‘We couldn’t fault a thing. Superb apartment, helpful staff, wonderful food, amazing pool and scenery – we’ll definitely be coming back’

‘A fantastic place. We loved having breakfast brought to our door’

‘Beautiful surroundings, excellent facilities and friendly, attentive staff. Thanks for a great stay – and for re-locating the verbally-agile peacock’

In the know

House style

Cornish hilltop house dating from the 1860s

Grounds

Set in four acres of landscaped gardens and overlooking Lamorna Cove, which is just five minutes walk away. Picturesque Mousehole (that’s ‘Mouzel’, non-Cornish folk) is a five-minute drive away.

Sleeps

There are 13 self-catering apartments, each sleeping 2–4 people with a double bedroom and double sofa bed in the living area. (Apartment six has two en suite bedrooms sleeping 2–6). All apartments have similar facilities and furnishings.

Ideal for

Groups of friends, family gatherings, birthday celebrations, wedding parties, couples and rather stylish people.

Rates

From £196 a night per apt for 1–3 nights (from £147 off-peak); from £150 a night per apartment for four nights (from £93 off-peak); and from £960 per apt for one week (from £650 off-peak). ‘Peak’: May, June & Sep; ‘Peak +’: July & August. £20 charge for extra camp beds.

Minimum hire

A week's minimum stay in July and August, Saturday to Saturday. Bookings of four or more days are discounted.) Check-in is from 4pm.

Also

‘Well-behaved’ dogs are allowed at The Cove for £20. They must be kept on a lead (and away from pale sofas).

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Interior

Bedrooms 

There are 13 self-catering apartments, each sleeping 2–4 people and each with one double bedroom and a double sofa bed in the living area. (Apartment 6 has two en suite bedrooms, sleeping 2–6).

Apartment 1: Sleeps 2–4. Situated in the new annexe, with treetop views. Double en suite bedroom with bath; large living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 2: Sleeps 2–4. On the ground floor of the new annexe, with views down the valley to Lamorna Cove. En suite bedroom with walk-in shower and a large living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 3: Sleeps 2–4. On the ground floor with views down Lamorna valley to the sea. En suite bedroom with walk-in shower; living area with sofa bed.

Apartment 4: Sleeps 2–4. Situated on the ground floor with floor-to-ceiling windows and an 180-degree view of Lamorna Cove and the swimming pool. En suite bedroom with double rainfall shower wet room; private terrace next to the pool; living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 5: Sleeps 2–4. On the ground floor with some of the best views of Lamorna Cove. Double en suite bedroom with bath and rainfall shower; large living area with double sofa bed and separate washroom.

Apartment 6: Sleeps 2–6. Situated on the first floor with valley views. Double en suite bedroom; twin en suite bedroom; living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 7: Sleeps 2–4. On the first floor with fantastic valley views down to the sea. Double en suite bedroom with bath and rainfall shower. Large living room with double sofa bed.

Apartment 8: Sleeps 2. Large studio space with fantastic views down to the sea. Living area with separate kitchen and walk-in shower room.

Apartment 9: Sleeps 2–4. Views across the valley treetops. Large open-plan living area with double sofa bed, separate bedroom space, large bathroom with bath. With a kitchen and utility room, this feels more than just a studio.

Apartment 10: Sleeps 2–4. On the second floor with views across Lamorna Cove. Huge double en suite bedroom with sea views and walk-in shower with a window overlooking the trees; large living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 11: Sleeps 2–4. On the second floor, it doesn’t have sea views, but it does have a private terrace garden. Double en suite bedroom with shower; living area with sofa bed. The apartment is split-level, so not suitable for children.

Apartment 12: Sleeps 2–4. On the third floor, it has a balcony with sea views. Double en suite bedroom with walk-in shower; living area with double sofa bed. It's the same price as Apartment 9 and since it's like a studio apartment, it's better suited to couples than families.

Apartment 14: Sleeps 2–4. On the third floor with views of Lamorna Cove and the valley in every room. Secluded garden and private balcony. Large double en suite bedroom with bath and rainfall shower. Living area with double sofa bed.

Apartment 15: This apartment sleeps 2–6 and is situated on the fourth floor, with its own private entrance and car parking space set apart from the hotel; giving privacy and yet still within easy reach of the pool and other facilities. This two-bedroom apartment is newer and has an open-plan lounge, kitchen/dining area with glazed doors onto a decked balcony area where the views are simply stunning. The main bedroom is ensuite with a double four-poster bed. Adjacent is a smaller bedroom and separate bathroom, perfect for families with younger children. There is also a very comfortable double sofa bed in the lounge.

Apartment 16: This apartment sleeps 2–6 and is situated on the fourth floor, with its own private entrance and car parking space set apart from the hotel; giving privacy and yet still within easy reach of the pool and other facilities. This two-bedroom apartment is newer and has an open-plan lounge, kitchen/dining area with glazed doors onto a decked balcony area where the views are simply stunning. The master room is a double with ensuite shower room. The second twin bedroom has a separate bathroom, making this the ideal family or group getaway. There is also a comfortable double sofa bed in the lounge.

Kitchen Each apartment boasts a fully equipped high design kitchen with dishwasher, fridge, microwave, oven, hob, toaster and kettle. Cutlery, crockery and condiments are provided, as well as fruit, tea, coffee, milk, water, juice, bread, cereals and butter.

Living room Contains a plasma TV, DVD and comfortable double sofabed.

Dining room 

Other Apartments are serviced daily.

