A high time at low tide

Summer’s here and so is global warming. Although the UK may not be a sun-soaked paradise yet, summers are undeniably getting hotter and, in an effort to shrink our carbon footprint, many of us are planning holidays close to home. The traditional British seaside holiday has been given a fresh twist by the new breed of hotel that is bringing an air of sophistication to our shores. Leader of the pack was Olga Polizzi’s stylish haven, Hotel Tresanton in the harbourside village of St Mawes on the south Cornish coast, and where Tresanton led, other hotels have followed, offering a welcome alternative to prosaic bucket-and-spade type accommodation.

Suddenly the Cornish seaside has become a cool place to be: Jimmy Choos and floaty kaftans mingle happily with colonels and cardigans in towns and villages all over the county. As stylish as Tresanton but with a large garden, ideal for families, Driftwood has the air of a chic yet relaxed Provençal hotel, excellent food and its own perfect crescent of private beach. Another family-friendly favourite, St Enodoc in Rock is in peak condition: freshly painted, with new fabrics, bright colours, clean lines and easy-going comfort. Off the Cornish coast in the Isles of Scilly, California meets the Atlantic Ocean at Hell Bay Hotel, the creation of Robert Dorrien-Smith, the hereditary owner of the islands of Bryher and Tresco, who has filled the hotel with his own collection of modern art, much of it Cornish and Scillonian.

The trend is not limited to Cornwall: stylish, informal hotels make it possible to combine the delights of beach and pier with a contemporary, comfortable and laid-back place to stay no matter which stretch of the coast you head for, whether it’s Cardigan Bay, where the colourful Harbourmaster Hotel has a prime location on the waterfront in Regency Aberaeron (no children under five), or Kent, where the Zanzibar has introduced a slice of metropolitan chic to the somewhat faded resort of St Leonard’s with its smart, exotically themed rooms. Back in Wales, a new seaside hotel looks set for great things: Holm House in Victorian Penarth, near Cardiff. And for a gritty, workaday yet absorbing sea view, plus a laid-back atmosphere and great fish and chips, look no further than the Pier at Harwich in Essex.

If you choose Southwold, a timeless, beautifully kept resort a little further along the coast in Suffolk, you can take the extended family with you. Put the oldies in the Swan, the younger ones in the Crown and ring the changes by eating in both (they operate a cross-billing system). The Swan’s invitingly slouchy drawing room makes everyone feel at home, and there’s a real buzz in the Front Bar at the Crown. Alternatively, if you head out to the Isle of Wight, the George Hotel is a handsome 17th-century building in the charming town of Yarmouth, whose owners have cultivated an easy-going atmosphere and a great garden brasserie. These are just some of Britain’s best seaside hotels….stand-out ones are still few and far between but they are most definitely on the rise.