The flower-bedecked balconies at this manor house hotel offer spectacular views to Wansfell Pike. Dating from 1823, it stands in wooded grounds on the edge of Ambleside. ‘Young and ambitious’ owners, Jamie and Jenna Shail, have been updating the interiors since taking over in 2016 – eight guest rooms were renovated this year. Trusted readers who knew the place of old were ‘very impressed’ to find it ‘maintained to a high standard’. All bedrooms have a mini-fridge, Noble Isle toiletries, fluffy robes. One of two dog-friendly ground-floor rooms has an accessible bathroom, the other a small courtyard garden. Balcony rooms have a luxurious bathroom, a coffee machine. The look is contemporary, with Farrow & Ball finishes, designer wallpaper. The latest innovation: a hot-tub suite. At dinner, chef Daniel McGeorge’s cooking is ‘a class act’. Seasonal, locally sourced dishes include Lavinton lamb loin, sweetbreads, rib, roots, sea buckthorn, cime di rapa. From a no-less-ambitous vegetarian menu: goat’s cheese and honey pastilla, cucumber, spring onion, olive. Your dog can join you in the lounge, where simpler fare includes fish of the day, and a Cumbrian staple, sticky toffee pudding.