Another Place, The Lake

If you’re going to go to the trouble of updating a country house hotel in the Lake District – where there’s lots of competition – you need to do it right, so kudos to Another Place, The Lake, handsomely sited on the shores of Ullswater. It’s stylish yet unstuffy, and properly family friendly – the sort of place that has muddy wellies by the door, a great pool and kayaking from their own jetty. But there are also romantic lake views, convivial public spaces and a great restaurant, which makes it a fabulous grown-up retreat too, handy for exploring the less-visited northern Lakes and Eden Valley.

Rooms are split between the original Georgian country house and a new contemporary wing, and range from standard doubles up to family suites, with lake views a premium in either location (and dog-friendly options available). If you want a four-poster bed, high ceilings and an original feature or two, then the main house is for you, though even here the rooms have been given a light, modern touch. Other rooms and suites feel more contemporary, with a kind of nouveau-country chic going on – so you might get a lake-view Juliette balcony, a designer sofa with a sheepskin throw, and a slipper bath. Bluetooth radio, fridge and drinks flask are standard throughout, which is pretty neat, and we love the thought that has gone into the overall guest-friendly concept – witness the star-gazing beanbag we found under a bathroom skylight. Beyond the main building you'll find Willow Cottage, a large family suite designed by Lynsey Ford, winner of Interior Design Masters. The newest additions to the site are a contemporary treehouse in the grounds and six lakeshore shepherd huts, sleeping two or four people. These new rooms, alongside a Victorian style glasshouse serving stone baked pizza, make for great ways to experience the great outdoors with luxurious surroundings.

Public areas flow seamlessly through both sections of the hotel in a kind of ‘open-house’ manner – you feel you can plonk yourself down in any one of a number of cosy corners, from brandy in the fire-warmed library to help-yourself coffee and a natter with the staff in reception. What they call The Living Space is a Scandi-style cafe-bar with a family-friendly bistro menu of burgers, salads, pasta and the like, and it spills out onto a lake-view terrace. The indoor pool is a beauty – 20 metres long with its own lake view – and there’s a sauna, treatment rooms and outdoor hot tub too. Outdoor activities loom large – cold water and wild swimming, sign up for stand-up paddle boarding, for example, or drop the kids off at the impressive supervised kids’ space (which is kitted out better than your average junior school).

The Rampsbeck restaurant is a more grown-up place (although they do have a children’s menu), with a Josper charcoal oven doing glorious things to locally sourced steaks, chicken, lamb and fish. They serve a really good and varied three-course contemporary Cumbrian menu for forty quid, and the DB&B breaks include at least one meal in here. But if we had to plump for our favourite meal at Another Place, it’s the buffet breakfast, which does all things rather thoughtfully and brilliantly, just like the hotel – tell us you don’t like the idea of make-your-own waffles with a glass of Bucks Fizz while Chef whips you up a fluffy omelette!