Seven of the UK's best coastal hotels under £175
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Is Charlestown the last unspoilt place in Cornwall? It is historic where much of the county seems high gloss: old sailing ships against granite wharves, the mewl of gulls, the tang of salt air. And it's all outside the door of this Georgian inn. Its owner St Austell Brewery has spruced it up — bedrooms have reclaimed wood cladding or smart shades of dusky pink and green — without sacrificing character. So while there's now a smart harbour terrace for dinner, haddock and chips and Proper Job IPA remain on the menu. A spa? Who needs it when the beach is about 100m away?Details Room-only doubles from £160 (pierhousehotel.com)
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Check the price before reading this. Astonishing isn't it? There are smarter stays hereabouts but this place for dog owners and surfers suits Scarbados nicely. A few years ago this Victorian spa hotel had a full revamp and is now both unpretentious and fun, with vintage-style prints on roller-blinds, a cheery welcome plus a location on South Beach. Sea views cost about £60 extra; top-end boutique-style rooms at nearly double the price are worth the splurge. Whichever you choose, there are freebies too: hot drinks on tap, cake at 4pm and an in-hotel cinema. The only caveat? Parking can be tricky. Details Room-only from £83 (bikeandboot.com)
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We named this Wales hotel of the year in March, the latest of a wallful of awards since it pioneered boutique hereabouts. So I feared higher prices since I last stayed three years ago. Nope: it's hardly changed. Nor has the appeal. It's a classy harbour stay with yachts outside windows but with the quirky details (woven Welsh throws and headboards, porthole windows, mermaid wallpaper, local art on walls) and charming staff. The restaurant is also excellent. If this were in St Ives, it would charge twice the price.Details B&B doubles from £155 (harbour-master.com)
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This feels less a hotel than a stay with friends, albeit friends who seem cooler and happier than you. It's an escape of dreams between Salcombe and Kingsbridge; a bolt hole on an emerald nook of a bay in Hope Cove village, in one of Britain's loveliest areas of outstanding natural beauty. The mood is beachy and easygoing: sandy flip-flops by the front door; antiques and flea market finds in public areas; vintage mirrors and Jaipur bed throws in ten simple rooms, all with beach views (and no televisions). You're here to eat: Mediterranean-inspired menus featuring local seafood are as good as you'd hope for when Oli Barker — one of the co-owners along with his wife, Ra — was formerly behind a string of highly rated London brasseries including Soif and Brawn, and, alongside Ra, Holland Park's Six Portland Road.Details B&B doubles from £175 (hopecovehouse.co)
If you're after a hotel that's reassuringly traditional — old beams and soothing wall colours, windows filled with sea and manicured grounds outside — this fits the bill. Its turreted castle is trumpeted as the only 17th-century building still used as a residence in Northern Ireland and there are rooms in the tower. You'll book, though, to enjoy the £400,000 renovation last year that saw the refurb of 18 coastal rooms and the Antrim Suite, plus the beach that's literally over the road and the lovely staff. A full Irish breakfast or perhaps porridge with Bushmills whiskey sets you up for the Causeway Coastal Route or a day in Belfast.Details B&B doubles from £149 (ballygallycastlehotel.com)
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Southwold and Aldeburgh, polestars of the Suffolk coast, are unbeatable for boutiques and beach nostalgia. But for the county of rose-tousled cottages and scenery to quieten the mind, Orford is where to head for. It's a medieval port reduced to a village, with boats at the quay, wading birds in the salt marsh and skies of horizon-pushing scale. Near a castle on the village square, you'll find this good-value restaurant with rooms. Book the main house for historic character, opt for garden chalets for the dog. Either way, style is modern-country. I would factor in an aperitif at the bar before a dinner of creative British cuisine.Details B&B doubles from £148 (crownandcastle.co.uk)
Welcome to one of Britain's best coasts: beaches broad enough to land a jumbo on, a stonking castle, fish and chips in cute harbours, enigmatic islands, seabirds and seals. It's got the lot. You'd think a night with a castle view in August would cost a mint. This charming Victorian three-star is in the regional honeypot, Bamburgh: comfy rather than fancy, statement wallpaper to pep up rooms, tan leather banquettes in the brasserie. But this is Northumberland — still bizarrely overlooked even though driving here from the Home Counties takes only a little longer than a trip to south Cornwall — so prices are a steal. Details B&B doubles from £150 (thevictoriahotelbamburgh.co.uk)
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