The Good Hotel Guide is the leading independent guide to hotels in Great Britain & Ireland, and also covers parts of Continental Europe. The Guide was first published in 1978. It is written for the reader seeking impartial advice on finding a good place to stay. Hotels cannot buy their way into the Guide. The editors and inspectors do not accept free hospitality on their anonymous visits to hotels. All hotels in the Guide receive a free basic listing. A fee is charged for a full web entry.
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Hotels for Christmas by the sea
Featured Hotels with Special Offers
Knockinaam Lodge
Stranraer, Dumfries And Galloway
10% Discount Special Offer
Bedruthan Hotel and Spa
Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
Winter Escape Special Offer
On show through walls of windows, the sea is a huge presence at this family-run hotel on the cliffs above a surfers' beach, which offers craft sessions as well as a spa and kids club.
Harbourmaster Hotel
Aberaeron, Ceredigion
'Sundays by the Sea' 25% Discount Special Offer
The Scarlet
Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
'Two Night Spend Time Together' Special Offer
Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.
Bodysgallen Hall and Spa
Llandudno, Conwy
National Trust Winter Break Special Offer
Shieldaig Lodge
Gairloch, Highland
'Christmas Package' Special Offer
Cary Arms & Spa
Babbacombe, Devon
25% Discount Autumn/Winter Special Offer
The Nare
Veryan-In-Roseland, Cornwall
'Get Away From It All' Special Offer
Soar Mill Cove Hotel
Salcombe, Devon
'Stay Longer Save More' Special Offer
The White Horse
Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk
Third Night B&B Free Special Offer
Cavens
Dumfries, Dumfries And Galloway
Winter Special Offer
'Visiting Cavens is like stepping back in time to a traditional country-house hotel,' writes a reader of Angus Fordyce's Georgian mansion, set in open countryside close to the dunes and salt marshes of the Solway coast.
The Atlantic Hotel
St Brelade, Jersey
Atlantic 'Winter Retreat' Special Offer
Glamorous ocean vistas draw the eye beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of this hotel, on a headland above St Ouen's Bay, beside Le Moye Golf Club. Designed to recall 1930s marine architecture, it has a pool in landscaped grounds and an ambience of holiday fun and leisure, with gourmet picnics on offer for a day's surfing or wildlife spotting.
Wrea Head Hall
Scarborough, Yorkshire
'15% Discount Winter Sale' Special Offer
A splendid Victorian-gothic mansion in parkland, minutes' drive from Scarborough, Wrea Hall has been repurposed as a luxury hotel with very characterful bedrooms and a fine-dining restaurant.
Beachcroft Hotel
Bognor Regis, Sussex
Luxury Beach Hut Suite 3 Nights for the Price of 2 Special Offer
A stay in Felpham inspired William Blake to write of 'England's green and pleasant land', but it's the beach that draws holidaymakers to the de Savarys' South Coast hotel.
Housel Bay Hotel
The Lizard, Cornwall
Autumn Stay 35% Discount Special Offer
Above the rugged cliffs and white-sand beaches of Lizard Point, mainland Cornwall's most southerly hotel is a contemporary retreat in harmony with nature and the seasons, with yoga classes, and a choice of dining options.
The Royal Hotel
Ventnor, Isle Of Wight
'Sail, Dine & Stay' Special Offer
More Hotels for Christmas by the sea
Watersmeet
Woolacombe, Devon
'An exceptional seaside hotel', with views from the rooms and terrace to secluded Combesgate beach below, this family-friendly hotel is a former Edwardian gentleman's retreat.
Polurrian on the Lizard
Mullion, Cornwall
'Hotel settings don't get much more spectacular than the Polurrian's, on the cliff edge overlooking its own beach,' writes a guide insider. The relaxed family and dog-friendly hotel makes the most of the coastal views.
Coll Hotel
Isle Of Coll, Argyll And Bute
Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.
Hotel Tresanton
St Mawes, Cornwall
Talland Bay Hotel
Talland-By-Looe, Cornwall
The Seaside Boarding House
Burton Bradstock, Dorset
Chewton Glen
New Milton, Hampshire
The Ship Inn
Elie, Fife
The catch of the day could be Shetland hake in the restaurant or nifty fielding on the sands at this pub-with-rooms overlooking the Firth of Forth, with its own beach cricket team.
The Rose & Crown
Snettisham, Norfolk
Burgh Island Hotel
Bigbury-On-Sea, Devon
Alexandra Hotel
Lyme Regis, Dorset
Readers are unanimous in their praise of the welcoming, helpful staff at this family-friendly hotel at the top of the town, with lovely garden, light-filled restaurant, and glorious views over Lyme Bay.
