Most reviewers give this hotel 5 stars, so why am I only giving it three stars? First the positives - I can confirm that the rooms are great, the beds very comfortable and the service is really excellent, the staff are experienced and friendly and really want to look after you. It's a well-run small hotel and the prices are about right for the facilities and quality of the place. But there are a few negatives as well.
The location is only OK. If you want to be on a main road on the outskirts of Ambleside and don't mind traffic noise when you open your window then it's not a problem. Our room had a big balcony overlooking attractive gardens with a view over the trees to the hills beyond but the local one-way system has turned the hotel grounds into a large traffic island. If you want a very comfortable hotel in an accessible location and you intend to drive off in search of adventure each day then this could be ideal, if you'd like to walk out of the hotel into the countryside then it doesn't work.
More importantly the Rothay Manor makes a big deal out of its food so we were looking forward to a treat. It was OK but not something to make a special trip for. Starters were good but my main course was lemon sole and it was deeply uninspiring. The fish was tasteless and rather dry. It was accompanied by the most boring vegetables imaginable. The carrots were acceptable although looking like school dinner veg slapped on the plate but the "new potatoes" were horrid.
The catering industry seems to have a real problem with new potatoes and I don't understand why. You get some small salad potatoes in their skins, cut them in half, boil them for 15-20 mins, dress with a little butter and chopped parsley and you have a dish fit for a prince. Why restaurants so often serve peeled chunks of undercooked tasteless spuds and pass them off as new potatoes I can't understand although I always suspect they are buying in large cans of pre-cooked "new potatoes" from unscrupulous suppliers.
Then there was the atmosphere. The hotel was unusually empty on the Thursday night that we were there and I'm assured that it's normally busy and lively-feeling. However when there are only a few people in the lounge and restaurant it becomes tomb-like and people start whispering to avoid being overheard. A little carefully chosen music would be a great help in "filling" the space and when we mentioned that to one of the staff she recognised the problem and was genuinely interested in solving it so maybe that will get better.
But the atmosphere was not helped by the lighting and decor in the restaurant. The lounges were very attractive and easy on the eye and the restaurant might look fine on a summer's evening with sunshine streaming in but after dark the appalling lighting creates a dreary uniform and rather cheap feel that I wouldn't expect from somewhere that takes such care over most things. The mix of chandeliers with lots of exposed candle bulbs (always cheap and nasty) and lots of chintzy wall lights is an impossible combination. The lack of any light and shade and the multitude of exposed light sources to force your retina into retreat guarantees a dim and dismal experience.
And finally, at midnight, we were woken by the clock radio alarm. Apparently if the alarm is unplugged, during cleaning perhaps, or by a previous guest, it resets itself to go off at midnight. Bad enough but my partner then could not get back to sleep and what could have been a good nights rest became a sleepless vigil in a strange room.

I have just returned from 4 nights at the Rothay Manor hotel. The staff were the most welcoming, friendly staff I have experienced in years and nothing was too much trouble. My mother, being disabled in a wheelchair had required proper, disabled facilities in the bathroom and at Rothay Manor we stayed in the Loughrigg Suite, a 2 bedroomed bungalow in the grounds which had been fully adapted and was perfect. The pathway to the main entrance was paved and flat, however plants growing either side of it could have done with cutting back as it made it difficult in parts.

The food was excellent and I would not hesitate in recommending this hotel and returning again.

As with the last two reviews, we stayed in the Loughrigg suite at the Rothay Manor this summer. The suite is a bit dated but it is still a very good layout for a family with young children (two large bedrooms, a large sitting room and 1.5 bathrooms + you can make plenty of noise without disturbing anyone). The location of the hotel is very good both for accessing the local activites by foot and also going further afield in the Lakes. The biggest positive for us was the staff for whom nothing seemed too much effort. They were polite to deal with and quick in responding to requests. I'm sure we'll return.

We stayed at Rothay Manor for 2 nights in the Loughrigg Suite. This suite is in a separate building across the car park. While the suite was very spacious, it is of 70's or early 80's vintage, is outdated and smelled like a bad Holiday Inn. (It's a bad sign when you see a Glade air freshener on the shelf in the bathroom.) We booked this hotel for its character, but our accommodations in the separate building were nothing like the character of the main hotel.

Our arrival at the hotel is a perfect example of the importance of first impressions. When we booked the hotel, we asked specifically whether our children would be welcome in the dining room. They are both over 7 years of age and extraorindarily well behaved. We were assured that the hotel's policy is that children over 7 would be welcome in the dining room. But the receptionist who greeted on arrival indicated that our children were not expected to appear in the dining room for dinner. While we did fix the problem, and did take dinner with our children, the experience left us with a sour taste and made the two smaller guests of our party feel uncomfortable and unsure whether it was really ok that they were there. Another comment on the front desk staff is that several times when we went to the desk, there was nobody there, and we could see that the staff were in the office behind the desk carrying on conversations, etc. Twice I had to wait so long that I ended up just walking away.

The saving grace of our stay here was the food. Breakfasts were fabulous, and our dinner was memorable and fantastic. The service staff in the dining room at both breakfast and dinner were absolutely wonderful -- friendly, welcoming (especially to our children) and very attentive. I can't say enough about how terrific they were.

The cleaning staff were also very helpful and friendly. Such a huge contrast between the reception staff and the wonderful cleaning and dining staff!

With the exception of the dining experience (which you can have even if you stay elsewhere), we were disappointed. Not at all the charming hotel experience we expected from the website and other advertising. If I were ever to return, I would be sure to stay in the main hotel.