Luxury hotel owner offers to foot British tourists’ petrol bills

A luxury hotel in Cornwall will pay for a portion of guests’ petrol this summer as fuel costs rise across the country.

St Moritz Hotel in Trebetherick, Cornwall, is offering to cover 15 per cent of the fuel bill to get British travellers to the destination.

The hotel said: “Fuel prices have jumped around 15 per cent across the UK, and while we can’t fix the economy, we can fix the bit that gets you to the Cornish coast. So we’re doing what airlines won’t: covering the fuel surcharge.”

Conflict in the Middle East has lifted UK inflation to its highest since December after a sharp jump in diesel and petrol prices.

The Office for National Statistics found that the average price of petrol rose by 8.6p per litre between February and March to 140.2p per litre. This marked the highest price since August 2024.

Guests who booked a stay before 12 April for travel until 1 July are eligible for the “straight, grown-up, Cornish solution.”

A postcode-based discount for drivers will then be calculated based on the day’s average UK miles per gallon and fuel prices.

According to the hotel, travellers will arrive “smug, sun‑seeking, and already saving. Exactly how a holiday should start”.

It added that hotel owners are stepping in because “Cornwall isn’t exactly a quick hop on the Tube”.

Hugh Ridgway, co-founder of St Moritz Hotel, told the Daily Mail: “We were very aware of the problems with aviation and that fuel surcharges would be coming down the track. We thought about our own customers, knowing that they drive to us, and we decided to pay for the uplift in fuel.”

He added, “It takes effort. People have to get into their cars, and if we can help them to get down here, we will, because we know they'll have an absolutely fabulous holiday. It's just about doing something to try and help our customers.”

Read more: How much the Iran war is likely to add to your holiday