Outdoor

Poolside An outdoor pool (open 7am–7pm) is heated to 28 degrees, with incredible views across Lamorna Cove. It's the perfect spot for lunch or afternoon tea. A gazebo bar serves drinks until around 9.30pm.

Gardens Landscaped gardens to the side of the pool offer magical hilltop views out to the sea. Walk down past the pool and the stream and through the gate and you’ll eventually come to Lamorna Cove.

Parking There is one private parking space for every apartment, plus an overflow car park.

Other There is a free local taxi service from the hotel, perfect for nights out in nearby Mousehole or Penzance. Although dogs are welcome, it is worth bearing in mind that Lamorna Cove is a rocky bay with no sand for pooches to stretch legs on.

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Planes Air Southwest (+44 (0)870 241 8202; www.airsouthwest.com) and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) fly to Newquay.

Trains London Paddington to Penzance takes between five and five and a half hours. The sleeper train takes just under eight hours; see www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk for details.

Local taxi service Stones (+44 (0)1736 363400), Nippy Cabs (+44 (0)1736 366666), Ian Hay the singing cabbie (+44 (0)7798 526984) (He sings while he drives. Seriously.) and Cape Travel (+44 (0)7719 041653 or +44 (0)7740 076132) (suitable for wheelchairs). For car hire, click on our Travel Offers page. Smithcard holders get a 10 per cent discount with Hertz.

Directions by road The nearest motorway is the M5. Take the Junction 31 exit and follow the A30 southbound towards Penzance. When you hit Penzance, take the B3315. After driving through a tunnel of trees, Lamorna will be signposted on the left (sneeze and you’ll miss it). Follow the road until you come to The Cove’s pale blue sign on the left.

Review

A stylised surprise hiding at the end of a shady Lamorna lane, The Cove is about as far away from Cornwall’s clotted cream teas and out-of-the-oven pasties as you can get. Mixing self-catering with hotel surroundings, this house – dating back to the 1850s – offers a first-class self-catering experience without smudging its luxury boutique hotel stamp. The result is a collection of 13 high-design, hide-away apartments – with the optional benefits of hotel service. A restaurant, terrace bar and room service are handily on standby, whilst high-spec kitchens in self-sufficient apartments provide total shove-everything-in-the-car-and-turn-up independence. This is stylish seclusion – but with service. ‘Self-catering lite’, if you like: perfect for escaping couples and groups alike.

Almost tropical, bamboo-fringed Cornish lanes lead you steeply up to The Cove. Look up and you’ll spy the original rooftop bell silhouetted against Cornish clouds; a reminder that this was once Cliff House, belonging to a granite quarry-owning Lamornan local who would call his workers to prayer. At the turn of the century, the house became a Temperance hotel and mecca for famous Newlyn artists. But it was the Sixties that put this place on the Cornish-Wide-Web, when George Harrison and John Gielgud added their names to the guestbook. Now, fast-forward to today’s facelift and its hotel status has been taken by the horns, shaken up into an apart-hotel and freshly re-booted as The Cove.

The scent of giant stargazer lilies hits you as you wind through the reception, past the restaurant, to the cluster of apartments within and around the original building. Sun-faded aquamarine tones sweep throughout the apart-hotel contrasting with the sharp, contemporary white lines, splashes of glass and pristine brushed silver fittings. Sea views lurk around every corner; from your shower, from the pool, from the terrace bar… a pair of leather tub chairs positioned before oversized windows are the elbow-nudgingly gentle reminder that you’re only a five minute amble down to rocky Lamorna cove.

Whether booking an apartment for four friends or blocking out enough for a party of 20, The Cove’s rooms share similar facilities, furnishings and flourishes; serene sea-chic décor, sleek glass coffee tables, deep, plump sofas and Perspex balloon-back chairs fill the spacious bedrooms and living areas. Each apartment’s double en suite bedroom, double sofa bed, and fully equipped kitchen stretch out over soothingly-solid oak flooring. Yet every one is a stand-alone signature suite. A four-poster frame here, a floor-to-ceiling sea-view there; these apartments with high-design flair are individual and roomy enough for seaside-seeking groups to kick back and relax in comfort.

State-of-the-art kitchens are kitted out with everything you need, but a warm draw-string bag of croissants and pains au chocolate is dropped onto your doorstep every morning nonetheless – just to make the whole process a little easier. Despite the self-catering tag, apartments are serviced daily. Staff won’t wash up, but they will turn on your dishwasher. However, to really take the ‘self’ out of self-catering, dining is also offered around a green smoked-glass chimney in The Restaurant – and room service is on-tap so you can switch in and out of hotel service, as you like.

With a heated outdoor pool, terrace bar and manicured gardens falling gently down the valley towards the sea, it’s tempting not to venture much further than Lamorna cove. But the basking shark-infested dramatic Cornish coastline is ripe for exploring; Land’s End, Penzance and the pretty fishing village of Mousehole are all just minutes away. And The Cove’s come-and-go-as-you-please self-catering streak makes this all the more appealing.

Whether you’re packing a picnic and heading to the famous Minack cliff-face theatre, or visiting the white witch at nearby St Buryan (where Dustin Hoffman’s Straw Dogs was filmed), self-catering has never been so addictively sophisticated. There’s something hauntingly beautiful about Cornwall. Reaching deep into your soul, it pulls out buckets and spadefuls of childhood memories and makes you never want to leave. And in this lily-scented designer setting, frankly why would you?

Reviewed by Charlotte Crisp

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