Hotels in St Ives

St Ives offers everything from grand clifftop resorts to intimate harbourside guest houses, and where you stay shapes the kind of trip you have. Downalong's converted fisherman's cottages and boutique guest houses put you inside the town's cobbled core, close enough to walk to every beach and gallery without needing a car. Along Porthminster and toward Carbis Bay, sea-view hotels and spa resorts trade a little proximity for space, pools and quieter surroundings, while still keeping the branch-line station or coast path within easy reach.

The properties below span three brackets. At the top end, Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate and Tregenna Castle Resort offer full-scale resort facilities on private grounds just outside the town centre, while Blue Hayes brings an adults-only boutique intimacy overlooking the bay. In the middle, Pedn Olva, Trevose Harbour House and Boskerris Hotel combine characterful rooms with genuinely sea-facing positions, each within a short walk or drive of the harbour. For a simpler, more affordable base, Primrose House and Cornerways Guest House deliver comfortable rooms and proper Cornish breakfasts in the heart of the old town.

Whichever bracket suits your trip, book well ahead for the summer months: St Ives is a small town with a finite number of rooms, and its best-located properties sell out for July and August weekends many months in advance. Outside peak season, particularly in spring and autumn, rates ease considerably and availability is far more forgiving, making it an excellent time to try one of the town's higher-end resorts at a fraction of the summer price.