There are weekends when you need the luxurious comfort of a country manor house with window snugs and plump sofas; then there are weekends when you’re after the fresh appeal of a coastal hotel with bare floorboards and sea views. Thankfully, the design gods came together at Merchants Manor Hotel & Spa on the south Cornwall coast.

Slowly escaping the city (read: a longer than anticipated five-and-a-half-hour car journey from London to Falmouth), I feel the stress in my shoulders dissolve as we travel through lush green countryside to the pebbled drive of Merchants Manor. The exterior looks like a classic seaside hotel but inside is a stylish mix of country house chic with a contemporary twist: chandeliers, a grand sweeping staircase and an open fireplace offset with bare floorboards and simple furnishings.

We are bedding down in Landlubber, one of two newly installed, eco-friendly, self-catering cabins. Reclaimed wood adorns the interior walls, the bathroom is herringbone-tiled and light floods in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing a calming view of the Falmouth coastline in the distance. Outside is our own 30 metre-long private terrace complete with hot tub, which we jump straight in to, accompanied by a bottle of deliciously dry local fizz.

Is this Cornwall spot the ultimate in coastal luxury?