‘Such a comfortable place.’ ‘Peaceful and restful.’ ‘Great hotel.’ Several of our readers are regulars at Glynis and Simon Wood’s family-run Lakeland village hotel in the Wordsworth heartlands. ‘Staff and management are very friendly, and keen to make guests feel at home.’ Smart, contemporary bedrooms vary in size and facilities. All have a comfortable bed and luxury toiletries, bold patterned wallpaper and fabrics; some have a balcony. Views are variously of the garden, the River Rothay and surrounding mountains. There has been a change in the kitchen this year, with Matt Clarke – one-time sous-chef here – returning to take charge, carrying on a tradition of inventiveness and ‘consistently high standards’. Typical dishes: salt-aged sirloin steak, dripping chips, tomato, ox-cheek-stuffed mushroom, bordelaise sauce; halibut, confit potato, artichoke monk’s beard, brown butter hollandaise. The extensive breakfast menu includes such options as prunes steeped in Earl Grey tea, smoked haddock, kipper, omelettes, eggs Benedict, Scotch pancake with maple syrup, freshly baked pastries and the full Oak Bank grill. ‘Would recommend staying here,’ concludes a reader, succinctly. (William Swaddle, AM, FM, SA)