Queens Hotel

The tiny town centre of St Ives is so well-known now that there's a danger in thinking it may have been spoiled by tourism and high prices. But the nice thing about this part of Cornwall is that it retain pockets of old-fashioned ordinariness amongst the chic restaurants and boutique clothes stores, and the excellent Queens Hotel, bang in the centre of town on the high street is one such place: a proper pub, good for a drink and a bite to eat, which just happens to have ten beautifully refurbished bedrooms upstairs so you can stay overnight too. Part of the local St Austell Brewery group, it's about as central – and as Cornish – a place to base yourself in St Ives as you will find.

First the bedrooms, which are spread across three floors and have been updated with style and sensitivity – bright as well as cosy, with retro furnishings, local Cornish art on the walls, flatscreen Freeview TVs, wifi, tea/coffee-making facilities and en-suite bathrooms with spacious walk-in showers. The rooms vary in size and include five Superior Doubles, with super-king-size beds, 3 Standard Doubles with king-size beds, and 2 Small Doubles with regular double beds; some rooms have views over the high street but a couple overlook the harbour and from those on the third floor you can even get a glimpse of Carbis Bay – though no lift means that some may want to give those ones a miss! Either way, you're right in the thick of things when you step out of your front door, which is a nice feeling in a place as buzzy and beautiful as St Ives.

As for the food, there are lots of trendy restaurants in St Ives and it’s fast becoming a foodie Mecca for West Cornwall, plus most of the pubs in town are simply made for drinking, so it's a relief to find that the Queens also serves top quality, locally-sourced food – think local fish and seafood, burgers and other pub classics. Everything is of restaurant standard but the atmosphere is most most definitely that of a pub, with the menu chalked daily on a board and a super-relaxed vibe, with rustic furniture, local art on the walls and dogs and children welcome too. It's a nice place to hang out at any time of day – and rates include an excellent breakfast, too.