10 of the UK’s best new and revamped seaside hotels

28.05.2024 - 11:27 / theguardian.com

The Albion hotel, which can lay claim to some of the best sea views on the island, has been welcoming guests to Freshwater Bay since Victorian times. It is about to reopen under new ownership after a multimillion-pound refurbishment. The new-look Albion will have 40 rooms, 36 of them sea-facing, including two suites, seven dog-friendly rooms and two accessible rooms. Some have roll-top baths and balconies or terraces. The Rock is its new 100-seater restaurant, which sources more than 90% of ingredients from the island, including garlic, tomatoes, fish, lobster and meat. A free shuttle bus drops off and picks up guests from local bars and restaurants. The hotel is about a 10-minute drive from Yarmouth ferry port.
Opens in June, taking bookings for 19 June, doubles from £99 B&B (two‑night minimum), albionhotel.co.uk

A small, family-owned hotel group has renovated 26-bedroom Knipoch House, by Loch Feochan, near Oban on Scotland’s west coast. The house dates from the 1600s and still has the original fireplaces and panels; to these have been added super-kingsize beds and a hot tub. A barbecue and outdoor dining area will be ready for summer. The new menu has Scottish classics such as cullen skink, haggis and venison, plus thoughtful vegetarian dishes (smoked tofu with mango and black beans; jerusalem artichoke and jackfruit cassoulet).
Doubles from £129 room-only, sonascollection.com

Over the past century, this Edwardian redbrick building, a couple of blocks inland from Worthing beach, has been a washhouse, a library, a school and a vaccination centre. This is perhaps its most intriguing incarnation – a thoroughly modern, no-frills, sustainable hotel for the 21st century. The Sleep Eco Inn is all-electric, with a modern heating and cooling system that it calculates will save 12 tonnes of carbon a year. The nine stylish guest rooms have high ceilings, huge windows, comfy beds, and colourful throws and cushions, but traditional hotel facilities are stripped back – there’s keyless self-check-in, a vending machine for hot drinks (no breakfast), a 24/7 digital concierge service – and actual humans a phone call away.
Doubles from £78 room-only, sleepecohotel.co.uk

This relaxed restaurant with rooms near Kingsbridge has just reopened following major building work, and has nine rooms, all with views across the beach and out to Bolt Tail headland. Co-owner Oli Barker was one half of the pair behind the London restaurants Terroirs, Soif and Brawn, and the menu here is simple seafood and seasonal produce – dinner could be salt-baked bream with sauce vierge or lemon sole with beurre noisette, capers and parsley. He and his wife, Ra, are aiming for a “wonderful, welcoming house party” atmosphere. There is a sitting room