stays

Surrounded by a stunning coastline, the UK has some breathtaking beaches to visit – here are five of the best hotels to stay at which make the most of their magical seaside locations

If you are dreaming of escaping the chaos of everyday modern life but don’t want to travel abroad, the UK has some idyllic beaches and beautiful coastline destinations to explore.

Treat yourself to a well-deserved break at a spot Queen Victoria compared to a scene from a fairytale ballet, try your luck at dolphin and seal spotting or relax in acres of subtropical gardens above a sandy cove before snorkelling in crystal clear waters.

From balmy Cornwall and sunny Devon to the remote Isle of Harris via Snowdonia National Park, the new Good Hotel Guide shared with us this year’s five Editor’s Choice picks for the best seaside hotels, which offer something for everyone.

With ‘all the comforts one could possibly desire’, the Ashworth family’s much-loved hotel stands in two-acre subtropical gardens above sandy Carne Beach in the unspoilt National Trust landscape of the Roseland Peninsula. Appealing to guests of all ages, with its country-house comforts and timeless charms, it is perfect for multi-generational family stays. The well-trained, friendly staff ‘make it so special’ say Guide readers.

The least-pricey country-view bedrooms have comfy seating and such pleasing touches as fresh flowers and fruit, magazines, a Roberts radio and Penhaligon bath products. Facilities include a lounge, drawing room, sun lounge, bar, library, conservatory and gym, plus indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis and croquet. There is a lift, and public rooms have access for a wheelchair user. Days can be spent building sandcastles, investigating rock pools, snorkelling in crystal-clear waters, walking the Southwest Coast Path or waterborne exploration aboard the hotel’s motor launch Alice Rose.

You can dine à la carte in the Quarterdeck seafood brasserie, on the terrace, or in the dining room from a five-course fixed-price menu, where silver service, and hors d’oeuvres and cheese trolleys hark back to a more civilised age, and “being able to choose from a sumptuous selection of puds is true luxury”. They serve cream teas (of course), a cracking Sunday lunch, and early supper for children under seven. Dogs are allowed in the bedrooms and gardens, and Carne is one of the few beaches locally that permits dogs all year round, though be sure to follow the Canine Code.

Country-view doubles from £406.

Walls of windows afford glorious Atlantic views from Emma Stratton’s fun hotel on the clifftop above a sheltered, sandy beach with caves and rockpools. Built in the Californian Modern style, with Scandi-inspired interiors, it was launched by Emma’s father, a farmer and engineer, in 1959, and, while evolving with the decades, it still reflects his passion for sustainability.

This is very much a child-friendly family affair with spacious sea and countryside-facing bedrooms, some sleeping three or four. In a separate building, apartment suites for four to six guests have a separate bedroom or bunkroom for the kids, a living area and a Juliet balcony or a patio (choose a ground-floor apartment and the dog can come too). Two-hour sessions for children under five are offered in the play-space crèche, with a kids’ club for over-fives, so parents have a bit of a breathing space, perhaps for spa treatments, wellness classes or a steep in the hot tub in the sensory spa garden.

An all-day menu in the Wild Café caters to every taste, with nibbles, salads, sandwiches, pies and grills, moules frites, fish and chips, risotto… Adults can sip cocktails in the bar and on the terrace, with wine tastings and sophisticated dining in Ogo restaurant. Menus reflect the hotel’s values of locality and seasonality, with such dishes as whole lemon sole with mussel butter, rock samphire and elderflower caper sauce; Mora Farm roasted cabbage with smoked potato, Cornish gouda and potato skins. Walk the Coast Path to sharpen your appetite.

B&B doubles from £129 .

Centred on a cosy, beamed pub in a stunning situation above Babbacombe Beach, Lana de Savary’s dog-friendly spa hotel is a resort in its own right. “It’s a beautiful spot,” noted Queen Victoria as she sketched the scene from offshore, “…red cliffs and rocks with wooded hills like Italy and reminding one of a ballet or play where nymphs appear – such rocks and grottoes, with the deepest sea on which there was no ripple.”

