Luxurious weekend breaks at Burgh Island Hotel
Burgh Island, Devon
Enjoy a coastal break at this luxurious Art-Deco hotel off the coast of Devon.
A stay at this glamorous Art-Deco hotel begins in slightly bizarre circumstances, when you load your luggage onto a tractor and set out across from the mainland. Oh yes, and the tractor is on stilts. This is to ensure that you don’t get wet on the five-minute crossing – giving you plenty of time to soak up the sight of the gleaming white hotel itself, draped decadently over the island’s greenery.
Built in 1929, this place has accommodated some famous guests over the years. It’s where Edward and Mrs Simpson used to escape for romantic assignations – and where Agatha Christie wrote at least two of her intricately plotted murder mysteries. Although everything’s been brought up to date in the rooms, retro touches like the radios and old fashioned telephones give it all an atmos of jazz-age-glam. Days slip by at a refreshingly relaxed pace here – playing croquet on the manicured lawn, taking tea on the terrace, heading down to the nearby beach to explore the rock pools or hiking over the Devonshire cliffs.
It all depends on whether your mood is more Miss Marple or Famous Five.