Burgh Island Hotel Devon & Cornwall

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Hotel check-out time:

Restaurant

Dress Code

Please wear something glamorous and something that makes your visit special. Black tie and evening dress are absolutely de rigeur for all guests in the Ball Room. If you prefer a less formal evening, please ask to dine in the Captain's Cabin or The Ganges Restaurant, where the dress code is smart but not black tie.

Parking Facilities

There are garages located on the mainland in Bighbury on Sea, accessed by a code.  You will need to call the hotel on approach so that instructions can be given.  This will also allow the hotel drivers time to cross the beach to collect you and your luggage. 

Child Policy

Children over 5 are welcome, there are divan beds in large suites.  They are not allowed in the bar or public areas after 7 pm but may use the Library and can dine in the Captains Cabin.  Additional charges apply, please contact our team for details. 

Other Information

Art Deco

Art Deco Inspiration Burgh Island is widely regarded as one of the foremost places to see and experience Art Deco in Europe.

Art Deco is an influential visual arts design style that takes its name from the important 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes' which took place in Paris in 1925.  It became popular across the globe in the 1920s and '30s.  As a design style Art Deco represented a rejection of the organic, sensous motifs of pre-War Art Nouveau in favour of clean lines and ‘modern', often bright, colours.  It was largely made possible by new manufacturing techniques and increased access of the new middle class to luxury goods.  The boom in cinema audiences spread the message across the globe: glamorous living was accessible and had arrived!

History of the hotel

In the 1890s, the music hall star George H Chirgwin built a prefabricated wooden house on Burgh Island, which was used by guests for weekend parties.

The island was sold in 1927 to the filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold, who built a more substantial hotel in an Art Deco style that was in vogue at the time. By the 1930s Burgh Island had become one of the most popular hotels of it's time. Improvements and additions to the hotel were made during the 1930s, including the addition of The Captain's Cabin, literally the captain's cabin of HMS Ganges, a warship built in 1821 (and the last British wooden flagship in the Royal Navy).

In World War II Burgh Island's convenient seaside location meant the hotel was used as a recovery centre for wounded RAF personnel. During the conflict the top two floors of the hotel were damaged by a bomb and despite being repaired, it suffered a period of post-war decline after being converted to self-catering apartment accommodation. The hotel was restored to its former glory in the first decade of this century and continues to thrive today as a special place to visit.

Today Burgh Island is a Grade II listed building and one of the foremost examples of Art Deco style in Europe. Agatha Christie made Burgh her second home, writing two books while on the Island. Noel Coward stayed on the Island, originally for three days, but this turned into three weeks.

Dogs Policy

Dogs are welcome in the Artist's Studio room only, an additional charge is applicable. Please contact us if you wish to bring a dog and we will be happy to check availability for you.

Dogs are permitted on the main beach at Bigbury-On-Sea from October to April only.