Hotels In Lake District

North Lakes Hotel and Spa is a purpose built modern luxury hotel in the Lake District near Penrith in the northern reaches of Cumbria. As one of the top hotels in the Lake District, it combines flawlessly furnished bedrooms with a relaxed atmosphere. The building was constructed in 1985 with modern interior design uppermost.

The hotel is operated by Shire Hotels, a specialist hotel company, with resident manager Anthony Penny always on hand to supervise every detail of the operation. The modern building design provides spacious rooms and wide windows providing natural light. When I visit, I take one of the Executive four-poster rooms, but there is a variety of styles and of rooms or suites to choose from. The Spa is particularly invigorating with a well-equipped gym next to the whirlpool and steam room.

In The Martindale Restaurant, dining is treated as an experience to be enjoyed to the full, with chef de cuisine Douglas serving classical and modern dishes emphasising local produce, prepared to the highest of standards with flair and imagination. Rene, the restaurant manager, compliments the cuisine with an extensive wine list, from a burgeoning cellar.

The Derwentwater Hotel is a classic country house hotel of the Lake District set in 16 acres of conservation grounds with fantastic views of the lake. As one of the top hotels in Lake District, it combines delightfully furnished bedrooms with an ambience of relaxation. The original Edwardian country house has been extensively refurbished to provide accommodation, which is supremely comfortable without being pretentious. The building has large airy rooms and large windows providing natural light.

The Deer’s Leap Restaurant provides a variety of classical and modern cuisine emphasising local produce, prepared to the highest of standards with flair and imagination.

Swinside Lodge Country House Hotel is a most elegant Georgian house, a listed building, still retaining many of its original features, set in its own gardens situated at the foot of Cat Bells in the beautiful Newlands Valley. I was very much impressed by the stylish furniture and sophisticated decoration, with individual touches such as fresh cut flowers in the lounges and individually styled room furnishings.

Each bedroom has a view towards either Cat Bells, Causey Pike or Skiddaw and Blencathra mountains. The landscaped gardens are particularly fine despite the attention of some the ubiquitous birds, red squirrels, hares and tame resident pheasants, which parade around the grounds!

The lounges are period style yet comfortably modern and have wi-fi access and all modern amenities. Clive, the head chef, personally supervises the restaurant, where he creates a selection of dishes worthy of the finest gourmet establishments. If you come late in the year you can take advantage of the local game. All other meat products come from the adjoining farm.  The cuisine, accompanied by an excellent wine list, and the sumptuous accommodation, make Swinside Lodge one of the top hotels in Lake District.

Crow Park Hotel is a purpose built modern luxury hotel in the Lake District, overlooking the beautiful Hope and Crow Parks, with spectacular views across Derwentwater to Catbells and the Derwent fells. As a top Lake District hotel, it combines modern, well-designed bedrooms with a totally relaxed atmosphere. The modern building design provides spacious rooms and broad windows providing natural light to take in the views of Catbells and the fells.

The last time I visited, I took one of the ‘Superior rooms’ although that description could well apply to all the rooms at Crow Park. In the dining room, you’ll find a range of classical and modern dishes emphasising local produce, prepared to the highest of standards. I found the wine list to be particularly good and quite extensive.

And, as an added bonus, if you’re interested in modern theatre, you’ll enjoy the Keswick Theatre by The Lake, just a few minutes’ walk away, with an eclectic program which changes regularly.

Appleby Manor Country House Hotel is the ideal place for a combination of luxurious accommodation and an exceptional dining experience. You can find it within the Eden Valley on the edge of the Lake District, surrounded by the magnificent fells of the North Pennines and close to the Yorkshire Dales.

Originally a Victorian mansion, as can be seen from the stupendous architecture, the interior of the house has been converted to a luxury residence. The accommodation consists of thirty seven or so superbly decorated bedrooms and suites. When I was there recently, I took the Heelis suite, with a large bay window with a spectacular view of the fells.

