The Peacock at Rowsley

Rowsley, Derbyshire

‘Really excellent’ food is at the very heart of this lovely Peak District hotel in a 17-century manor house, surrounded by good walking country, and known for its fly-fishing. More

Good Hotel Guide Review

‘Really excellent’ food is at the very heart of this lovely Peak District hotel in a 17th-century manor house, surrounded by good walking country, and known for its fly-fishing. Owned by Lord and Lady Manners, it was built for the steward of their stately home, Haddon Hall, and is full of tradition, with paintings of aristocrats on the walls, a beamed bar, four-posters in some of the country style bedrooms. Along with antiques, these all have air conditioning. Some readers report minor niggles – ‘the bathroom was modern but on the small side and the shower lacked power’ – but these are more than made up for by the ‘high standard of cooking’, with meals served by ‘well-trained, efficient staff’. Regular visitors were ‘slightly disappointed’ to find that ‘the food has got rather pretentious. It was still good but who needs blackberry and chocolate sauce with their beautifully sourced venison?’ In the atmospheric bar, a less-expensive menu impresses, with ‘extremely tender shoulder of lamb, smoked tomato risotto, salmon, sublime lemon tart’. After breakfast, visit Haddon Hall and Chatsworth House. (PA, P and AD, and others)

Hotel details

Address

Bakewell Road
Rowsley
Derbyshire
DE4 2EB
England

Telephone

01629 733518

Bedrooms

15.

Open

all year except dinner 24 Dec, 25/26 Dec, 2 weeks in Jan, closed Mon (but check).

Facilities

lounge, bar, 2 dining rooms, private dining room, in-room TV (Freeview, Apple), ½-acre garden on river, fishing rights, public areas wheelchair accessible.

Background music

in public rooms.

Children

not under 10 at weekends.

Dogs

allowed in bedrooms only (£30 per dog per night, food, bowls supplied).

Credit cards

Amex, MC, Visa.

Prices

B&B doubles from £245 midweek, singles from £170. À la carte in the restaurant (Tues–Sat) £82.50, tasting menu (Fri and Sat) £99.50. 1-night bookings sometimes refused.