One of a kind rooms

THE R.J. MITCHELL ROOM

R.J. MITCHELL
1895–1937

Beautifully restored in 2019, this room is named after Reginald, a progeny in the world of aeronautics. At just 22 he joined the Supermarine Aviation Works as Chief Designer. By 24, he was Chief Engineer; at 31 Techinical Director. In the ’30s Mitchell used Burgh Island as a retreat during his battle with cancer. It is said that his Spitfire was inspired by a seagull’s flight.
AGATHA’ S BEACH HOUSE

AGATHA CHRISTIE
1890–1976

Surely one of the sexiest hotel rooms in the UK. The Beach House was first built in the ’30s as a writer’s retreat for Agatha Christie. Here, Mrs Christie wrote her two novels set on the Island (‘Evil Under the Sun’ and ‘And Then There Were None’). The Beach House is now a sophisticated and modern beach retreat perfect for luxury romantic getaways or unforgettable Family adventures.
THE CUNARD
ROOM

NANCY CUNARD
1896–1965

Nancy Cunard’s mother was a friend of Wallis Simpson and through her, Nancy might have discovered peace at Burgh Island that her life in Paris and London could not offer. A ’20s wild child with truly intellectual leanings, Nancy had numerous bohemian affairs: she was muse to every left-leaning poet, writer or artist to throng around cafés or postwar Paris.
THE BENTLEY ROOM

W.O. BENTLEY
1888–1971

Carefully yet lavishly updated in 2019, this room is named after ‘W.O.’, who in 1920 designed and built a high-tech four-cylinder engine and stylish chassis – his Bentley 3 Litre. The car was a breakthrough for the Fast Set, matching durability with pizzazz when it won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1924. Archie Nettlefold owned three and garaged one always on Burgh Island.
THE CHRISTIE ROOM

AGATHA CHRISTIE
1890–1976

‘The Queen of Crime’ needs no background synopsis. Agatha met Archie Nettlefold through his financial backing of a number of London stage productions. The original Beach House (re-imagine in 2008) was built for Agatha to write in, and her home, Greenway, is just a short day trip from Burgh Island.
THE CHIRGWIN ROOM

GEORGE CHIRGWIN
1854–1922

The world of Victorian music hall was a competitive place and this may explain George Chirgwin’s bizarre guise as a black-faced minstrel. Billing himself as ‘the white-eyed kaffir’ Chirgwin had worked his routine since childhood, in an act that mixed sentimental songs, wisecracking comedy, costume and make-up.
THE TONY & B SUITE

TONY AND BEATRICE PORTER

In the 1960’s this was the games room of the hotel. It was piled high with a jukebox, table football, cigarette machine and pool table. It’s come a long way – now the largest suite in the hotel with a large private garden, and renovated in 2004 to a classic art deco style.
THE ARTIST’S STUDIO

JOSEPH TURNER
1775–1851

The room above The Pilchard Inn was converted to create our bohemian studio apartment. Named after Turner, who in 1812 was cast ashore during rough weather and ‘with a pencil, clambered nearly to the summit of the Island’ to sketch its wildness.
THE HOPE SUITE

HOPE COVE

Looking towards nearby Hope Cove, with memories of the lights of shore at the end of a long sea voyage. Hope Cove is a local beauty spot for sailors and walkers alike. After the Spanish Armada was defeated their ships battled through stormy seas past the cove with one ship being blown onto the rocks.
THE NETTLEFOLD SUITE

ARCHIE NETTLEFOLD
1870–1944

Lovingly and sumptuously updated in 2019, the Nettlefold Suite is named after ‘Uncle’ Archie Nettlefold who was the first owner of the hotel in its present form. He is a man of mystery, with few images remaining and less still known about his private life. It is to him that we owe our iconic modern vision on the seaside. From a successful industrialist family, Archie’s ‘proper’ job was to dabble in the financing of plays, horror films and even expeditions to Everest.
THE NOEL COWARD SUITE

NOEL COWARD
1899–1973

Nicknamed ‘The Master’ because of his wit and deft writing some of the most successful songs and plays of the period, Noël began performing at the age of seven, adoring songs, music and his mother. Noël was invited to Burgh Island for the weekend by Archie Nettlefold in the late ’20s and reputedly loved it so much he stayed for three weeks… who knows whether Room with a View was written here?
THE FORMBY
SUITE

GEORGE FORMBY
1904–1961

Over a 40 year career, George Formby appeared in 21 hit films, made 230 records, hundreds of stage performances, two Royal Command Performances and entertained an estimated 3 million Allied servicemen and women during WWII. Burgh Island guests didn’t know what to make of the cheeky Northern chappie who proudly picnicked on Bigbury Beach.
THE GERTIE LAWRENCE ROOM

