A grand old hotel with interesting history and beautiful walks close by

Excellent restaurant, quick service by friendly, helpful staff and super food. Two problems that occurred - firstly, it was a warm, muggy day and night and there were no fans available in any of the rooms. Thankfully, I was travelling by car and had a rotary fan in my boot 'just in case' so I was okay, but most of the guests had a dreadful night as there was no air movement even if you could open the windows (they barely opened). The second problem was finding the hotel as my Sat Nav sent me completely the wrong way down a rough track. When I turned around and found my way to the A6 and Shap I, apparently, shouldn't have turned towards Shap at all - and then, when I did go the correct way the signage off the A6 to the hotel was appalling, totally unreadable when you're driving and concentrating on the road and traffic, and it's not helped as the entrance to the hotel drive looks like farm buildings which convinces you it's not the hotel at all.

We have been several times over the years. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The food is ok. The setting is lovely and quite.

Had a lovely welcoming stay loved the character and history of the hotel, food was excellent, very peaceful quiet setting for relaxing has a stream in the woods were you can feed the red squirrels and birds, would definitely stay there again 😊

Great Hotel a bit off the beat on track but well worth the effort to find. We would return on another trip.

my first nite of an extensive trip through UK .. and it will be hard to find another property that is as good as this.. dont get me wrong it likely wont suit everyone .. it was built in 1833 and is just wonderful - so full of character - but what makes it memorable is the staff ..couldnt do enough to make you feel welcome and meals (dinner and Breakfast) were both fabulous .. i would be back here in a heartbeat if circumstances allow .. love love loved it

A grand hotel in the countryside, it's a shame the state it's in now. The carpet is worn out in place's, the game's room is a complete mess and the hotel smells damp & musty. The dining room is grand and well maintained, the food is pretty good. The staff are friendly and helpful.

We were having a heat wave and there were a lot of problems that were beyond the control of the staff. It would be totally unfair to be hypocritical. The staff were amazing. Pakistani/Indian cuisine would be good to go with the existing English menu. The main thing is that we would return to what is a purpose built hotel with unique history and features; needs some TLC. The location is ideal for exploration, Lowther Castle is exceptional - totally recommend along with Lake Ullswater. We were there for two nights en route to Scotland.

Sadly this hotel has seen better days and

Changed rooms due to excessive noise of the outside air-conditioning only to get a room which took your breathe away by the heat of the hot water pipe running through the room. Baring in mind it was still very hot outside. It's the first time we've slept in a room which was on par with a sauna. Not at all pleasant or comfortable. Told by reception they couldn't put the water pipe off as it supplied hot water for the other rooms. Very disappointed the room we had. All other parts of the hotel were almost irrelevant. Reluctance to return to room after breakfast.

Amazing value for money. Well run, characterful hotel with lovely staff. A great stepping stone for the Lakes.

A lovely 2 day stay with good food and pkesent friendly staff. Wills Ray again when we are ng ext on the area.

Bath was brown (from stains, should have been white) - there is no way I'd want to be in that. Endless fire & safety violations - fire doors held open, poor signage, cables across areas people were walking. Staff were rude and dismissive when we arrived. Food was bland

A lovely period hotel, with amazing grounds.

What a brilliant hotel! It was such a surprising place - we had walked over from Patterdale to Shap so needed a lift to the hotel. It is 4 miles outside the village along a busy road. The hotel is run by such kind, helpful staff who took great care of us. Our room was great, spacious, clean and warm. Food is good, breakfast generous. Good atmosphere with plenty of friendly guests. Highly recommend.

Overall my stay was satisfactory, but the level of noise coming from back of house staff late at night was appalling. My room was directly above the kitchen/loading area and it was honestly unbelievable how much noise the staff were making "cleaning up" in the evening, consistently from about 8pm-11:30pm when I had enough. It was like they were literally throwing metal containers around and shouting across the space at full volume. I live in central London and have never experienced disruption like this, especially considering the hotel is located in a remote part of the Cumbrian countryside where you expect peace and quiet. The front of house staff were friendly and helpful but reluctant to make any direct attempts at stopping the noise, and after two complaints I finally asked to be moved to a different room. Both rooms were satisfactory but a bit run down and some corners were cut with the cleanliness. The food was also edible but not great for a vegetarian, and the service could be better (e.g. I was never offered water at dinner). It does what it says on the tin but I won't be making a return trip, purely because of the disdain the back of house staff had for paying customers and disregard of their peace and quiet.

The hotel is in a beautiful spot famous for red squirrels. It was once a spa hotel therefore has a grand and historic reception area. The staff throughout the hotel were very welcoming and helpful. The hotel was very clean as was the room however our room needed some minor repairs to the decor etc. Our Sat Nav took us on an 'interesting' route to the hotel which was a track through fields of sheep! There is a much easier route from the M6 so just be aware.

DO NOT STAY HERE. UNSAFE I would not recommend this hotel. Our stay was disappointing from start to finish and well below acceptable standards. On arrival, we were given a cold, dark room that smelled musty, had dirty access steps, a window that would not close, and no electricity. We were initially told a room change was impossible and were only moved after further complaints, wasting much of our evening. The restaurant was equally poor. Menus had no prices, staff could not provide clear pricing, and we were only told after ordering that drinks were cash only, leaving us with tap water. My burger arrived burnt, and management offered no apology when the issue was raised. Customer service throughout was dismissive. Concerns were met with indifference, and obtaining complaint details was unnecessarily difficult. The most serious issue occurred around 3am when the fire alarm sounded. Guests evacuated without guidance, as there was no visible management presence, no instructions, no roll call, and no reassurance during the 30-minute wait outside. The apparent lack of an emergency procedure was alarming and left guests feeling unsafe. The next morning, several guests said repeated fire alarms and poor management responses were common. Despite multiple opportunities, management offered no meaningful apology or acknowledgement. Overall, the accommodation, food, customer service, and handling of a serious safety incident fell far below expectations.

Great stay and a very beautiful hotel! All staff were very courteous and helpful. Would definitely go back.

Clean room. Great area.