Having read some of the reviews after we had booked ,I was a little worried about the weekend. I am very pleased to say that it exceeded our expectations. Friendly staff ,great view from the room and pool within a very short distance of our room. It was lovely to be able to swim and enjoy the liesure facilities until 10.00 pm.
We had two great walks directly from the hotel ,up towards Wansfell and Troutbeck.
We will definitely return

My partner took me for my 30th birthday for something a little special. The hotel was beautiful and staff very helpful. Not in the ideal location to walk on foot into the towns and also set on a busy main road. Our room was nice and overlooked the lake if not a little on the small side, however the white towelling dressing gowns and fresh coffee more than made up for it and the bathroom was immaculate. Leisure facitlies good and the outdoor hot tub amazing with views over lake (however don't wait for it to become vacant as you will be waiting forever so just gatecrash). Ate dinner in the hotel which was gorgeous and very swanky (although at £35 each for a set menu not cheap)! Second night ate out in Bowness at a tapas place which was really good and next door to a bar with a vast arrange of continental beers and cocktails. Ordered taxi from hotel at a cost of £6 each way which was well worth it. Don't order the packed lunch - it was dreadful 'a curled up sarnie, can of pepsi, piece of fruit and a fun size mars bar' all for a cost of £12 (it was missing a few items though). Overall a relaxing and classy hotel for those of you who want a little something special!

We spent the weekend here as part of a large family birthday celebration. The staff are, without exception, polite, cheerful and helpful. The rooms are adequate but as others have said disappointing for a 4 star. All was clean and tidy but our lakeside room on first floor had a very small shower room and the wind howled through the window. The newer rooms at the rear of the hotel (no view) have much better bathrooms. The lounge was great and allowed are large party to gather and enjoy drinks and lunch. Dinner was good but expensive. Breakfast was delcious and fresh bunches of flowers for mums on mother's day a bonus.
We all enjoyed the swimming pool and outdoor hot tub and my massage was great. Lovely walks from the hotel door and close to Ambleside and Windermere.

We paid extra for a "feature" room with a lake view. Little did I know that the "feature" would be the wind whistling through the ill fitted double glazed window. Admittedly it was a particularly windy couple of nights, but that isn't unusual in the Lake District in winter!

I asked to be moved to another room, but the hotel was fully booked, and the receptionist didn't really seem that bothered. After a very disturbed nights sleep, I complained again to the duty manager, he said he would try and sort something out, but nothing materialised, and there was no offer of compensation either.

Apart from the wind, there was also the main road from Windemere to Ambleside that runs right outside the hotel, so that added to the noise. I wish I'd come to trip advisor first as the hotel website obviously doesn't mention the road.

The website advertises a feature room as having either a four poster, or a canopy bed, neither of which we had. It also says "Luxury" bathroom. Well "luxury" in this case meant a whirlpool bath that didn't work properly, and a shower over it that took ages to warm up. There was a very fine line between scalding & freezing and it took several minutes of miniscule knob twiddling to get it right!

Outside of the room, the hotel was shabby in places with threadbare carpet, and gaps between carpet and skirting boards. The reception area, bar, lounge & restaurant were all very impressive. The staff on the whole were very polite and helpful. The meal we had in the restaurant was very nice, but quite expensive for what it was. We also ate in the attached bistro, but this was little better than a cheap cafe. It mainly offered Italian fare, but the Carbonara & Spaghetti bolognaise that we had were well below par. I can do better myself!!

Enjoyed the breakfast, although it was extremely busy on the Sunday morning and we had to wait for a few minutes.

For a 4 star hotel, I'd say it's pretty poor, and certainly not worth the money I paid. Would I recommend it to a friend? NO.