The Scarlet, a Cornish hotel with serious eco-credentials

Not so much a hotel as a way of millennial life, The Scarlet looks out over the Celtic Sea off Cornwall, in southwest England. Designed, built and run by three sisters, the hotel's just celebrated its fifth anniversary. The Scarlet combines luxury with eco-credentials that could almost have been minted in the Garden of Eden. Under-16s are banned (except in exceptional circumstances), as are stag and hen parties, while dogs are welcomed by Jasper, the resident whippet, and the rest of the staff. A slew of sculptures and other artworks gives The Scarlet the air of an eclectic gallery. As the owners put it: "We decided to create the sort of hotel we'd like to stay in ourselves - it's possible still to cherish the planet while having a great deal of fun living on it."

Skip any thoughts about traditional hotel layouts, with rooms leading off lengthy darkened corridors. The Scarlet revolves around its cliff-top panorama, and the 37 rooms are arranged in clusters over five levels. Each has its own outside space, whether a balcony, a garden terrace or a private courtyard. Colour, lots of room to spread out, free-standing tubs and the sort of view Kate Winslet got from the bow of the Titanic are the key characteristics. Cream of the crop is the quartet dubbed "Unique", each with a spiral staircase leading up to a very private rooftop lounge. Flying in the face of convention, there is no minibar, which most hoteliers are taught at birth is a "nice little earner". Instead, fresh tea, coffee or whatever is delivered. And swiftly.

Step forward Tom Hunter, a chef whose twin passions in life - fresh food and Cornwall - make a perfect pairing at The Scarlet's restaurant. Breakfast (including tea from the nearby Tregothnan Estate) segues into lunch (sirloin of Cornish beef), which gives way to afternoon tea (scones and Cornish clotted cream) and, to conclude, dinner (veal from Bocaddon Farm), with "local" and "seasonal" being each meal's leitmotifs. There's an extensive vegetarian menu, and the wine list - all European, some Cornish - is changed with the season. Liberal use is made of sea salt - also Cornish - even to tone down some of the sweeter desserts, such as treacle tart. On which subject, the white chocolate mousse - with honeycomb, pistachio cake, raspberries and natural yogurt sorbet - is sublime.

Depending on their proclivities, guests can borrow a bike, a book, a guitar, a surf board or a pair of Wellingtons; update the graffiti wall; or shoot a few games of pool. But quite the most tempting diversion falls under the heading of health and fitness (or possibly idleness). And it's here that the owners' imagination was given full rein: as well as the regular ayurvedic menu and indoor and outdoor pools, there's a hammam and rhassoul, a brace of log-fired hot tubs, canvas pods to curl up in and an outdoor relaxation area to stretch out in. Bliss.