The Beach at Bude

The Beach at Bude

, Summerleaze Crescent, Bude, Cornwall.

Let's start with a quote from The Times: In a great spot at the end of a 19th-century crescent overlooking the beach, you’ll find the aptly named 16-room Beach hotel, which must be one of the best in the country for surfers. Will and Susie, the owners, took over this (now) lively hotel four years ago and injected an element of fun by creating a cocktail bar with a long, curving zinc-topped bar and retro ‘aviation chairs’. Cider brandy mojitos and passion fruit martinis were introduced, a bright and breezy restaurant serving seafood and steaks installed, and the bedrooms revamped.

The bar, restaurant and most especially the terrace face straight out to the south-west, with the broad expanse of Summerleaze Beach and the even broader expanse of the Atlantic Ocean laid out before you. There’s a buzzing atmosphere in the bar and terrace where great bar food and an extensive range of wines, champagnes, beers and spirits are on offer.

In the restaurant, Head Chef Jamie Coleman has an impressive CV which includes working with Gordon Ramsay, Michael Caines and Mark Dodson. He readily whips up dishes featuring lots of fish, seafood and west-country meats, along with a generous selection of vegetarian and vegan choices.

The Beach Hotel at Bude is set in a beautiful Victorian building, so each of the guest rooms are unique in both size and decor. All the bedrooms are decorated in a New England seaside style; so appropriate for a location just a stone's throw from the beach. Each room has cool limed oak furniture, Vi-Spring beds, Lloyd Loom chairs and duck or goose feather duvets and pillows,  with a non-allergenic alternative on request. The Deluxe rooms have incredible sea views, huge beds and four of them have a private terrace. Superior rooms have juliet balconies facing the sea and equally large beds. There are more big beds and lovely bathrooms in the Classic rooms which face inland over the golf course. For less nimble guests there is one ground floor room, and a lift to the first and second floors.

Bude is a brilliant spot for surfing, watersports, coastal walking and watching the sun sink into the sea. It's close to menu notable destination on the north coast of Cornwall and Devon, from Clovelly and Hartland Point to the north and Boscastle and Tintagel to the south.