Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes

Tresanton is one of the West Country's most famous hotels, situated at the edge of the unspoiled village of St. Mawes. All rooms have stunning views across the sea and look towards St. Anthony's lighthouse.

Originally created in the 1940s as a yachtsmen's club, Tresanton is a cluster of old houses on different levels; in the 1950s and 60s it became one of the best-known and best-loved hotels in Cornwall.

In 1997 Olga Polizzi bought Tresanton and spent two years completely redesigning and restoring it. It has a casual and elegant atmosphere very much in keeping with its seaside location. The hotel is perfect as a romantic wedding venue, relaxing holiday location or luxury business and conference centre.

Tresanton has 29 rooms, some with their own terrace. All the rooms have magnificent sea views and all have been individually furnished with antiques and Cornish art. There are 2 family suites, which can accommodate up to three children, each with its own terrace.

The hotel has a cinema, a bar, a sitting room, conference facilities.The restaurant, with terraces overlooking the sea, specialises in fish and other local produce. Tresanton also offers a spacious children's room, a lovely Wendy House and a cinema to entertain our younger guests.

The dining room has a calm and cool Mediterranean atmosphere with a mosaic floor and tongue and groove walls. It has a terrace on two sides, where lunch, drinks and candlelit dinners are served in the summer, and whenever the temperate climate allows.

The head chef, Paul Wadham, oversees a daily changing menu using fish, crustaceans, and organic vegetables, as well as excellent meat from a Cornish butcher. In deference to the hotel's owner, he introduces a hint of Italian to an otherwise eclectic cuisine.

A romantic Candlelit Dinner for two is also available on the private terrace, with lobsters as a main course and a bottle of well chilled white wine; a chance to gaze across the bay interrupted only by an attentive waiter.