IF your idea of a life on the ocean waves is looking out at the sea from the comfort of a panoramic window seat, with somebody cooking up a storm in the kitchen to satisfy your gourmet cravings, then The Lugger Hotel at Portloe could be your crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.
A long time ago – before second-home owners and holiday lets took over so many of Cornwall’s picturesque coastal villages – Portloe was a busy little fishing harbour, and the Lugger was the popular waterside pub where the fishermen came for a well-deserved pint before heading off with their catch. The village has long been a favourite with tourists, with the houses crowded into a valley bowl around a beautiful little cove, protected from the stormy English Channel by two headlands, the western side, The Jacka, providing great walks and views down to the harbour.
Nowadays Portloe is more of a holiday village than a working community – 80 per cent of the cottages are either second homes or holiday rentals – but there is still one fisherman who plies his trade, and visitors to the hotel can watch him as he winches his boat up onto the shore and chocks it against the night tide. It’s not hard to see why this area is so popular with walkers and holidaymakers – Portloe is on the South West Coastal Path, and The Lugger is a popular lunch stop for long distance walkers and holiday hikers during the summer.
The village is midway between picturesque tourist honeypots Mevagissey, much beloved of painters, and St Mawes, the heart of the Cornish Riviera with its ferry to Falmouth across Carrick Roads, and the famous Hotel Tresanton on its waterfront. The area, the Roseland Peninsula, includes some of south Cornwall’s loveliest creeks, plenty of sailing and fishing, excellent walks, atmospheric old pubs and the exquisitely beautiful ancient church of St Just in Roseland.
The Lugger is a perfect base from where to enjoy the best that this area has to offer – in terms of locally-caught seafood, hospitality, views and comfort. Whether you go for a spring or summer break, or opt for the often dramatic weather of the autumn and winter – with the added attraction of storm-watching from your hotel bedroom – this boutique hotel provides stylish contemporary bedrooms, sophisticated cuisine, an excellent wine list and outstanding views of the harbour. The attention to detail is part of the charm, from the home-made biscuits in your bedroom and excellent traditional afternoon tea to the comforting hot-water bottles in the winter and a warm welcome for your (well-behaved) dog.
It’s not hard to see why it is regularly listed as one of the loveliest hotels in the world, and is popular with people who want to get away from the mad treadmill of daily urban life for a few days, to be cosseted and spoiled, away from it all. The Lugger Hotel, Portloe Cornwall, TR2 5RD telephone 0844 414 6550, email reservations.lugger@nullohiml.com, or visit www.luggerhotel.com