Clifftops Press and Travel Reviews

British Travel Journal

Article: 6 of the UK’s most distinctive boutique stays in 2021

“British Travel Journal Top Tip: Go alfresco and book Ope – the largest lodge and only one to have an outdoor hot tub, and kitchen which continues through the Portland Stone and out onto the patio for outside entertainment. Open the sliding kitchen window and wander in and out to prepare dinner on a warm summer’s evening while enjoying the views over Rufus Castle and the sea. Located directly above Church Ope Cove, once the hub of the Island, with two Castles, an historic Church and history that includes the first Viking landing in England and local smugglers.”

Architects’ Journal

Article: Morrow + Lorraine completes holiday lodges ‘hewn’ from Dorset cliff-edge

The stone walls that run through the development divide one lodge from another like groin walls on a beach, each rotating 3 degrees from the next. This means every pane of glass is set at a different angle, offering expansive sea views, but breaking up and reducing any distracting reflections for boats out at sea. Inside, smoother cut exposed stone is used, the surfaces textured by fossilised sea creatures. This is complemented by oak joinery and wall panelling, minimally detailed, to add warmth to the spaces, with fit-outs varying in each lodge.

DEZEEN

Article: Morrow and Lorraine complete Clifftops luxury lodges on England’s Jurassic Coast

“Taken in tandem with the extreme sensitivity of the setting, a clear design concept emerged: the building should appear hewn from the ground, rather than built upon it,” said the architecture studio”.

The Telegraph Travel

Article:  Bold Steps in Hardy Country

“Reaching the Coast, I looked back towards the hillside to see Clifftops where I spent the night.  This ambitious £4.5m project has seen five ultra- modern lodges built into the cliff edge…….Dorset finds itself back in the spotlight……..Dorset’s bold, new seaside bolt holes……”

THE SPACES

Article: Dorset’s craggy coastline inspires The Clifftops Villas

“A wild hermitage embedded in the hillside…..English Heritage, who called for ‘something craggy and unobtrusive, subtly and wittily appearing to be a part of the quarry, for instance in the spirit of a wild hermitage as it were designed by an eccentric 18th-century nobleman’

Stylist Magazine

Article: The best UK staycations for October: 5 destinations to visit according to our travel editor

“On the coast, the brand new Clifftops at the Pennsylvania Castle Estate look set to be the sought-after lodges of the season. Carved into the stone cliffs, the Scandi-inspired lodges are so inspired by nature, you’ll even find fossilised sea creatures captured in the rough-hewn walls.” 

Architecture Today

Article: Morrow + Lorraine carves luxury holiday villas into Dorset’s Jurassic Coast

“Their half-buried forms, with two levels stepped into the cliff, are designed to minimise their visual impact on the the Grade II-listed Pennsylvania Castle that stands above…..Inside, the stonework is refined to reveal its delicate strata and paired with oak joinery and panelling that lends a warmth to the crisp lines of the living spaces. Abundant glazing floods the interior with natural light and ensure each room its own sea view.”

Wallpaper

Article: Masterwork architectural villas

“Architectural Villas offer incentive to travel from your sofa….The plot, nestled into a cliffside that overlooks the English Channel, inspired the design team to create a calming, minimalist interior that focuses on the landscape and views”

BouTique Handbook

Article: Most Exciting Hotels Opening 2021

One of the most on-trend places to stay in Dorset right now, these luxury lodges are literally carved into the clif

Financial Times

Article:  How to Spend It

“Clifftops is situated at the edge of the Pennsylvania Castle Estate and marks an ambitious ramping up of the hospitality offering here. ……”

The Telegraph

Article:  Staycation with Style

“These lodges go beyond your usual clifftop accommodation.  All five of them, designed by Morrow + Lorraine Architects, are carved into Portland’s stone Cliffs, on the edge of Pennsylvania Castle Estate, so much a part of the Jurassic Coast’s shoreline that your find fossilised creatures from the sea in rough-hewn walls.” 

Vogue

Article:  Travel (re Film Ammonite released early 2021)

“Expect tourism to Lyme Regis to boom when Francis Lee’s Ammonite hits cinemas in early 2021. Get ahead of the crowds by booking into Clifftops, opening this month on the Isle of Portland. Each of its five private residences has a different theme: Blue boasts panoramic views of the ocean, where dolphins are frequently visible among the waves, while Silva, named after the Latin word for forest, overlooks banks of coastal wildflowers. Our personal favourite: Stone, with walls containing ancient fossils – the perfect spot to reread John Fowles’s French Lieutenant’s Woman“.

Luxurious Magazine

Article: In Conversation with Jo Peters, Estate Director at Pennsylvania Castle Estate

Simon Wittenberg speaks to Jo about what makes this location so unique, as well as the launch of the new luxury Clifftops development.

condE Nast Traveller

Article: 21 Places to Go in 2021

“Further down the South West Coast Path, near Dorset, Clifftops is luring ramblers off-trail. Its five lodges overlook the World Heritage–listed Jurassic Coast and have Scandinavian-inspired interiors that keep the focus on those jaw-dropping views of the English Channel”.