High-end hideaways offer everything from spoiling spas to Michelin-starred dining
Helen Pickles Destination Expert
Helen began her career in radio journalism for the BBC (mainly Radio 4) before moving into feature writing. Having contributed to most UK national titles, from YOU Magazine to the FT, she unintentionally became a travel writer and hotel reviewer, primarily for the Telegraph, Times and Independent. She has also contributed to travel guides and platforms such as DK Eyewitness, Sawday’s, Time Out and i-escape.com.
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The words "luxury" and "Lake District" used to be uneasy bedfellows. It was a place for hearty walking, breezy boat rides and the simple pleasure of admiring its – admittedly, stunning – scenery. Where to stay – often caravan parks, modest guest houses and farmhouse B&Bs – was not a priority.
But tastes change, particularly (and no pun intended) with the rise of the area’s restaurant scene (13 Michelin-starred places, currently). It’s now seen, equally, as a place for serious indulgence, with or without the hiking. Indeed, two places, Gilpin Hotel and the Samling, hold two Michelin "keys", the equivalent of Michelin restaurant "stars" (a further three hold one "key").
That sublime scenery can be enjoyed from an infinity pool, weary walking limbs can be cossetted in a private hot tub, breakfasts can be lingered over on a terrace, while soothing spa treatments can be administered while you soak up those views. And did we mention the food? These are the best luxury hotels in the Lake District.
How we review
All our reviewers are either resident destination experts or travel writers that specialise in hotels. Often they will have stayed at a hotel many times and so can see how it has changed for better or worse over the years. They know what makes a great hotel in that particular destination and will compare it contextually against local competition. When our reviewers first visit a hotel, they stay for at least one night, eat one meal in addition to breakfast and will experience all of the facilities on offer. Whichever category of room they stay in, they will see the entry-level rooms in order to assess them.
After their stay, our reviewers then give the hotel six scores out of 10, rating its location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. The average of these scores then determines the overall score. Our experts then select reviews for curated lists like this – the best hotels in a particular destination for families, for instance – together with the Telegraph Hotels team.
This grand Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms, the medieval family home of the Earls of Lonsdale, offers authentic country-house living in stately surroundings, with vast rooms, scattered antiques and a well-worn but comfortable, informal and inviting air. As well as the site’s Michelin-starred restaurant Allium, the hotel is home to a vast drawing room and panelled ‘French’ room, a vaulted library with honesty bar and a self-operated sauna. Outside there’s a small, seasonal heated pool and, one of the qualities that sets this hotel apart, quintessentially English gardens with lawned terraces, colourful borders, vast topiary, a tangle of woodland and substantial kitchen garden.
The best budget hotels in the Lake District
This handsome, atmospheric waterfront hotel in the Lake District, once one of the grandest Victorian homes in the country, is full of ornate wooden panelling and stained glass, surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens from 1890. With award winning fine dining and champagne cruises, it’s as luxurious a hotel as you’ll find in the area. You can stay in the Main House, Lake House or Boathouse. Each room has a distinctly patterned wallpaper that sets the tone for the rest of the interior – perhaps cool grey wardrobes and stylishly decorated lamps. Electric blinds offer a black out option for light sleepers, complemented with wooden louvred shutters. The vibe is classic, tasteful, and expensive.
From £ 620
per night
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The most romantic hotels in the lake district
This modern, chalet-style retreat is tucked amongst a profusion of woodland, in one of the area's finest fell-walking valleys. With vast rooms, feature bathrooms, private terraces and personal butlers, alongside complimentary spa access, it’s unashamedly sybaritic and one of the Lake District's best addresses. While staying in any of the 16 ridiculously large bedrooms, guests have access to a swish spa with extensive thermal experiences, indoor-outdoor relaxation areas and seven treatment rooms plus a leisure centre with 20-metre pool. Modern European dishes are served in the bright, buzzy restaurant, Stove, and traditional pub dishes are offered at Wainwrights Inn.
From £ 250
per night
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The best spa hotels in the Lake District
Linthwaite House is a relaxed country house hotel without the swags and fuss but with plenty of stylish warmth and comfort. The hotel lies close to the honeypots of Bowness and Windermere but is cocooned in gardens. Take in the uninterrupted lake views from the conservatory lounge and bar or vast terrace. A highlight of the hotel, its restaurant Henrock (named after a rocky outcrop in Lake Windermere), is part of Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan’s empire, pioneers of farm-to-fork and local foraging. As such, the restaurant menu has all the Rogan hallmarks of complex combinations, intense flavours and cheeky surprises.
