Down the alleyway by the side of the Tufton Arms Hotel is the Tufton Mews Cafe and Wine Shop…read more Although it is separate from the hotel it is part of their business. I would guess as the hotel in the past was a coaching inn this is where the horses stopped. The cafe has a continental slant serving paninis and crepes, tapas, Belgian waffles and, with a nod to GB, Scottish pancakes and drop scones. It was the crepes that drew us in and they were delicious, and served by cheery staff. I would say if you wanted a quick lunch this is not the place because although there were not a lot of people in either the outside seating or inside it took an age for our meal to arrive (although the drinks arrived very promptly). While you are waiting you could take a browse around the extensive wall of wines for sale in the attached shop.

A old-fashioned AA 4* hotel on the edge of town with a good view over Appleby and the Lake…read moreDistrict. There is plenty of parking, and the gardens are well kept. The hotel is recently re-decorated and the room I had was comfortable and a good size. Rooms are are quite variable, so with the hotel to see what they have available. The restaurant was surprisingly busy for a mid-week and the menu was extensive. I had an individual game pie for starters, venison steak with rosti for main and an excellent selection of english cheese and biscuits to finish. The food was to a very high standard, with a price tag to match: over £36 for the three courses. The wine list has a good selection and there is a huge selection of over 100 Malt Whiskys. The hotel is surprisingly child-friendly with family rooms, pool table, table tennis table and playground facilities. There is also a small pool, jacuzzi, infa-red sauna, turkish steam room and solarium. The hotel has some useful folders giving information on local attractions, walks and other things to do locally. Well worth a visit.

This hotel is good for private functions aswell as having a few days break, the food is of high…read morequality, nicely presented by warm friendly staff. The resturant in the conservatory looks over Appleby with great views of the hills and surrounding area. The gardens of the hotel are well kept and tidy. The hotel has a gym and pool these being small so not for anyone wanting to do loads of swimming. The rooms are clean and pleasent. From the hotel you can walk easily down into the town and have a wander round the river which is really nice. This hotel is really good value for money and well worth a try if looking to stay in the area.

A wonderful hotel with friendly staff, full of character with beautiful gardens and a gorgeous view…read moreof the Ullswater lake. It has a good restaurant on-site that's quite pricey at £60 per head but the real attraction is the lovely rooms and location... The only downside is they stop serving breakfast a 9.30am. It's hard to make it downstairs for that time when they've made the rooms so nice you don't want to lead them :)

I stayed here for a night on business recently. I arrived late (thanks to a delayed Virgin train)…read moreon a cold, wet and windy night. It's a slightly strange experience: it describes itself as a boutique hotel, though I'm not sure I'd go that far. It certainly is not like an ordinary hotel, as you collect your keys from the bar and in the morning the reception, such as it is, is in the breakfast room. I'm not even sure any staff were on site during the night - there are no phones in the room - and an ironing-board used by another guests stood outside his room until morning. Anyway, the plus points: a cheerful member of staff, who showed me to the room rather than just give me the key: the room was clean and the bed reasonably comfortable. Wifi access was particularly fast. The shower had plenty of hot water and lots of fluffy towels. The breakfast the following morning was freshly cooked to order and came quickly (though they were pretty quiet). It has off-street parking. The decor is such that each wall was a different deep pastel, although it is now beginning to show its age a little (it opened in 2009). My room was pretty small, as well, for a double, with limited hanging space. Fine for one, but a bit of a squash if there were two of you. One wall in my room had the tell-tale streaks of a shower flood in the room above. The main downside was that the heating in my room was off when I arrived late in the evening, and it took a while to heat up. (The bathroom was OK.) That's an odd thing to do in winter, and it meant turning in on arrival wasn't very comfortable. My room faced the main town street and, although double-glazed, you could hear traffic noise and passers by talking, I have no doubt on a weekend would be noisy. I could sleep through it, but if you needed the window open in summer, it might be a bit of challenge (so ask for a room at the rear if that is an issue). So, a slightly mixed experience - very nice staff, but a bit of upgrading in the rooms would not go amiss.

Discovering the Lounge Hotel & Bar on King Street in Penrith is a little like stumbling across Brad…read morePitt and Angelina Jolie ordering sausage rolls in Greggs the Bakers: unexpected. The Lounge is sleek and sassy but unpretentious. During my visit during Saturday lunch time last week end there were plenty of families in evidence and the uniformly pleasant and helpful staff dealt with adults and children alike with a professional and polite approach. The décor is minimalist chic, Outkast and Nellie,among others, are heavily rotated on the plasma screens, and stripped wood panelling features heavily. The menu makes a couple of nods in the direction of local tastes (fish finger sandwich; Cumberland sausage in a baguette) but is otherwise wide-ranging and straightforward including Cajun chicken strips, poached salmon Nicoise and meat balls with spaghetti. Prices range from £3 to £9.00. There's a strong selection of beers both on draught (including Amstell) and bottled (including Budvar) and a surprisingly eclectic wine list. The hotel section is due to open in the next few weeks. The Lounge is destined to become the bar of choice for North Cumbria's PoshnBecks set, but don't let that put you off.

Despite arriving at check-in time (1500) reception was locked, ringing the bell eventually brought…read moreassistance. We were taken to our room after a slow check-in; passing the breakfast room which might not be the breakfast room tomorrow, and the dining room which might not be the dining room tomorrow. After being shown our room (Thanet) we were informed that our en suite was across the corridor! The bedroom didn't have a wardrobe, so we had to live out of our suitcases for 3 nights. The bedroom had no working bedside lights, a kettle we had to boil on the floor, two wooden chairs so uncomfortable you couldn't sit. After our evening meal we walked through dark corridors to find our room. Overnight we used our phone torches to get from the bedroom to the bathroom. On our first morning, the only option for a hot breakfast was a full English. Why we didn't have written menus beats me! Neither of us was able to eat the sausage on our plates, an awful flavour. The milk to accompany my tea had curdled, after requesting a replacement milk we were told they were having issues with their milk deliveries. After breakfast we asked about how we got into the castle once we return from our day of touring. After appearing confused by the request to return back in the evening the stuttering response was that we would have to ring the estate manager and someone would be available, even if it was midnight when we returned. There was no way we were being given the reception access code. I couldn't shower due to the water temperature fluctuating from freezing cold to scolding hot. Breakfast on the second morning had the same issue with the curdled milk. Fresh tea and milk was brought to the table, however no cup was brought in. We were only informed of other hot breakfast options after we said no to the full English. Back in our "en suite bathroom" the window blind had fallen down. I was very happy to leave & never return.

Asked for a quiet comfortable room with a good bed and mattress and they delivered. Very good value…read morefor money and great views to boot from my room on what turned out to be an exceptionally warm May day.

Whenever I book a country hotel or b&b, I get all hopeful that I've managed to find a place with…read morethat special something. Most places manage to miss the mark in some way or another, but the Roundthorn did not disappoint in the least. A warm welcome, cozy fireplaces, stylish rooms... I felt like I was on a proper vacation from the moment we arrived.