Another Place, The Lake

We did not stay at AP, but whilst on 1/2 term, we were passing so dropped in for brunch, coffee and to take a look. The hotel is beautiful and clearly someone with taste, style and a big budget has overseen the conversion of the old building and development of the grounds. The spa, bar, reception and site are beautiful and lead down to the lake and views across Ullswater which are stunning. We fed our children and ourselves in the bar, choosing from the daytime menu. The food was nice, although nothing stellar, there was a reasonable selection and the coffees we ordered were excellent - always a plus for us! The staff serving us were friendly and accommodating. And after our meal we enjoyed a brief walk round the grounds and down to the lake. AP is a high end hotel and aimed at a particular clientele so this is obviously reflected in the room rates and prices. But even if you are not staying here, it's worth taking a look at the property.

Booked ice skating and pizza as a family Christmas treat. We’ve been before and the place left such an impression on us, that we thought this would be a lovely afternoon out. We arrived early so we could have a mulled wine and hot chocolate, as advertised. The drinks hit was closed. We asked an assistant in the ice skating who offered no explanation, just said if we wanted a drink we could go to the hotel bar ( not the same experience as a hot chocolate outside) and added with a tone that it would come of our ice skating time ( understandable but without the tone would have been nice) Hotel took over 20 minutes to serve drinks… plenty of staff who had time to chat rather than get our drinks. Back to ice skating where we were reminded bluntly thst we had 25 minutes of skating. Wouldn’t give us the skates until we handed over shoes, so stood on wet floor. At the end of the session, the way the assistant spoke to those coming in for the next session was appalling. Service is everything and if you can’t provide that service, then why over stretch. We spent roughly £125 on skating for 4, pizza for 2 and 2 rounds of drinks for 5. Because of the level of service, I would think twice about coming back here.

We were really looking forward to our night away at this hotel which had been gifted to us as a wedding present. Unfortunately, we were sadly disappointed. On arrival we came into reception at 1pm to ask what time check in was. The young lady on reception responded 3pm but gave no indication of whether there was anywhere we could wait (baring in mind we had just made a long journey to get to the hotel). I asked if there was somewhere we could grab a coffee to which she just pointed us to the living space. We returned at 3pm to check in. After giving our name, we were taken to our room. The same young lady as earlier took us to our room. Whilst she was pleasant and smiley, she said nothing. She told us nothing about the hotel facilities, where the spa was and when we could use it, what time check out was, where and when breakfast was etc. Nothing. This was very disappointing. When we got to our room it was clear that my previous emails had been ignored and a bed was made up in a dog friendly room for our child who was no longer attending. We spent our stay navigating our own way round the hotel and facilities. When we went to the spa, there was no one on the desk, so we just helped ourselves to towels and let ourselves in. Not an experience which matches that portrayed on their website. We also found out about activities running by seeing these on the board in the spa (however there was no one there to ask any questions about these). I think it would be good to let guests know about these on arrival. We enjoyed ice skating and spotted that there was a restaurant outside. Before dinner we headed via reception and asked about the different places to eat. When asking what time the Glasshouse served until, she said you will just need to go down and check with them - again poor service. We decided to have dinner at the Glasshouse which was lovely and the staff were very attentive. Breakfast was also fantastic and the chef was lovely, asking about our stay and making conversation. Overall, whilst our stay was ok, it sadly did not live up to our expectations. The greeting on arrival was hugely lacking which made us feel unwelcome, with little knowledge of where anything was. A real shame. Whilst I appreciate that this was the final night before the hotel closed for January, it is important to remember you still have paying guests who have paid a considerable night to stay with you. Overall very poor service but good food. Not worth the price.

We loved our stay here. It’s definitely a bit pricey but we had a wonderful time and the location is amazing. We loved the pool/hot tub and had a great Sunday lunch at the brackenrigg inn before heading home. Everyone was very friendly and we enjoyed the different spaces.

Really great place to unwind. The staff are brilliant: attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the local area. Being on the banks of Ullswater meant we could swim every day. The indoor pool and outdoor hot tub were also well used. We booked some guided swims with Colin and they were amazing! We went on the waterfall swim and the moon/stargazing swim and both were great fun. Colin’s entertaining and encouraging for new open water swimmers. Highly recommend that you book these in your stay. Room was spacious and well serviced (we could pop out for 10 mins and it would be magically cleaned while we were gone!), although in our room (12) we could hear a bit of noise from next door. My wife found our bed quite hard but I liked it, so 🤷 Food and wine was nice. Vegan burger was good although the bun fell apart due to the avocado paste. A bit of test eating by the chef is needed here! EV charging on site too. TV was not smart. So couldn’t watch Netflix 🙁

Used to stay when previously known as The Rampsbeck. It has been transformed into a very vibrant activities centre. There is provision for many pursuits and seemingly provides instructors for the activities. Everyone is keen to make your stay memorable & enjoyable. Buffet breakfast is a disappointment. Get there at 0800 and everything is freshly cooked. But the bacon, sausages and black pudding quickly dry out. Poor

A nice place full of families and young children which is perfect for us as we have a toddler but may not be for everyone judging from the looks of childless visitors when toddlers are showing a bit of emotions 😅Totally understandable. Location is great. Only tiny grumble is the car park visible from the rooms and which obstructs the beautiful lake view. Food, drinks and service are meeh. That was our big disappointment for the price of the stay. Not sure why but I have imagined a place that sources good quality ingredients and have a bit of an original menu, small menu but elaborate. Not the case. everything tasted like an average pub food. I feel a bit guilty for saying this because I am sure the chef works hard but i believe many people pay a big sum to treat themselves and it’s important that they have different opinions from other guests. In a place that charges high end prices I want to see a proper barista ,a proper bartender and proper bread at breakfast not supermarket sliced toast. Coffee tasted like costa coffee and cocktails were not what we want to drink for 15£. Breakfast time had a vibe of a cantine including a queue to get seated. not what you expect for the standard. Other small details: rooms have no amenities (shower caps, cotton pads for example) the spa offers no slippers. All small details but when I travel I want to go light, if I pay a high price I expect to find what I need. The service is also inconsistent. Some people were great some were just confused. No one was rude but it was just lacking the spark of a high end establishment. If you don’t care about where your money goes then this place is great because location is amazing but if you care about the extras and the details then…think or see by yourself maybe you will still have a great experience :) We still had a great time walking around the lake and relaxing in our room 🥰

Very disappointed with the 'christmas market'. Only 3 stalls. Decided to have a drink in the hotel, hot chocolate cold with pretend cream and only half a cup for £5! Kids had 2 meals off the kids menu, one was spaghetti bolognaise which was mostly spaghetti and the other was steak frites which was a piece of steak the size of a 50p piece when you removed the fat! very expensive for what they got and then we never checked the bill and seem to have been charged a service charge of £6! The waitress was miserable and never spoke a word. Won't be visiting again which is a shame when we live in Penrith and try to support local businesses