The descent by road is a little hairy but there are moorings for yachting folk who come by water. Guests have a choice of ten coastal-chic inn rooms and suites, some for a family, as well as eight beach huts, beach suites and fishermen’s cottages. All rooms have a mesmerising sea view and are supplied with an espresso machine, a decanter of sloe gin, and Temple Spa bath products, and have a private terrace or balcony from which to spot dolphins and wave to Sammy the seal. The Shell Suite has a kitchenette, log burner and patio. Beach huts have a mezzanine bedroom, a waterfall shower, bifold doors to a decking area. Check for late availability for surprisingly low prices.

Dinner in the scenic restaurant might include Brixham crab and mussels, steak and ale pie, fish and chips, courgette pappardelle with smoked mozzarella and wild-garlic pesto. When the sun shines, they host lobster barbecues with live music, and days can be spent paddleboarding, sea kayaking, on mackerel fishing trips and generally messing about in boats.

B&B doubles from £175.

Perennially popular with readers, some of whom will have known it from childhood, this long-established hotel, in a hillside location, set back from the road, was founded at the dawn of the Edwardian era and received its first paying guests in 1904. Originally a somewhat eccentric mock-Tudor-cum-château edifice, for more than a century it was owned by the Cave family, who expanded and modernised it, with a 1960s facelift, and the addition of an extra floor in the 2000s. So it was that, when they sold it in October 2025, BLS UK Hotels acquired not just a hotel but a legacy of good will, and the new owners are pledged to retain the same staff and same values. This will be important to a faithful following who want continuity not fad and fashion, home comforts not hipster vibes.

The location is “fabulous”, overlooking golf course, dunes and sandy beach. The amenities are excellent, with three sea-view lounges for afternoon tea, a tennis court, nine-hole golf course, heated indoor swimming pool and spa bath. Dogs and kids are welcome. Spacious bedrooms, some for a family, with sea or hillside views, are decorated in coastal colours and have ample seating.

You can order from a lounge menu, while, in the restaurant (dress code smart casual), the menu features such dishes as garlic and thyme roast chicken with thyme jus, beef medallions with wild mushrooms and café de Paris butter, baked Mediterranean vegetable and goat’s cheese cannelloni.

B&B double from £270.

Forget promenades and bandstands, crowded beaches and candy floss, amusement arcades and bucket-and-spade shops – only Machair and sheep-grazed pasture lie between Patricia and Tim Martin’s Georgian manse and the Atlantic, in this sublime, end-of-the-world location on the Isle of Harris, against a backdrop of heather-clad hills. It provides the cosy ambience you want after outdoorsy days of hiking, wildlife spotting, swimming, surfing and sailing, with a library and first-floor drawing room where you can take afternoon tea by an open fire.

Maud the pug, Brodie the spaniel and moggies Mister and Wee Hamish are quite amenable to sharing the library, but drawing-room and dining rooms are out of bounds for visiting hounds, who are charged at just £25 a stay (maximum two). Bedrooms (three in an annexe) are traditional cottage style with patterned wallpapers, solid wood furniture and pretty china. All have views of garden, beach or hills; two have sitting areas with sofa and wrap-around windows.

An early supper is laid on for children before guests gather convivially for drinks and a set-price dinner of such sophisticated dishes as langoustine bisque with rouille and smoked scallop mayonnaise; roast quail and porcini risotto. A separate menu for vegans and vegetarians might include timbale of ratatouille, red pepper sabayon; Puy lentil, fennel and celeriac casserole, Strathdon blue cheese, honey and truffle vinaigrette. A hearty breakfast brings freshly squeezed orange juice, organic porridge with cream, Stornoway kipper, a full Scottish. They’re closed now until April, so look (and book) ahead.

Doubles, B&B, £315 per night for stays of 2 or 3 nights.

