The best surf & design hotels · Cornwall
Artist Residence Penzance
Justin Salisbury was twenty years old when he inherited the family guest house in Brighton with no money to renovate it, so he advertised on Gumtree for artists to decorate the rooms in exchange for accommodation. That is the origin of the Artist Residence group and it explains everything about what the Penzance hotel looks like — twenty-two rooms in a Grade II listed 17th-century Georgian manor, each decorated by a different artist, each carrying limited edition prints and vintage furniture sourced specifically rather than specified generically. The Cornish Barn smokehouse serves locally sourced meat and fish to the neighbourhood as much as to hotel guests. The Lookout suite sits above the Penzance rooftops with sea views toward Newlyn and Mousehole, a copper freestanding bathtub, and a balcony. St Michael's Mount is visible from the seafront five minutes away.
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The hotel
The Design
Every room decorated by a different artist. Every piece of vintage furniture sourced from antique shops across the UK. No consistent palette. No two rooms alike.
Charlotte Newey and Justin Salisbury commission art that reflects the specific character of each location — Penzance gets Cornish artists and the particular quality of far-western light. The festival garden serves cocktails in summer. The secret terrace is the bar. The Gumtree DNA is still visible in every room.
The Design
Every room decorated by a different artist. Every piece of vintage furniture sourced from antique shops across the UK. No consistent palette. No two rooms alike.
Charlotte Newey and Justin Salisbury commission art that reflects the specific character of each location — Penzance gets Cornish artists and the particular quality of far-western light. The festival garden serves cocktails in summer. The secret terrace is the bar. The Gumtree DNA is still visible in every room.