From £ 340
per night
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The best dog-friendly hotels in the Lake District
The Samling is an indulgence on so many levels, with stand-out views, immaculate rooms and creative food. Add in spot-on service, a good choice of dining and a sense of privacy, and you'll soon swallow the hefty price tag. The hotel sits high above the eastern shores of Windermere in acres of gardens, pasture and woodland, offering head-swivelling views of the lake and its surrounding fells. Dinner is an occasion; not necessarily dressy (though some guests make an effort) but the views are sensational, the wine list extravagant and the Michelin-starred food a perpetual series of treats.
From £ 650
per night
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The secret to the perfect holiday in the lake district
Close to Hadrian's Wall, this Victorian country house hotel feels peacefully rural yet is only 10 minutes from the M6. With a growing foodie reputation – supported by a walled kitchen garden – generous bedrooms and quietly contemporary style, it offers comfort with friendliness rather than fussiness. This is fine dining but with an element of fun. Chef-patron Hrishikesh Desai comes trailing a Michelin star from his last post at Gilpin Hotel (near Windermere) where he spiced up the menus – as he is doing here. Canapés are to be savoured (resist any mid-afternoon snacks) – perhaps a teensy pickled beetroot samosa, and a popcorn cone – while the homemade bread (flour from a local mill) is a proper loaf.
From £ 347
per night
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The best hotels in the Lake District
Found on the outskirts of busy Grasmere and located up a private drive, the hotel feels secluded even though the village, with its gift shops and tearooms, is just a 10-minute walk away. Once you’re here, the vast walled garden is a clue that this imposing Victorian villa is not your typical country house hotel. Very much a restaurant-with-rooms, guests come for chef Paul Leonard’s Michelin-starred food, which has a real sense of the local terroir. Elegant interiors and on-the-ball staff also ensure a superb stay. The star of the show – food aside – is the 43 acres of garden and woodland complete with kitchen garden growing produce for the restaurant.
From £ 319
per night
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The best things to do in the lake district
A Lakeland landmark hotel, overlooking Lake Windermere, that has now expanded into a modern resort with water sports and a swanky spa. Appealing to both families and couples (with some bedrooms in an exclusive chalet-style building), it also offers a choice of eating options. As a ‘resort hotel’, it caters for guests whether they want to be indolent, active or have some family fun. The snazzy spa, with five treatment rooms (using ESPA products) and indoor-outdoor thermal experiences including two infinity pools and outdoor sauna, overlooks the lake.
From £ 317
per night
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The best restaurants in the Lake District
The Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is set on the eastern edge of the Lake District National Park. Set on 21 acres of land, the white-washed Edwardian house has been extended and elevated into a lavish modern country house hotel now encompassing plenty of luxuries, from private hot tubs and saunas to Michelin-starred dining. Rooms are split between the main Edwardian hotel and more tranquil woodland-wrapped Lake House, both of which have their own spa. The hotel raises the bar for the Lake District's already shining culinary scene, with not one but three restaurants, plus an in-house butchery and a small vertical farm (no wonder it earned two Michelin Keys in 2024).
From £ 714
per night
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The best walks in the Lake District
This pretty villa, on the edge of Ambleside, is a fine example of modern country house elegance, with a relaxed feel. The food is very well-crafted, gardens are encircled by a protective ring of trees and dogs are made welcome, too. All 23 rooms, with several on the ground floor, are generous in size and are the sort you can happily lounge around in. They are outfitted in a country house style, with thick carpets and curtains, big armchairs and sofas, but without fussy swags and ornaments. They ooze contemporary elegance and some of them even feature window seats.
From £ 370
per night
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The best pubs in the lake district
This stylishly informal country house hotel is in a plum position on Ullswater. With watersports from their private jetty, a kids’ club, indoor pool and spa, children are kept entertained, and grown-ups can be as active or as chilled as they choose. At its core is the former Rampsbeck Hotel, a Georgian country house now considerably (but sympathetically) enlarged, with bold slate-and-glass extensions. While you can be indolent – small spa, hot tub, large lake-facing terrace, 20-metre pool, library and wide choice of eating options – the not-so-subtle intent of this place is to get you out and about with activities like open-water swimming.
Contributions by Mark C. O'Flaherty