Shore Hotel Laxey

The Shore stands on Old Laxey Hill, a long white building under a grey slate roof with a glazed frontage running almost its full length. Someone has taken an old hillside hotel and made it thoroughly contemporary, and the contrast with the harbour cottages around it is half the appeal.

Coming up from the road you meet a timber-posted canopy across the front and, behind a glass balustrade, a raised terrace with wooden chairs turned to face the wooded valley. A single carved sign over the entrance is all the announcement it makes. The ground climbs into trees behind.

Behind the long glass front

The ground floor reads as one bright connected space. There is a bar with a white counter and glasses racked overhead, a dining room framed by pale timber posts, and a lounge that pulls in light from every side. One dining area is built around a fireplace. Coffee machines sit in the rooms as well as behind the bar.

Rooms over the rooftops

Bedrooms are calm and modern: deep carpet, upholstered headboards, dark timber cabinetry, and wide windows looking across village roofs to the slope beyond. Several sit under the roof with sloped ceilings, while the larger ones add a sofa and a seating corner. Doubles, twins and family rooms are all in the mix. The bathrooms are the strong suit, with freestanding oval baths, walk-in showers, heated rails and bathrobes hung ready. A lift reaches the upper floors and one twin is arranged for wheelchair access.

Down at the harbour

Laxey Beach and the harbour lie a short stroll downhill, and Laxey gives you the glen, the electric railway and the great waterwheel above the village.

Who it suits

Couples who want a proper bath and dinner without getting back in the car, and families who need a room with a sofa bed in it.