Set within its fortification, the 16th-century star-shaped castle is one of the highest points of the island and so has the best views of the Quay below. It's family-owned and rooms have a country-chic feel to them with plenty of wooden beams and exposed stone walls. There's an indoor heated pool, tennis courts, two restaurants (often serving locally caught crab or lobster on the menu), and an underground bar that once kept prisoners.

Just slightly down the hill from Star Castle is Tregathen's Hotel, where simple but stylish rooms are painted in heritage colours. It's also open to non-guests for lunch, so even if you're not staying here, make sure to visit for lunch as the views from the terrace are fantastic.

What started as a small tea garden 40 years ago, has bloomed into a large cafe as well, that also serves dinner at weekends. To find it, follow the coast path about 15 minutes from Hugh Town and the views from Juliettes' are hard to beat, overlooking Porthloo beach, the bay and other islands. It's classic cafe food – think ploughmans, hefty salads, sandwiches and tortillas and mezze sharing platters.

There's no longer a hotel on Tresco, so accommodation ranges from the self-catering such as the Flying Boat beach-front houses that have their own access to the sandy shores, to traditional stone cottages, or the New Inn pub. After a recent refurb, The New Inn is one of the coolest places to stay in all of the islands. With turquoise accents, well-chosen textiles, seaweed prints and original beams, it's smart and luxuriously while still very relaxed.

With coastal cool interiors and a large terrace, The Flying Boat is a great daytime hangout. The menu is compact with contemporary takes on classics, using the best local produce like the chicken ceasar and smoked bacon toasted sandwich to chalk stream hot smoked trout on sourdough. Finish off with a Scillonian tattie cake – though the actual recipe is a closely guarded secret, it's a sweet cake made with potatoes, currants and dusted in sugar.

Right next to the beach and water, the boutique Karma St Martin's has its own Quay at Lower Town and is the only hotel on this island. Overlooking Tresco and the uninhabited island of Tean, it's a laid back luxurious resort with a spa and is easy walking distance from the island's main centre, Higher Town.

With a pretty garden and greenhouses covered in flowers, it's been a tearoom since the 1950s, so stop off for delicious baked goods, like almond, pecan, orange, and olive cake, a couple of scoops of locally made Moomaid ice cream, or sit-down for a cream tea (remember, it's cream on top). There are also ad-hoc curry nights, which are announced on its website.

Making speciality organic breads, pastries and proper Cornish pasties, sausage rolls, filled rolls and takeaway pizzas made using its own sun dried tomato pizza dough, The Island Bakery is so popular, it sells out quickly, so be sure to get there early. Everything is made on-site that morning and each week there's a guest bread, which could be anything from a walnut loaf to an Irish soda bread.

On the island's rugged west coast Hell Bay Hotel reopened early 2024 after a substantial refurbishment with plenty of Caribbean inspiration, from cool-toned blue hues and contrasting beige and creams. Rooms are spacious and are full of paste colours and pretty patterns.

As part of the Hell Bay Hotel, found in a granite barn and long shared tables, the catch comes from the Pender family, and the menu changes depending on what's caught and the market price. Expect chunky scallops and to dig into cracking your own crab and round it off with some Cornish cheese. It gets very busy here, so booking ahead is essential.

There's no hotels or guesthouses on the St. Agnes island, but there's Troytown Campsite & Bell Tent and a few self-catering properties in traditional stone cottages.

This family run pub is right on the water's edge and overlooks the Porth Congor Quay and Gugh island. It's been running since the 1970s and claims the title as the mostly south westerly pub in the UK and is full of history and maritime tales. The food is fish and chips, a crab roll or a classic cheese ploughmans.