MARCH 2020 T3 21Travel
TRAVEL
BEAUTY TECHSEA HERE
HEAD TO THE COAST
Tamara Hinson checks out the coolest and cosiest coastal crash pads
to hide out in until the brighter days of spring (finally) arriveIf humans hibernated, we guarantee the
Fairmont St Andrews (from £189 per night,
fairmont.com/st-andrews-scotland), with its
gorgeously cosy rooms and spectacular
views over the North Sea, would top the list
of most coveted rural retreats. The sheer
size of the resort, sat at the heart of a
520-acre estate, makes it the ideal getaway
for all types of traveller; snuggle up with a
good book in one of the beautiful
bedrooms, or brave the great outdoors and
sign up for golf sessions, blustery coastal
walks or visits to the nearby Isle of May.
At the other end of the size scale,
consider the Ship at Dunwich (from £110 per
night, shipatdunwich.co.uk), a pretty
16-bedoom boutique hotel near Southwold,
Suffolk, for proof that the best things really
do come in small packages. This historic
property, refurbished in 2019, is just metres
from the rugged Suffolk coastline, along
with the crumbling ruins of an ancient
monastery. In-room amenities include White
Company toiletries and decanters of sloe gin.
2020 marks the 100th anniversary of
prohibition across the pond, and Durham’s
five-star Seaham Hall (from £195 per night,
seaham-hall.co.uk) had an important role to
play during America’s dry days. What is now
the hotel’s wine cellar was once a smuggling
den – thousands of gallons of Spey whisky
started their illegal journey across the
Atlantic from this very spot, a reminder of
which is the smugglers’ tunnel in the cellar.
You’ll find the property, a beautifully-
restored Georgian country pile, perched on
the Durham Heritage Coast, making it the
ideal base for wind-blown explorations of
this beautiful stretch of coastline.
Finally, consider spending a night or two
at North Norfolk’s Victoria Inn (from £130
per night, holkham.co.uk) where you can
gorge on delicious, freshly-caught seafood
and opulent afternoon teas, before
offsetting the damage with bracing seaside
walks and forays to the pretty villages
dotting Norfolk’s wave-bashed coastline.
The food is the highlight at this hotel,
whether it’s venison, courtesy of the herd
of fallow deer living on the Holkham Hall
Estate, or shellfish and samphire plucked
straight from the ocean.QUIP ELECTRIC
TOOTHBRUSH
This subscription-style
service that starts with
an electric toothbrush,
toothpaste and floss, sold
as part of a plan which sees
replacement brush heads,
batteries, floss refill and
toothpaste shipped to your
door every three months,
ready for your next trip away.
From £19, getquip.comBONECO TRAVEL
COOL MIST
HUMIDIFIER
Make
dank,
stuffy hotel
rooms a
thing of
the past
with this
travel-
sized
humidifier, designed to slip
easily into the smallest of
suitcases. A 110-240V AC/DC
adapter and interchangeable
power plugs make upgrading
your air even easier.
£25, amazon.co.ukT3 FEATHERWEIGHT
COMPACT HAIR
DRYER
No relation.
This compact
travel-friendly
hair dryer uses
ion-enriched
air to quickly
dry your hair,
speeding up
your time
getting ready for another day
trip. It weighs a mere 575g
and is ultra-quiet, so if you’re
bunking with buddies they
won’t be disturbed.
£125, t3haircare.co.ukIMAGE^SOURCE:^ QUIPIMAGE^SOURCE:^ AMAZONIMAGE^SOURCE:^ T3IMAGE^SOURCE:^ FAIRMONTST^ ANDREWS