Next time, I’ll try the garden wing where the ground floor rooms have their own patio and garden furniture. The Spa Bath and Sauna area is filled with natural light.

In the relaxing and elegant lounges, you can relax by open log fires, while the award winning gardens are a delight to behold in the spring and summer. In the Oak Room Restaurant, the head chef personally supervises the menu and creates exquisite dishes from locally sourced ingredients. I particularly enjoyed the extensive wine list, which, together with the high standards of service and the breathtaking surroundings, made me decide to stay for a few extra days.

Rothay Manor is a most elegant Georgian house, a listed building, still retaining its original features, only a few minutes from Ambleside in the Lake District. I was very much impressed by the period furniture and sophisticated decoration, with individual touches such as fresh cut flowers and individual style room furnishings. There are 20 or so rooms or suites available for individuals, couples or families. You can ask for one of the rooms with a view over the garden to Wansfell, or take one of those that are set in the landscaped gardens.

The gardens are particularly well kept despite the attention of some small roe deer, which occasionally intrude into the grounds. I particularly like the gracious lounges, with a relaxed atmosphere and a standard of service that you would expect from a first class big city hotel, not necessarily from hotels in Lake District. The lounges are period style yet comfortably modern and have wi-fi access and modern amenities. The hotel restaurant has an excellent international cuisine, with freshly prepared dishes complemented by an extensive wine list.

The Cedar Manor Hotel & Restaurant is the place to be for complete elegance. You will find it on the outskirts of Windermere; a few minutes walk from the lake, set in some of the finest scenery in the Lake District.

It was built in mid nineteenth century as a private country house retreat, and still retains the atmosphere of that stylish period. The accommodation consists of eleven individually designed ensuite rooms or suites, each characterised with its own unique features.

The last time I was there, I took the Orrest Head Suite, which has a separate sitting room and a sumptuous spa bath. Most rooms afford dramatic views of Lake Windermere and the Langdale Pikes or the hotel’s walled gardens with the ancient cedar tree after which the hotel is named.

Roger, the head chef, personally supervises the candlelit restaurant, where he creates a selection of dishes that have made him legendry in the locality. The cuisine, accompanied by an excellent wine list, and the sumptuous accommodation make Cedar Manor one of the finest locations in the Lake District.

These are just two of the great hotels in the Lake District.  There are others n the area and I will tell you about them soon!

Gilpin Lodge is one of those high-quality hotels in Lake District which has garnered 111 excellent reviews and 15 very good reviews on trip advisor.com (out of a total of 135 reviews). Typical comments include “I’ve just stayed at Gilpin for two days and it was delightful. All the staff were very friendly indeed, extremely polite and very helpful. We stayed in a room called Patterdale, it was superb and food was exquisite. Highly recommended… A real treat.”

The next review about this high quality member of the hotels in Lake District “exclusive club” says that Gilpin Lodge was even more delightful than expected – the couple concerned reported that they had stayed for a weekend break, and they couldn’t have been more delighted with the experience. They described the hotel as stylish and quirky, with a very high standard of finish throughout. This hotel in the Lake District certainly leads the way in high standards of accommodation: these guests stayed in the room called Kentmere, which they described as being well appointed and spotlessly clean.

As this hotel in the Lake District is one of the members of the Relais et Chateaux Group one would expect certain standards, but these guests emphasise that the standard of maintenance and attention to detail is not only claimed but achieved. This attentiont to details reflected in the thoughtful and considerate touches such as providing decent books and magazines, fresh milk for making tea and coffee in the bedrooms, and the small private patio area outside each room which acts as a lovely sitting place overlooking the delights of this hotel in Lake District.

These guests also mention that the restaurant was very impressive indeed, and that there was an excellent range of local food which had been cooked in an imaginative way. They also observed that the service was extremely attentive but  never overbearing, and that even though the hotel was full, there were enough staff to attend to all the guests’ needs.

