After several years of management problems, we believe that things are changing at The Abbey, and that it is back on track to being one of the most exceptional places to stay in West Country. Jean and Michael Cox took a house with character in the heart of old Penzance (it was built in the mid-17thC and given a Gothic façade in Regency times), decorated and furnished it with unstinting care, great flair and a considerable budget, and they have called it a hotel. In reality, they run it much more as a private house, and visitors who expect to find hosts eager to satisfy their every whim may be disappointed.
  For its fans, the absence of hovering flunkies is of course a key part of the appeal of The Abbey. But there are other attractions - the confident and original decoration, with abundant antiques and bric-a-brac, the spacious, individual bedrooms (one with an enormous pine-panelled bathroom); the welcoming, flowery drawing-room and elegant dining-room (both with log fires burning 'year-round'); the delightful walled garden behind the house. Dinner can be taken at the restaurant next door, holder of a Michelin star. Front rooms overlook the harbour and the dry dock.