Fab 40: Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall

(Image credit: press)

last updated 19 October 2022

Sea thrift-planted rooves, a biomass boiler, a reed-bed pool: is this cliff-top hotel a hair shirt-only zone? In truth, the organic structure — built with input from Nick ‘professor of wellbeing’ Baylis and magicked out of sustainable oak, local stone and copper by architects Harrison Sutton Partnership — offers luxury aplenty, but with some pretty nifty twists.

See more of the Scarlet Hotel

Log-fired hot tubs sit en plein air overlooking the breakers, while the spa features ‘return-to-the-womb’ hanging pods and the opportunity to smear your partner in mud. Each of its 37 rooms overlooks the beach, either from a balcony sporting Ron Arad Voido chairs or from a private roof-top bunker.

Interior designers Max Bentheim push all the right buttons with bright Missoni prints and Roberto Foschia’s lolly-orange Slim chairs, and hideaways such as the library ensure a becalming cool prevails. Rates from £180.

www.scarlethotel.co.uk

Melina Keays is the entertaining director of Wallpaper*. She has been part of the brand since the magazine’s launch in 1996, and is responsible for entertaining content across the print and digital platforms, and for Wallpaper’s creative agency Bespoke. A native Londoner, Melina takes inspiration from the whole spectrum of art and design – including film, literature, and fashion. Her work for the brand involves curating content, writing, and creative direction – conceiving luxury interior landscapes with a focus on food, drinks, and entertaining in all its forms