If you visit this luxury Lake District hotel’s own website, you will find even more information about this extraordinary small hotel (on eof only a few hotels in Lake District). It’s been owned by the same family for 21 years, and in 2010 was awarded the best small hotel in the national tourism awards by Visit England. Their own description of their Lakes luxury hotel is that it is “one of the finest luxury hotels in the Lake District”, but they suggest that rather than taking their word for it, you should decide for yourself.

Gilpin Lodge – a hotel ideally situated in the Lakes- has a website which allows you to explore every room in great detail, showing you how they’ve been designed and maintained without compromise on quality: where else would you find hotels in the Lake District which have patio doors on every room leading onto the gardens with a spa bath or a hot tub?

While it does seem to be true that Gilpin has lost its Michelin Star for food, the restaurant still has three Red Rosettes from the AA, and you can certainly have an amazing dining experience. Although dinner is not mandatory, most of the guests actually do choose to dine there every night, because there are so many variations to be experienced. While there is one restaurant, there are four dining rooms at Gilpin Lodge, each of which has its own distinct character and style. The food could be described as classically based with a modern twist, with emphasis on using in the hotel all the Lake District local produce that is available. The chef manages to produce an imaginative yet sensible menu, and food is prepared and served with a great deal of attention to detail and care for the flavours. The great news for non-residents is that the dining room is open to non-residents for all meals, breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.

Lake District Hotels

According to latest statistics, approximately 15.5 million people a year are visiting the Lake District, with about 33% of them staying for at least one night and the other 67% enjoying day trips.

Although around 20,000 full-time jobs are directly dependent on tourism, the summer season employment which can be attributed to tourism is around twice this number. This includes hotel staff, shop assistants, restaurant staff and so on.
Of the annual tourist economy in the Lake District, conservatively estimated as approaching £10 million a year, 40% is attributable to visitors staying in Lake District hotel or other accommodation. Self catering holiday makers generate around 30% of the revenue in the area.

Of the total revenue generated, 20% is spent on all types of holiday accommodation, 28% is accounted for by the direct costs of running the lakes bsuinesses,  and 29% is down to the consumption of food drink transport and attractions fees.

It’s impossible to know how many  there are hotels are in the Lake District as there seems to be no defined record of this, but combining hotels and guesthouses or bed-and-breakfast estimates suggests that there must be several thousand properties available for accommodation for visitors.

Lake District hotels certainly range from the most luxurious five-star establishments with Michelin starred restaurants to cheap and cheerful budget hotels suitable for all the family, and youth hostels which offer the cheapest option of all apart from camping.

There have been notable improvements in the quality of Lake District hotels recently, often following on the heels of investment by the larger groups of family-owned hotels, among which we can mention Lake District Hotels who own a very special selection of six hotels ranging from a traditional coaching inn to a luxury Lake District hotel on the Lakeshore of Windermere. Their hotels are the Lodore Falls Hotel in Borrowdale, the Borrowdale Hotel, the Skiddaw Hotel, the George Hotel in Penrith and a delightful traditional coaching inn known as the Kings Arms Hotel, located in the main street of Keswick. The final property owned by this enterprising group is the Inn On The Lake, that is to say the hotel at Ullswater, in Glenridding village.

Another honourable mention goes to English Lakes Hotels, who have the distinction of owning five four-star properties ranging from a 111 bedroom hotel at Low Wood Bay on the shores of Windermere, through the modern hotel restaurants and leisure club at Lancaster, to the epitome of Lake District Luxury Hotel accommodation  in Storrs Hall, again near Bowness on the shores of Windermere. They also have a four-star townhouse hotel (which is as good as any boutique hotel in any modern city) near Ambleside.

It’s the investment and dedication to hotels in the Lake District by hotel groups like this which has significantly led the improvement in quality of hotel accommodation in the Lake District in recent years.

Welcome to Hotelsinlakedistrict.org where we hope to guide you to the best selection of hotels in every category of price and quality.

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