The Lugger

It's just a little old inn perched at the top of a slipway in a tiny Cornish hamlet, but The Lugger at Portloe has somehow achieved iconic status. Perhaps because its owners have injected seaside simplicty with a measure of chic without adding an ounce of pretension. Or simply because its romantic harbourside location is unbeatable.

Twenty-two bedrooms and suites are spread over three small stone buildings, with a cottage on the cliffs providing perfect seclusion for honeymooners and storm-watchers who want to cosy up in front of their own wood-burner. We (and our dog - pooches are welcome) were billeted in a BRIGHT, white attic room with a big, shuttered picture window overlooking the sea and fishing boats. Bedroom and bathroom alike oozed deep but unobtrusive comfort.

Excellent food is served in the large, but cosy, beamed dining-room, with a wide choice of well-prepared fresh fish. Properly cooked porridge and fine kippers were a feature of breakfast, where the only niggle was the unexpected absence of freshly-squeezed juice. By day, sunny decks are a delightful place to enjoy lunch, cream tea or drinks.

While it is over-stating matters to call the treatment room a spa, a full range of face and body treatments are offered, plus everything else stressed urban souls might require, like reiki reflexology and pedi.