Rothay Manor

In large, landscaped gardens a stroll from Lake Windermere, this ‘friendly’, traditional hotel, after 50 years in the same hands, has new owners, Jenna and James Shail. ‘Everything has been spruced up,’ say Guide inspectors in 2016. Many staff have stayed on from the old regime; Peter Sinclair (who in the evening ‘took orders, served food and was ready to chat’) remains as manager. Most of the bedrooms are in the Regency house; for more space, splurge on a suite in a bungalow in the grounds. ‘Our pretty, charming room had a balcony overlooking the garden. There was a comfy bed, good storage, a small but efficient bathroom. Tea and biscuits were willingly brought to us on the lawn.’ In the candlelit restaurant, Brandon Shepherd, the ‘ambitious’ new chef, cooks ‘very fancy’ dishes. ‘We had a curious starter of heritage tomatoes with a mint sorbet; enjoyable turbot on green vegetables. Climbers would choke at the minute size of the starters and puddings, though.’ Find leaf teas and a ‘decent’ buffet at breakfast; ‘boring’ toast is saved by ‘delicious’ marmalade.