshly baked croissants and a choice of home-made breads plus tasty slabs of butter (no hard, mini-packs just out of the fridge). Cereals and home-made muesli with milk from the local farm would complete the offering on a giant-size farm table.
From the kitchen guests could order everything from full English to fresh smoked salmon and the yellowest of scrambled eggs washed down by good, strong coffee.
Dinner – now that would have to be exciting but unpretentious – and being near the sea, boast a range of tasty fish and seafood from hake, lobster, crab and my favourite, the whitest of plaice, all gloriously served with seasonal vegetables.
Oh yes, and an exceptional wine, beer, cider and gin list.
Friendly, informed, attentive staff would complete the picture of my hotel – a home-from-home with special treats where friends, families and well-behaved dogs could enjoy the spectacular setting and surrounding natural beauty.
Well, would you believe it? The Old Coastguard Hotel, in Mousehole, in south-west Cornwall, got there first. The 14-bedroom hotel provides the perfect stop before catching the Scillonian III ferry to the Scilly Isles which is a 10-minute taxi ride to Penzance Harbour.
My only regret? I stayed just one night.
oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk
A simple kettle, a teapot, a jug of fresh milk, Tregothnan Cornish tea, small bone china mugs, plus a cafetiere with choices of coffee and home-made biscuits in every room … simple luxuries instead of fiddly plastic cartons of milk, those yellow packets with weak tea and complicated coffee machines.
A Roberts radio and a sea view would replace a television and iPad, plus plenty of good books would be on the shelf to help guests’ transition from work to play in their precious holiday time.
Rooms would have a subtle sea-side theme in blues and cream, pale grey and sandy gold. The bed would be seriously comfortable with fluffy pillows and crisp white linen. Maybe a soft checked wool blanket to add a cosy feel, sash windows that open to breathe in the sea air plus chunky radiators and air conditioning for full comfort when the weather’s too hot or cold.
Classic period furniture, original paintings on the walls (all for sale) and fresh flowers in Cornish-ware jugs would create a warm welcome while a pristine bathroom with polished fittings, a simple-to-work shower, soft white towels and generous quality amenities – shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand lotions would be also absolute musts.
To complete the picture, let’s throw in a garden with tropical planting that leads down to the harbour, plus a private terrace to enjoy morning tea to watch the sun rise.
Next, I would turn my attention to the menus; sourcing fresh, local produce to be served in a bright, light, flower-filled bar-cum-dining room that would be neither crammed or stuffy.
Breakfast would offer a choice of waiter-served or help-yourself delights with squeezed juices and fruit, freshly baked croissants and a choice of home-made breads plus tasty slabs of butter (no hard, mini-packs just out of the fridge). Cereals and home-made muesli with milk from the local farm would complete the offering on a giant-size farm table.
From the kitchen guests could order everything from full English to fresh smoked salmon and the yellowest of scrambled eggs washed down by good, strong coffee.
Dinner – now that would have to be exciting but unpretentious – and being near the sea, boast a range of tasty fish and seafood from hake, lobster, crab and my favourite, the whitest of plaice, all gloriously served with seasonal vegetables.
Oh yes, and an exceptional wine, beer, cider and gin list.
Friendly, informed, attentive staff would complete the picture of my hotel – a home-from-home with special treats where friends, families and well-behaved dogs could enjoy the spectacular setting and surrounding natural beauty.
Well, would you believe it? The Old Coastguard Hotel, in Mousehole, in south-west Cornwall, got there first. The 14-bedroom hotel provides the perfect stop before catching the Scillonian III ferry to the Scilly Isles which is a 10-minute taxi ride to Penzance Harbour.
My only regret? I stayed just one night.
oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk
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