If you are in need of a bit of VIP treatment, I would strongly recommend a stay at Karma St Martins.
We stayed here as a family to celebrate my son's 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago as a guest of my sister, and we were all absolutely blown away by how brilliant it was.
As there was a big group of us we hired a private boat to whisk us from St Mary's to St Martins - and were greeted at the pier by members of the team who carried our bags up to our rooms while we relaxed with a glass of wine and delicious lunch in the restaurant. This included a very posh lunch for our labradoodle, who was lucky enough to try two offers from the special dog menu over the weekend.
The rooms were spacious and well presented, and the beds comfortable - but really the star of the show was the view: white sandy beaches and beautiful turquoise water with other islands, including Tresco, visible in the distance.
On the recommendation of the Karma team, we had an amble around the island on the first day, exploring the local store, bakery and art gallery. The second day we went to Tresco and again enjoyed a long walk around the island, spotting seals and lots of different sea birds before a late lunch and a wander around the abbey gardens.
The weather closed in on the third day, so there was nothing to do but eat, drink, read, and work our way through the huge stack of games in the hotel. We also wandered up to the Seven Stones pub, which is a pleasant and quirky place for a pint and lunch. The remainder of the time we ate at the hotel - they had a varied menu with lots of fish and shellfish options, a great range of wines, and the food was delicious.
I travel a lot for work but have rarely stayed in a place where the staff have got the balance so right between professionalism and friendliness. I think just about every member of staff stopped to have a chat with us at some time during our stay, and nothing was too much trouble.
The whole family has very fond memories of Karma St Martin's and really appreciated the hard work that Scott and the rest of the team put into making our stay so brilliant. I would highly recommend a visit.
