New hotels in St Ives

St Ives has one of the most static hotel markets of any town this guide covers. Its accommodation is concentrated in long-standing harbourside guesthouses, a handful of independent hotels and, increasingly, short-term holiday lets; no substantial hotel has been built here in decades. The one new project on the horizon is Premier Inn St Ives, a 90-bedroom scheme on Trewidden Road that reached consent only through a planning appeal, over local objection and against the decision of Cornwall Council's own committee. That contest is a large part of the story, and this page treats it as such.

A fishing town that became an art colony

St Ives sits on Cornwall's north coast, its steep, narrow streets and working harbour largely unchanged since it was one of the busiest pilchard-fishing ports in England. From the late 19th century, the quality of light drew a wave of painters and, later, sculptors, establishing what became known as the St Ives School: a legacy the town still trades on, with more galleries per capita than almost anywhere else in the UK.

Tate St Ives and Porthmeor Beach

Tate St Ives, the gallery's outpost on the town's western headland, sits directly above Porthmeor Beach: one of the few art museums anywhere with a functioning surf break at its front door. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, a short walk away in the studio where the sculptor lived and worked, is the other essential stop, with her large-scale bronze and stone pieces set among subtropical planting.

Beaches and the harbour

St Ives has four beaches within walking distance of the town centre, each with a different character: Porthmeor for surfing, Porthminster for calmer family swimming and a well-regarded beach café, and the smaller Harbour Beach and Porthgwidden tucked closer to the old town. The harbour itself, still home to working fishing boats, is the centre of daily life, especially at low tide when boats sit on the sand.

The only new hotel in the pipeline

Premier Inn St Ives would sit on Trewidden Road, on the higher ground above the town beside Trenwith, the largest public car park in St Ives and where most visitors arriving by road leave their vehicles. The consent covers demolition of an existing care home and construction of a 90-bedroom hotel with landscaping, parking and associated infrastructure.

Getting there took two years. Cornwall Council's planning committee refused the scheme in April 2024, a week after the authority's own planning officers had recommended approval. Whitbread appealed, a one-day hearing was held in the town on 19 March 2025, and the Planning Inspectorate published its decision allowing the appeal on 13 May 2025.

Neither side of the argument is trivial. St Ives Town Council said the outcome had failed the community, and objectors have consistently challenged the building's scale on a hillside above a town whose character is its main asset. The case accepted by the inspector is that St Ives has almost no branded, fixed-price hotel stock, in a market where holiday lets have absorbed much of the housing and a summer bed is priced well above the Cornish average. Both positions are on the public record and this guide does not adjudicate between them. Factually, no construction start or opening date has been published, so the current status is a permission rather than a project.

Recent Cornish hotel activity has largely happened in other towns: a 56-bedroom Elysium is due to take over the former Ship and Castle site in St Mawes, and Newquay has seen more turnover in its larger seafront properties than St Ives has in a generation.

Getting there

St Ives is served by its own branch railway, the St Ives Bay Line, which runs along the coast from St Erth on the main Cornish Riviera line: one of Britain's most scenic short train journeys, and the easiest way into town given St Ives' notoriously limited parking.

Frequently asked questions

Is a new hotel opening in St Ives?

One is consented but not built. Premier Inn won a planning appeal on 13 May 2025 for a 90-bedroom hotel on Trewidden Road, beside the Trenwith car park, after Cornwall Council's committee had refused it in April 2024. No construction start or opening date has been announced, so no year is given here.

Why has St Ives had so few new hotels?

The town is small, steep and largely built out, its centre constrained by conservation and by streets laid down for fishing rather than coaches, and much of its housing stock has shifted into short-term holiday lets. The result is a market dominated by long-established guesthouses and independent hotels, with new-build schemes both rare and, as the Premier Inn case showed, contested.

Why was the St Ives Premier Inn controversial?

Objectors, including St Ives Town Council, challenged the scale of a 90-bedroom national-brand hotel on the hillside above the town and criticised an appeal decision that overturned a local refusal. Supporters, including the planning inspector, pointed to the near-absence of branded, fixed-price hotel rooms in a town where holiday lets have pushed summer costs well above the Cornish average.

What is St Ives known for?

Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum, its history as an artists' colony, a working fishing harbour, and beaches, including a surf break right below the main gallery.

Is St Ives good for surfing?

Yes: Porthmeor Beach, directly below Tate St Ives, is the town's main surf beach and one of the more consistent breaks on this stretch of the north Cornish coast.

How do you get to St Ives without a car?

By train, on the St Ives Bay Line branch from St Erth, which connects to the main line from London Paddington. Given how limited parking is, it is the easier arrival even for drivers, who often leave the car at Trenwith or St Erth.

Which St Ives beach is best for families?

Porthminster, on the town's southern side, has calmer water and a well-regarded café, making it the more sheltered option compared to the surf conditions at Porthmeor.