New Finds: Recent additions to thehotelguru.com

The Horn of Plenty and the Arundell Arms, Devon

Salmon stocks on the Tamar may have fallen in recent years, but this Devon river remains one of the loveliest in the country, and there are no less than three special places to stay where you can take full advantage of it. We’ve loved Hotel Endsleigh, with the river running through its wonderful grounds, since it was opened last year by Olga Polizzi, but Fiona Duncan has recently stayed at the charming restaurant with (very elegant) rooms The Horn of Plenty, overlooking the Tamar valley at its most majestic, and the delightful Arundell Arms, a traditional fishing and shooting inn with 20 miles of fishing on the Tamar and its tributaries – and happily added them to our Devon list of recommended hotels.

The Well House, Cornwall

Further west, near the pretty village of Looe and close to the Eden Project and other fine Cornish gardens, The Well House, tucked inland in a secluded position with lovely views, has recently changed hands. Its new owner, Richard Farrow, is an ex-marketing man and has dreamed up some really imaginative weekend breaks for guests, from one-to-one cookery lessons with the gifted chef to having your own classic car for the duration or taking helicopter rides to the Scillies. Anyone for tennis? Bring your tennis four to Well House for exclusive use of the court, plus fine dining and a good rest.

Pongwe Beach, Zanzibar

Our Zanzibar list of recommended hotels has been put together for us by Zanzibar expert Simone Topolski. Another Zanzibar expert, Julian Carter Manning from tailor-made travel company Tanzania Travel, added one more hotel to the list: low key and secluded Pongwe Beach, which he declared one of his favourite hotels in the world – “a piece of paradise”.

Alta Bay, Cape Town

A recent trip to Cape Town (great for a short break as there’s only a couple of hours’ time change) introduced us to several superb hotels and guesthouses, not least Alta Bay in leafy Higgovale, with fabulous views over city and bay far below and only a short distance from the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. As a chic, understated place to stay it ticks all the boxes.

Hotel News: June 07

The Crazy Bear, Oxfordshire

Is this the funkiest hotel in Britain? The Crazy Bear, in Stadhampton, just south of Oxford has won the AA Funky B&B Award 2007. Who was the judge? Fiona Duncan! I was given a short list of five AA-listed hotels to choose from for the award. Most weren’t funky at all, but the Crazy Bear most definitely is. Leopardskin on the walls, satin on the ceilings, mannequins dangling from the trees, a red double decker for reception … but more importantly it’s a very good hotel as well. Even better: a sister Crazy Bear opens in late summer in Beaconsfield.

Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall

Feeling green? Family friendly Bedthruthan Steps at Mawgan Porth in Cornwall offers pampering for frazzled parents, including Maharlika spa treatments, excellent food in its adult-only restaurant and wonderful sunsets, with OFSTED-inspected nurseries and kids’ clubs for the children. And now you can join hotel staff ‘beachcoming with a conscience’. They’ve ‘adopted’ Mawgan Porth, the wonderful beach over which the hotel looks, and trawl it every three months. Next up: September. Call the hotel for details.

Banys Orientals, Barcelona

The excellent budget hotel in the trendy Born district of Barcelona has recently added 13 new suites (also great value at £111 per room per night). As well as the hotel, in a charming old, green painted house, you can eat downstairs in Señor Paralleda, a delightful colonial-style restaurant serving inexpensive Catalan dishes.

The Seaview, Isle of Wight

Set in the breezy village of the same name, a stone’s throw from one of the island’s best beaches, this long-favourite star of the British seaside is getting a major facelift. In July seven new luxury Seaview Modern rooms will be unveiled to complement the existing 17, which have also been given a stylish makeover. The new look has been shaped by London designers Keech Green Interiors, who were keen to retain the spirit of the hotel with a look that’s classic yet contemporary.

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.