The best surf hotels · Cornwall
The Idle Rocks
Karen Richards is not an interior designer. She's the co-owner — her husband David came from Formula 1 — and she designed the hotel herself, which is why it looks the way it does. No pale blue, no driftwood, no sea glass — the predictable coastal palette of every harbour-front hotel in Cornwall was exactly what she spent two years visiting antique fairs to avoid. Nineteen rooms, individually designed, bold art, primary-coloured boat paintings, framed traditional woollen swimsuits on the walls. The terrace faces due south over St Mawes working harbour. Relais & Châteaux. Michelin Key 1.
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The hotel
The Design
No pale blue. No driftwood. No sea glass. Karen Richards spent two years visiting antique fairs to avoid exactly that. The framed woollen swimsuits are the tell.
Wooden bucket chandeliers, primary-coloured paintings, framed traditional woollen swimsuits — Richards went after specificity over coastal comfort. Every piece sourced rather than specified. The south-facing terrace is the building's best feature: St Mawes harbour in front of it, the water beyond, boats moving through the frame throughout the day.
The Food
In-house fisherman Gareth Austin lands the daily catch metres from the kitchen. Guy Owen builds the menu around what comes off the boat.
The Reef Knot Restaurant sources from Cornish farms, foraged coastal ingredients, and Austin's daily catch — the most direct sea-to-table operation on this coast. The menus change with what arrives. The south-facing waterside terrace is where you want to be when it does.
The Design
No pale blue. No driftwood. No sea glass. Karen Richards spent two years visiting antique fairs to avoid exactly that. The framed woollen swimsuits are the tell.
Wooden bucket chandeliers, primary-coloured paintings, framed traditional woollen swimsuits — Richards went after specificity over coastal comfort. Every piece sourced rather than specified. The south-facing terrace is the building's best feature: St Mawes harbour in front of it, the water beyond, boats moving through the frame throughout the day.
The Food
In-house fisherman Gareth Austin lands the daily catch metres from the kitchen. Guy Owen builds the menu around what comes off the boat.
The Reef Knot Restaurant sources from Cornish farms, foraged coastal ingredients, and Austin's daily catch — the most direct sea-to-table operation on this coast. The menus change with what arrives. The south-facing waterside terrace is where you want to be when it does.
