Dezeen Magazine

Hotel room overlooking the sea

Ten coastal hotel rooms with calming sea views

For our latest lookbook, we have rounded up 10 hotel rooms and holiday homes on the coast that provide unspoiled views of the surrounding seas and oceans.

From beachside retreats in Tulum to guesthouses dotted along rugged patches of Icelandic shoreline, these hotel rooms are designed to make the most of their coastal locations.

As well as offering a contemplative place to watch calming waves, many show how ocean or sandy hues can be incorporated into an interior space and how water can act as a source of inspiration.

This is the latest in our series of Dezeen Lookbooks series providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing homes with terrazzo floors, retro eateries and kitchens with bright white interiors.


Barefoot Luxury hotel in Cape Verde by Polo Architects and Going East
Photo is by Francisco Nogueira

Barefoot Luxury, Cape Verde, by Polo Architects and Going East

Belgian studio Polo Architects and Going East matched bumpy stone walls with sandy-hued interiors to embed this cluster of guest villas within Cape Verde's jagged terrain.

Drawing on the textures and tones of the surrounding landscape, the studios filled the hotel with shades of brown, ochre, red while floor-to-ceiling glass doors provide views onto the deep blue Atlantic ocean on right on its doorstep.

Find out more about  Barefoot Luxury ›


Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella
Photo is by Thibaut Dini

Casa Santa Teresa, Corsica, by Amelia Tavella Architects

French studio Amelia Tavella Architects transformed a ruined Corsica residence into a breezy home for holiday-makers by using simple, comfortable furnishings.

An outdoor terrace that runs along the outside of its bedrooms has unspoiled vistas of the Route des Sanguinaires on the Gulf of Ajaccio – a rugged strip of coastline dotted with villas and upscale hotels.

Find out more about Casa Santa Teresa ›


Marram Hotel by Bridgeton and Studio Tack
Photo is by Read McKendree

Marram Hotel, US, by Bridgeton and Studio Tack

The 96 rooms in this Montauk hotel overlook a freshwater pool and, a little further in the distance, the Atlantic Ocean and New York's Long Island can be spotted.

Hospitality company Bridgeton and Studio Tack chose interiors and materials that evoke the wild grass and sandy dunes that the building sits atop.

Find out more about Marram Hotel ›


Hotel San Cristobal by Lake Flato
Photo is by Nick Simonite

Hotel San Cristóbal, Mexico, by Lake Flato

Whitewashed walls give this Mexican hotel a bright and airy feel that matches its sunny beachside location as well as providing the backdrops for cacti and frame ocean views.

Austin architecture studio Lake Flato aimed to use the natural surroundings to create a laid-back atmosphere Most rooms open onto their own outdoor spaces, with patterned tiled floors matching the bathroom surfaces.

Find out more about Hotel San Cristóbal ›


Monte Uzulu hotel
Photo is by Elke Frotscher

Monte Uzulu, Mexico, by Taller Lu'um and At-te

Situated in a small fishing village on the beach of San Agustinillo, Mexico, Monte Uzulu is just a short walk away from the Pacific Ocean. All 12 suites have a terrace that overlooks the forest and ocean.

Mexican studios Taller Lu'um and At-te designed the boutique hotel to showcase local craft with earthen walls, doors made from local wood and a thatched roof.

Find out more about Monte Uzulu ›


Casa Xixim by Specht Architects
Photo is by Taggart Sorensen

Casa Xixim, Mexico, by Specht Architects

Bedrooms inside this villa hotel in the Mexican resort of Tulum spill out onto expansive terraces overlooking a nearby mangrove marsh and beach.

Conscious of its position on a protected bay, New York studio Specht Architects designed it to be fully self-sufficient and to work in unison with its unique site.

Find out more about Casa Xixim ›


Palm Heights Grand Cayman by Gabriella Khalil
Photo is by Brooke Shanesy

Palm Heights, Caribbean, by Gabriella Khalil

The same sunny yellows and bright blues that recall the Caribbean seaside run throughout the rooms in this hotel designed by Gabriella Khalil.

Each suite in the boutique hotels opens onto a balcony at the back of the property, where visitors can enjoy the sea views.

Find out more about Grand Cayman beach hotel ›


Olea Hotel by Block722 Architects
Photo courtesy of Block722 Architects

Olea Hotel, Greece, by Block722 Architects

Every room in this coastal hotel is set within a rectilinear volume and fronted by large windows, which frame different views of the pool, gardens, or distant Ionian Sea.

Athens-based practice Block722 Architects wanted to blend the lodging into the natural Grecian landscape by using earth-hued linens, light timber furnishings and offcuts of wood.

Find out more about Olea Hotel ›


Wood-lined bedroom overlooking Icelandic nature reserve
Photo is by Giovanni De Roia

Guesthouse Nýp, Iceland, by Studio Bua

This cosy bed and breakfast is located on Iceland's west coast, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Breiðafjörður Nature Reserve – a place remarkable for its extreme weather conditions.

A corrugated metal skin and an extension that houses three guest suites are some of several changes that Studio Bua made in its renovation of Guesthouse Nýp. From these suites, guests can look out onto patches of shallow seas, small fjords and bays.

Find out more about Guesthouse Nýp ›


Black H house bedroom
Photo by Felix Mooneeram

Harlosh, Scotland, by Dualchas Architects

Tasked with enhancing the way guests experience the surrounding scenery, Dualchas Architects decided to incorporate floor-to-ceiling windows on both ends of the building, which is perched on a peninsula in the northwest of the Isle of Skye.

A pair of terraces as the front and rear of the building can be used by guests looking to catch the sunrise and sunset, or simply take in the grasslands, sea lochs and inlets that characterise the area.

Find out more about Harlosh ›

This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing modernist living rooms, kitchen extensions and homes designed by architects and designers.