Gilpin Hotel and Lake House

With its indulgent bedrooms, Michelin-starred dining, attentive staff and guaranteed privacy, Gilpin is considered by many to be the ultimate in Lakeland luxury. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath. Elsewhere in the wooded grounds are smaller cedar-clad spa lodges and Scandi-style garden suites with hot tub and sauna. Choose the main Edwardian building for smart country house rooms. For more traditional rooms that are full of charm, opt for the lodge on a nearby estate; guests in the latter share an indoor pool and woodland spa. Dining, too, offers choices: Michelin-starred HRiSHi features Modern British cuisine with an Asian twist, such as vanilla-poached trout with sweet and sour beetroot, while Gilpin Spice has Pan-Asian small and large plates. There’s a vast sitting room plump with sofas, a modern cocktail bar plus a peaceful sheltered terrace. Gilpin is different, say readers, because of its long ownership by the Cunliffe family who ‘just keep making it better every year’. A member of Relais & Châteaux.