We stayed at the Fisherbeck Hotel for 2 nights in late July 07 and it was definitely the right choice for us. The location is excellent, a genuine 5 minute walk to the lake one way and 5 minute walk into Ambleside the other. Car parking was easy, a definite advantage in this region.

The room was very clean with plenty of space (we were in a superior family room for 89 pounds a night b&b), bathroom well equipped with a good shower and nice toiletries. Breakfast was excellent, lounge areas were nice and the service was great. the owners were friendly in offering advice regarding the beers to try or restaurants to visit, or even lending me his own newspaper, without being overwhelming. We have an 8-month old son and the hotel was very helpful in terms of refrigerating his food, providing a high chair at breakfast etc. One of our main criteria when choosing a guest house was to find somewhere that wasn't so posh that we would feel our baby was inconveniencing anybody and the Fisherbeck fitted the bill.

I read somebody's comment about the service at breakfast being overly formal, but I don't share this impression at all. Someone else said the place was a bit tired, but again I disagree. The TV looked a bit ancient but worked ok, they maybe need to repaint the exterior this winter, but overall I felt everything was clean and comfortable.

A quick word about other places I had considered and noticed when we were there: Wateredge Inn does have a great view and is worth considering, a bit further to walk into town and a large pub as part of the building but it seemed ok. The Gables is the only other one that caught my attention in Ambleside but it is right on the main road and may be a bit noisy on one side. Personally I was glad we chose Ambleside. Bowness seemed a bit too busy for us and other towns such as Grasmere or Coniston may have felt a bit cut off since our baby impedes driving out to restaurants in the evenings.

On reading earlier reviews we were looking forward to stay at the Fisherbeck Hotel, my husband and I stayed 3 nights B&B. As it was a Bank Holiday weekend there was no discount for staying 3 nights as advertised, we paid £110 per night.

On arrival the hotel was in a good location just 5 minutes walk to the centre and externally was well looked after. We stayed in Room 4, which had a balcony but unfortunately this previously must of been used as a smoking area as there was lots of cigarette butts which wasn't very pleasent. These remained there for the whole of our stay! The room itself was well maintained and clean but was slightly dated.

The hotel has an award for its breakfasts which we were excited to sample. The female staff were very friendly and very helpful however a male member of staff was very aloof and stood watching everyone eating there breakfasts which was very off putting. The choice for breakfast was good but the toast was hardly toasted and the soft boiled eggs I ordered were hard, the following day we ordered the full english breakfast which was tasty but served just warm. Disappointing. I wouldnt stay at the Fisherbeck Hotel again as walking around Ambleside there is good choice of B&B's/hotels which we would try next time.

My husband and I booked a few days away here after looking at the brilliant reviews. We stopped in a basic room and it was very basic!! It was like stepping back in time 30 years, the TV was so old fashioned you had to twist a dial to make it work, the decor was tired and drab It felt a bit like you were staying with a very old relative. The room itself was however clean and tidy and the free toiletries and tea making facilities were very welcome. The staff where a bit over the top. Even though this is only a 2 star hotel they served breakfast with full silver service, that included having your napkin unfolded and placed on your lap (I would rather not have this sort of attention to detail first thing in the morning) after that you placed your breakfast order, then everything was hand served. The minute you finished an item it was whisked off the table, some people may call this efficient I just found it creepy and I could not relax and enjoy my meal as I knew I was being watched. The food itself was OK but not the quality I thought it would be.
I also found it sad that many of the staff were foreign, I guess their just aren’t enough young people in Ambleside left to fill these vacancies. The owners were friendly although the lady of the house made me feel uncomfortable; she made me feel like she was tolerating me instead of welcoming me. I had one of her cakes and I have to say it was delicious. This hotel would be far better if they spent a little money, improved their accommodation and relaxed their full silver service at breakfast. I would not consider staying here again until they addressed these issues. One last thing if you are an early riser like me, and want to sit in the lounge to read a book then beware, they lock all the restaurant doors at night, and because our bedroom was at the back of the restaurant I could not get through, consequently I had to sit in the half dark restaurant reading my book, what a strange little hotel.

We have just returned after being at this lovely hotel for a few days. The owners couldn't have made us more welcome, the hotel is spotlessly clean and the breakfast, fantastic. Only a few minutes walk takes you into Ambleside. I will definately be back at this hotel.