Lift the spirits and venture into nature by planning a unique late winter or spring getaway for the family – uncover the delights the stunning UK countryside has to offer from the Lake District to the Jurassic Coast

At around this time of year, a relaxing hotel stay with the family could be just the thing to give us a lift amid the winter gloom. Or maybe your thoughts have already turned to spring, when the family will be ready for a break.

There’s nothing better to blow away the cobwebs of the cooler months than getting out into nature and letting the kids run or swim free while the adults in the family can enjoy a relaxing spa or indulge in some fine-dining cuisine.

As the new Good Hotel Guide goes live online, we asked their team to suggest five great family-friendly hotels. There’s something to delight all ages with stays in star-gazing treehouses, sea views of a beach where you can go dolphin-spotting, and even a hotel with a lakeside ice rink. Here are their top picks.

Toddlers up to age three stay for free in their parents’ room at this resort on the 500-acre Farncombe Estate in Cotswold countryside above photogenic Broadway. Centred on a Scandi-style lodge, with accommodation scattered over the hillside, it comprises rooms and suites in a former coach house, stables and other buildings, as well as adults-only shepherds’ huts and three ‘treehouses’ with bunks for kids aged up to 12.

Tiny tots will like the outdoor play area, but this is more a destination to appeal to adventurous older children, with paid-for activities for those aged 12 and upwards, including archery and axe-throwing. Falconry is open to all from age four; wine tastings are for adults only, and duck herding is for large groups.

The rooms are country chic, with a soothing pale palette, all with an espresso machine, smart TV, Temple Spa toiletries. Some have a private terrace with views over the Vale of Evesham, and a few interconnect. A bar/lounge menu provides a casual dining option, with burgers, hot dogs, salads and light bites. For more sophisticated dining, Hook by Martin Burge has a fairly wide-ranging menu, strong on seafood, with such options as haddock schnitzel with smoked anchovies, sauce gribiche and seaweed fries alongside steak bèarnaise with roasties. A children’s menu, vegan dishes and Sunday roast beef should keep everyone happy.

And if raptors, axes and bows, and arrows aren’t your thing, you can borrow maps from the boot room and explore, or, when the sun shines, bag a deckchair beside a small lake.

B&B doubles from £220, family suites from £295, rooms with terrace from £275, extra bed for child 3-16 years £60.

Close to and a world away from Salcombe, lapped by gently rolling National Trust countryside, wildflower bejewelled and ablaze with gorse in summer, this low-built hotel is the perfect child-friendly, dog-friendly bolthole for an outdoorsy break. Formerly the 10-bedroom Sea View Guest House, unofficial officers’ mess for Bolt Head Airfield, and once famed for its meringue afternoon teas, it has been owned, run and cherished by the Makepeace family since 1978.

The 22 smart-contemporary rooms and suites – all but one at ground level – have glass doors to a patio and were designed to optimise the stunning views. The sheltered beach is one of the loveliest in South Hams, perfect for paddling, sandcastle-building, crabbing, dolphin-spotting. Guests have use of the spa and indoor saltwater swimming pool, a lounge with books and board games.

Activities locally include sea safaris and seal-watching trips. You can order a picnic (crab sandwiches!) and walk the Southwest Coast Path, return for a cream tea (no meringues now), dine in the glass-walled, sea-facing restaurant on such dishes as Fowey mussels with sea herbs and mussel velouté, Dexter beer burger, fish and chips, cauliflower steak with sauternes raisins, cauliflower purée, pickled shallots and romesco sauce. There is a short kids’ menu, and the night’s desserts might include the Pavlova that Audrey Hepburn declared ‘divine’ when she visited in 1987. Mobile coverage here is limited, so it’s a detox for screen-addicted teens – no Facetime, just pure quality time.

Family rooms from £211.50 (continental breakfast; cooked breakfast £15).

Kids stay free when sharing with parents at this Jacobean manor house in 14-acre grounds amid the Wiltshire countryside, part of the small Luxury Family Hotels collection. Everything is geared to making families feel welcome and relaxed, with the Ofsted-registered Four Bears Den, where children aged eight and under enjoy arts and crafts, toys, dressing up and outdoor adventures.

