Coastal and beach hotels
Oh we do like to be beside the seaside… and we know you do, too. So we've scoured coastlines, scaled cliffs and combed beaches in our search for the coolest coastal hotels, where the water's edge is never far away.
Clifftop castles, seaside stays and beach B&Bs – you'll find them all here, alongside paradise island resorts and Caribbean retreats. You just have to decide whether your idea of beach-hotel heaven is skimming stones in Brighton, surfing in Santa Monica or scuba diving in the Seychelles…
- Hotels
- Self-catering
- € £ $
We've found 204 Smith-approved coastal and beach hotels
Pretty Beach House
Central Coast, Australia
- Style
- Luxe rustic
- Setting
- Hilltop bush, gentle water views
A super-sophisticated private guesthouse in a magical setting in the Central Coast's Bouddi National Park, Pretty Beach House is an all-inclusive gourmet…
Bells at Killcare
Central Coast, Australia
- Style
- Bold classy coastal
- Setting
- Graceful English gardens
Bells at Killcare is part hotel, part restaurant, part private retreat. Eat from respected chef Stefano Manfredi's New Italian kitchen or surf the classic…
St Moritz Hotel
Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Style
- Surf-side family HQ
- Setting
- Rugged Camel Estuary
Not just a stylish base for surfers and a haven for sandcastling families, this revamped modernist resort also offers contemporary apartments and a top-class…
Fowey Hall
Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Style
- Comfy country château for all the family
- Setting
- Salty Cornish coast
Commanding sweeping views of Fowey's river estuary, port and the sea, this charming and unpretentious family-focused hotel in Cornwall was the original…
Driftwood
Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Style
- New England yacht club
- Setting
- Bracing Cornish clifftop
Striking the perfect balance between accessible and remote, Driftwood's main house has an incredible setting, high on a cliff, and an easy-breezy atmosphere.
Hotel Tresanton
Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Style
- Breezy beach house
- Setting
- Chocolate-box Cornish village
A former yachting club, Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes was built from a cluster of old houses, hence its charming higgledy-piggledy levels and portside setting.
Escondrijo
Costa De La Luz, Spain
- Style
- Modern Moorish
- Setting
- Cobbled Vejer
An intimated and beautifully decorated boutique hotel in whitewashed Vejer, Escondrijo feels more like a private home with five rooms set aside for paying…
Seaham Hall and Serenity Spa
County Durham, United Kingdom
- Style
- Tip-top technology
- Setting
- Windswept Durham clifftop
Even though the buildings are drenched in history, Seaham Hall and its slick Serenity Spa in North-East England are as 21st-century as hideaways can be.