The Globe Inn
Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk
A Victorian inn looking onto a leafy square, this is now a smart, family friendly, dog-friendly pub with a wide choice of bedrooms and relaxed ambience, serving bar snacks, small plates and pub classics.
Orestone Manor
Torquay, Devon
In sub-tropical gardens with views over Lyme Bay, this family-run hotel offers a wide choice of accommodation, and imaginative, locally sourced food.
The Maltings
Norfolk
A historic brick and flint malt house with bedrooms spread over the main building, stables and cottages, this new, family friendly, dog-friendly hotel close to a pebble beach garners praise for its ambience and for locally soured food served in the Grain Store restaurant.
Artist Residence Cornwall
Penzance, Cornwall
With a youthful vibe and brimming with fun, this quirky hotel and local hangout, occupying a Georgian coach house above the harbour, has beach-shack chic bedrooms, a café, cocktail bar and curated art collection.
The New Inn
Tresco, Isles Of Scilly
The only pub on this family-owned, car-free island, the New Inn has smart contemporary interiors alongside plenty of innate charm.
Tolcarne Beach Village
Newquay, Cornwall
Set on a private sandy beach, this dog friendly, Barbados-inspired hotel has a terrific mix of rooms, suites and beach cabins as well as a sea-facing restaurant and beach bar and grill.
The Westleton Crown
Southwold, Suffolk
Within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB, this dog friendly former coaching inn, part of the Chestnut Collection, with interiors inspired by the landscape, has rustic-chic and contemporary bedrooms, a bar menu, and modern dishes served in a light-filled dining room and outdoors.
The Bay Hotel
Helston, Cornwall
Bedrooms with a coastal palette overlook the beach and harbour at this updated Edwardian hotel in a fishing village, while in the sea-view restaurant or alfresco you can dine from short, creative menus of seasonal Cornish produce.
Moonfleet Manor
Fleet, Dorset
A dog and child-friendly hotel above Chesil Beach, this Georgian manor house is dedicated to family leisure and pleasure, with plenty to keep tots and teens amused, while the restaurant serves light bites by day, bistro-style dishes at dinner.
The Pier at Harwich
Harwich, Essex
The views from this quayside Victorian hotel overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries are ocean-going and full of action, while the industrial-chic ground-floor bar is the place for small plates, ales and interesting gins, the first-floor brasserie for fish and shellfish landed almost on the doorstep, the comfy bedrooms for a great night's sleep.
South Sands
Salcombe, Devon
The restaurant, terrace and many of the New England-style bedrooms overlook South Sands beach at this contemporary hotel, where you can bring your dog, dine alfresco on Fowey mussels or crab linguine, and sleep within sight and sound of the waves.
Mullion Cove Hotel
Helston, Cornwall
There are spectacular sea views from this dog-friendly, late-Victorian clifftop hotel and glass-walled spa, with traditionally furnished bedrooms and suites, sophisticated cooking in the restaurant and more casual dining from an eclectic bistro menu.
Hotel Portmeirion
Portmeirion, Gwynedd
Glenapp Castle
Ballantrae, South Ayrshire
Seaham Hall
Seaham, Co. Durham
Bayards Cove Inn
Dartmouth, Devon
Behind a historic, jettied black-and-white facade a stroll from the quay lies a drop-in café, bar and restaurant, and, up creaky old stairs, quaint, pet-friendly bedrooms, named after old sea dogs.
Fowey Hall
Fowey, Cornwall
A Baroque Victorian mansion in five-acre grounds above the Fowey estuary is home to this relaxed but stylish hotel, offering fun for all the family (not forgetting the dog), flexible dining, and comfortable, contemporary bedrooms.
The Pig on the Beach
Studland, Dorset
The Gallivant
Sussex
The UK has a variety of hotels for Christmas by the sea... There's nothing quite like a walk on the beach to work up an appetite for Christmas, or perhaps you're the adventurous type and will even get in a swim or surf before the festivities really begin! Then again, you might be more like us and simply happy to enjoy views of crashing waves as you sip on mulled wine and tuck into, just one more, mince pie before the day is through. For something truly magical at Christmas time it's hard to beat a setting by the sea. From spa hotels to pubs with rooms, family friendly escapes to romantic retreats, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to a coastal Christmas this year. We're fans of loch-side lodges in snow covered woods, eco-friendly getaways and log fires in townhouse hotels. We've made our list and checked it twice and there's definitely something for every mood and every type of Christmas celebration.