There is a spa, indoor pool and, in summer, a heated outdoor pool, a library with pool table, air hockey and table football, the Green Fingers gardening club in the walled garden with its resident ducks and hens. Organised activities include Cooking with Chef, jewellery-making and tropical-animal discovery sessions.

Book a Baby’s First Break package and they’ll provide a Bugaboo cot and giraffe highchair and a baby monitor. With all the family bases covered, the hotel is not short on the promised luxury, with comfy lounges, beautifully presented bedrooms, indulgent spa treatments and adults-only swim times.

You can order a cream tea in the garden, dine informally in the Orangery, or in either of two dining rooms, one dog friendly, from a menu of steaks, burger, fish and chips, maybe lentil dahl, garden pumpkin, chickpea, smoked onion and coriander, or sea trout with crushed potato and fennel. Literary buffs should check out also, sister properties Fowey Hall, Cornwall, believed to have been Kenneth Graham’s model for Toad Hall, and Moonfleet Manor, Dorset, which inspired John Meade Faulkner’s 1898 novel of shipwrecks and smuggling, Moonfleet.

B&B family rooms for around £246.

‘A very strange stranger it must be who does not see the charms in the immediate environs of Lyme,’ wrote Jane Austen in Persuasion. Like Austen, Kathryn Haskins spent happy family holidays in this historic resort on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. In fact, her parents were so smitten with its charms that, in 1982, they bought Lyme’s landmark hotel. A Georgian house built for the Earl and Countess of Poulett, it is now owned by Kathryn, who brings to it her experience of working in hotels around the world, and who can personally vouch for its appeal to a child.

The ambience is informal, the interiors achieving a kind of unshowy chic without upstaging the glorious sea views. Some larger bedrooms can sleep four, or families might take one of two self-catering apartments, each big enough for six. Apartment guests have access to all hotel facilities, and menu items can be delivered by room service.

In the light-filled Ammonite Restaurant, typical dishes include pan-fried halibut, fried polenta, cauliflower puree, cranberry gel; ribeye steak and chips; gnocchi. ‘It’s like staying in a comfy country-house hotel,’ says Guide readers, all of whom have particularly warm words for the staff. And, since family is not just about children, a word of praise for the ‘personal touches’ that really made the stay for one reader and her parents on their Golden Wedding anniversary. Ask for a packed lunch and spend the day fossil hunting, walking the coastal paths, swimming, sailing, windsurfing, and return with an appetite for afternoon tea.

B&B large doubles from £330, cots £8, extra bed for a child £44.

There is a real Swallows and Amazons vibe at this dog-friendly new lifestyle resort, the frumpy old Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented as a cool destination. As well as fabulously stylish bedrooms and suites, some for families, in the original Georgian house and modern wings, there is a two-bedroom treehouse with decking and outdoor bath, and shepherds’ huts, some with an extra bunk room, all with a log burner and star-gazing roof.

This is a place that revels in the landscape and in its lakeside situation, where days might be spent wild swimming, paddleboarding, hiking and fell walking. Right now, too, because it’s winter, there’s even a lakeshore ice rink. Other facilities include a 20metre indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, cardio and treatment rooms. The Ofsted-registered Kids’ Zone encourages learning through play: staff take the youngsters outside as much as possible to follow animal footprints, build campfire and go on nature hunts with ‘bingo’ sheets for outdoor I-Spy.

In the fine-dining Rampsbeck Restaurant, menus feature such locally sourced dishes as roast Cartmel Valley venison haunch, caramelised celeriac puree, savoy cabbage, Anna potato, pickled walnut ketchup, venison samosa, juniper sauce (from the children’s menu maybe garden patch soup, mac and cheese, chocolate brownie). There is more casual dining in the Living Space (steak and fries, rice bowls, wraps and burgers), woodfired pizzas in the Glasshouse by the vegetable garden, and hearty pub grub at sister venture The Brackenrigg.

B&B doubles, Stay and Skate from £240, family room from around £340, extra bed for age 3-plus 25% of double room price.