We went to the Gilpin for 2 nights to celebrate my Wife’s Birthday. We received a warm welcome and took to our suite with a nice chat on the way. The suite was excellent and we were eating out the first night and were booked into the Michelin starred main restaurant, 'Hrishi', for the 2nd evening.
The overall experience was lovely however, some of the service however could be improved. We decided to relax in the Hotel and ordered a sandwich and soup, both arrived but with no bread with the soup. This was remembered by the waiter only when the soup had been eaten (we’d not seen any other staff to request beforehand). He apologised and offered another soup which we declined.

Fast forward to the next night in the Michelin starred restaurant. All courses of the tasting menu were exceptional with great wine pairing from an excellent Sommelier. One dish was brought to the table which saw the sauce splash up the side of the dish. There was an apology but no offer to clean or replace. That evening, we decided to have breakfast in our room and marked the card with the time marked (I forget the time) left outside. The next morning, after no breakfast had arrived over 10mins after the requested time, my Wife rang down. No apology from the staff member who chased it. We felt rushed with breakfast due to it arriving late with the looming check out time looming which was a shame.

These things are not much but its fine margins that make an outstanding experience stand out from a great experience. This is a 1 Michelin restaurant and I’ve eaten at other 1 stars as well as 2 and 3 and the food at the Gilpin is better than 1 star but can see why they remain so.

Phoned hotel to book, explained husbands walking and balance issues to ensure we got the right type of room for our stay. Stated - must have a walk in shower facility where husband could have something to hold onto in the shower due to his balance disability.. Obviously the person who took the reservation did not make a note of my requirements, or husbands physical restrictions.

The room he said we were to get was to be a Junior Suite in bright light colours - white, cream etc. (I didn't make a note of the name of the Room but checked after discussion, it wasn't shown on the booking confirmation - so make sure you make a note of room allocated). What we were allocated on arrival was a second hand furniture store of a room, some would say containing antiques and distressed furniture - I would say "second hand" furniture - which we both loath and detest. Drawers wouldn't open. others wouldn't shut, left my clothes in my suitcase, no incentive to take them out and put them away.

This room which isn't shown on the web site, so be aware - it is haphazard, mis matched dark wallpaper, dark curtains - had a water stain mark on the carpet all the way down the hallway, broken bathroom blind, right loose bath tap, very "small TV" for a 4.5/5 star hotel on a cream bedside cabinet, recycled from one of the better rooms we were supposed to be staying in and just, plonked in the room! - this room has never seen a 5 star rating), two chairs, so low to the ground, husband had to sit on a stand chair all the time we were in the room because chair was too low. He also couldn't have a shower because it was an older bathroom, nothing for him to hold onto within the shower - as requested, hence he couldn't use these facilities whilst we were at the hotel - value for money/high expectations - don't think so.

You may ask yourselves, why didn't I complain, it was supposed to be a special major birthday min break - I was so taken aback by this room, so devastated, so disappointed, so deflated, so upset that within 3 minutes of entering this establishment I just wanted to go back home where everything is far more modern and superior to this hotels, allocated, room facilities and this initial experience set the tone for the short break.

On leaving the young lady asked my had I enjoyed our stay, I abruptly told her I had been staying in "second hand furniture store room for the last two nights", at this point she took flight to the office, at no point did she ask any questions nor apparently was she prepared to listen to what we had to say about our stay. Good customer service - don't think so.

On the positive side, the gardens are lovely, the staff generally were very friendly and helpful, unfortunately for them I was unwilling to make a gratuity payment due to the pathetic, horrible room allocated to us, in what is supposed to be a 4.5/5 star establishment.

We have stayed in many luxury hotels, such as The Orient Express hotels, Oberoi, Taj, Langham, Intercontinental, Ritz Carlton, Pan Pacific etc, around the world, hence we do have sufficient experience of out stays in luxury hotels to be able to write this review.

However birthday card was a nice thoughtful touch as was the "Happy Birthday message" received in the Hirishi restaurant. Much appreciated.

Would we go again - never, - would we recommend the Gilpin to friends/acquaintances - never and they are asking us about the hotel.

We stayed 3 nights here in a spa lodge with dinner at Hrishi and Spice. The food and the room were exceptional. We were fortunate enough to be staying in the Hardknott lodge which has amazing views. Some of the other lodges don’t share these views and the decor was very nice. However in some areas it’s obvious it needs a touch up but this didn’t detract from the room.

The food here is amazing. The breakfasts are top quality and the food at both Hrishi and Spice were sublime.

The only areas for improvement are around the staff and some little touches which were missing which we would have expected when paying £700 per night. We had to chase for housekeeping twice as they hadn’t serviced the room whilst we were out all day and it also felt that every little extra was charged for, including WiFi and the mini bar. As some other reviewers have mentioned it feels a bit penny pinching, particularly when our bill for 3 nights was nearly £2,500! There wasn’t always someone on the front desk and the staff were not as slick as in other Relais hotels that we have stayed at. For example one of the staff queried whether we had settled our bill when we were not leaving until the next day.

A great stay nonetheless but it could learn some lessons from other Relais hotels about the finishing touches and the little extras which make a real difference at a hotel at this price point.