GERTIE LAWRENCE
1898–1952

‘I am not what you’d call wonderfully talented, but I am light on my feet and I do make the best of things.’ So said Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Klasen with cute understatement. At tehn Gertie met a boy named Noël Coward, who wrote, ‘she gave me an orange and told me a few mildly dirty stories, and I loved her from then onwards.’
THE JESSIE MATTHEWS ROOM

JESSIE MATTHEWS
1907–1981

Another of the beautiful, self-made celebrities who designed our corridors, A gamine, graceful dancer, with a warbling voice, and waif-like sex appeal – the embodiment of ’30s style. She looked as good in a chiffon tea dress as a DJ, dressed as a boy. Jessie worked at elocution lessons to create her trademark plummy accent.
THE ODEON ROOM

OSCAR DEUTSCHE
1893–1941

Oscar Deutsche, the chain’s founder, claimed that ‘Odeon’ was an acronym for ‘Oscar Deutsche Entertains Our Nation’. Tapping into the Art Deco zeitgeist, by 1937 there were 250 Odeon cinemas in Britain. Just before the outbreak of WWII, Oscar, his wife Lily and their companion, WW1 fighter ace Sol Joseph, travelled to Burgh Island in Sol’s Ford V8 Pilot.
THE AMY JOHNSON SUITE

AMY JOHNSON
1903–1941

A smart, good-looking cookie, Amy moved to London after graduation from the University of Sheffield. She began flying in 1928. At first titillated by the thought of a woman aviator, the public soon took her seriously when, after just two years’ training, Amy became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia.
THE JOSEPHINE BAKER ROOM

JOSEPHINE BAKER
1906–1985

The chorus girl took the swiftest route she could from her basic beginnings, dancing and performing vaudeville, to New York City and thence Paris. She was gorgeous; Hemingway called her ‘the most sensational woman anyone ever saw’, and she was soon the lead and the star of the show, billed as the ‘highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville’.
THE FRUITY METCALFE ROOM

MAJOR EDWARD METCALFE
1887–1957

How did Major Edward Dudley (‘Fruity’) Metcalfe acquire his moniker? The aide-de-camp to Edward, Prince of Wales, ‘Fruity’ was a brick. Escorting the Prince through Europe and on frequent trips to Burgh Island, Fruity was constantly touched for the odd fiver, or to ease the Prince’s travels by greasing the hand of an official, a husband (or two).
THE MALCOLM CAMPBELL ROOM

MALCOLM CAMPBELL
1885–1948

Pushing his vehicles to their limits, Campbell is best remembered for his records: in 1924, at Pendine Sands, he achieved the record for the two-way kilometre at 146.16 mph; in 1925 it rose to 150.766 mph, with Campbell becoming the first driver to exceed 150 mph.
THE MOUNTBATTEN ROOM

LORD LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN
1900–1979

Louis Mountbatten of Burma accompanied Edward then Prince of Wales, on a 1922 royal tour of India, and the pair emerged as great chums, although relations with Wallis Simpson were frosty and their friendship hit a low during the abdication crisis in 1936.
THE EDDYSTONE
SUITE

EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE

Position 50°10’47.99”N 04°15’53.99”W; height 49 metres; range 31km; intensity 26,200 candela. Subsidiary fixed red light covers a 17° arc marking the ‘Hands Deep’ reef. The original lighthouse was established in 1703 and its Victorian progeny stands 14 miles out from Plymouth Breakwater. It is visible from the island tonight.
THE AVON SUITE

THE AVON RIVER

Generically ‘the river’, our particular Avon flows through the nearby village of Bantham into the sea just opposite the island. The beach is one of the top surfing destinations in the UK and dolphins are attracted to its shallow, warm waters. We popped a picture of Clarissa, Countess of Avon and widow of Anthony Eden, on the door just because she’s rather lovely.
THE JANE MARPLE ROOM

MISS MARPLE

One of Agatha’s best loved characters, Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in a village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Her first appearance was in a short story published in December 1927, ‘The Tuesday Night Club’.
THE HERCULE POIROT ROOM

HERCULE POIROT

Hercule Poirot is the impeccably neat, moustachioed Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie’s most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play, and more than 50 short stories.
THE MERMAID SUITE

MERMAID POOL VIEWS

In May and October we entertain dolphins in the bay, so why not mermaid and mermen? You can check from the windows of this suite, overlooking the Mermaid Pool and, if you see one and can prove it, claim your free ‘Mermaid’s Kiss’.