The Forest Side does look impressive from the outside, but don't be misled by the advertising, particularly with regard to the 40 acres of grounds, with badgers and squirrels. We attempted to walk around the grounds, but there are no set paths, no waymarkers, some steps are not sound, and I don't think any effort has been put into making the grounds an attraction for guests, as the literature would have you believe. There was no-one on reception when we arrived, when she did arrive she was unfriendly, the room was average, with a bit of dampness in the bathroom. Did not compare with the other places we had stayed, The Ouse Bridge Hotel in Bassenthwaite and the Badgers Wood in Keswick, which were both cheaper and absolutely immaculate, warm, friendly and no complaints whatsoever. We shall not return to the Forest Side Country House Hotel.

Forestside is on a quiet wooded slope east of Grasmere (rather than Ambleside).
There are many tales of woe concerning British hotels on Trip Advisor - moldy bathrooms, hidden charges on the bill, etc - but I actually have a good story to tell here about this hotel. I arrived on Sunday May 29 and spent the afternoon walking from Windermere train station to Forestside in Grasmere (as an aside there is a great 2.5 mile walk on an old bridal bath from Ambleside that goes up a gentle slope from the back of Rydal Mount then down to Dove Cottage which in turn is about 1/2 mile south of the hotel).
However I had a potential problem with the local bus company - I needed to catch an early morning train and the buses it turns out do not run before 10am on 'bank holiday' mondays. The staff at the hotel called several taxi companies and got a quote for 25 pounds. One of the staff members then exclaimed that was ridiculous and drove me to the train station (saving me either 25 pounds or a very early morning 3 hour stroll). I don't mean to imply that they have a free regular shuttle service of course - just simply that I am very grateful for the extraordinary courtesy here.
The hotel itself is a good value - the rooms seem to be about 30% cheaper than comparable rooms at other hotels and B&Bs in the vicinity. I did have to pay a nonrefundable deposit but they did not insist on a 2 day weekend minimum.
The hotel also has two large first floor guest reception rooms with nice views that in many other hotels would long ago have been converted to pricey suites or restaurant space.

I only noticed the bad reviews here after booking 2 nights in a 'budget' room and immediately became wary. We had nothing to worry about. We really enjoyed our stay, the hotel is in an ideal location just outside Grasmere. The room was basic but had everything we needed, staff were helpful and breakfast was lovely.

I booked a room for 2 nights for the 24th & 25th of April through the internet and gave my credit card details as requested.

Unfortunately, because of circumstances beyond my control, I had to cancel. I phoned the hotel on the 16th April, explained the problem and they agreed to credit my card. I sent an e-mail confirming the cancellation the same day and thanked them for their understanding.

One month later, I received my credit card statement and discovered that, 2 days after I had spoken to them, £60 had been debited from my credit card.

When I phoned the manager to query this, she quite obviously knew that this was a 'nice little earner' for their hotel and said it was company policy to keep any money paid, unless 6 weeks notice had been given about any cancellation!!!!!

This is quite obviously ridiculous and mostly not possible for people booking through the internet foe weekend stays in the Lake District as this is predominately short notice quick turnaround business.

Furthermore, the Active Hotel website, which Forestside is connected with, clearly states that 14 days cancellation notice should be given otherwise there MAY be a cancellation charge. Presumably this would only apply if the hotel was full and the room booked could not be re-let, so losing the hotel money.

To actually have someone at Forestside tell me on the 16th (a full 8 days from a quiet weekend in April) that they would refund my money and then 2 days later to have it extracted from my card with no acknowledgement of my e-mail telling them I wished to cancel and thanking them for their understanding of my situation, shows me, and hopefully others that are thinking of staying at this hotel, that they should look elsewhere.