Hotels in Cumbria

Creative Tourist

Cumbria’s hotels range from the painstakingly ecological to the unrestrainedly luxurious. Most take full advantage of the stunning Cumbrian landscape, whilst paying equal attention to their rooms, restaurants and, yes, hot tubs. Here’s our guide to the best.

Our top picks

The Cottage In The Wood

The Cottage In The Wood, Magic Hill, Braithwaite, Keswick , Cumbria, CA12 5TW - Visit now

The Cottage In The Wood sounds like something from a fairytale, and well, it is. It’s a beautiful boutique hotel in Keswick in the heart of the Lake District, near some of the region’s most picturesque lakes and mountains. If things couldn’t get even more fantastical, you’ll find it 1000ft above sea level on a place called Magic Hill. Beatrix Potter, eat your heart out. 

Ian Jones

Forest Side Hotel

Forest Side Hotel, Keswick Road, Grasmere, Ambleside, LA22 9RN - Visit now

Grasmere is the cultural heart of the Lake District, largely thanks to William Wordsworth wandering lonely as a cloud around here back in the early 19th century. These days the village revolves around tourism, full of open-top buses and camera-wielding day-trippers. And while there are plenty of pleasant little B&Bs and private cottages, it sorely lacked a top-quality hotel. Not anymore. Hotelier Andrew Wildsmith has spent over £4m renovating a fairytale Victorian Manor which opened to the public in early 2016. It’s something of an understatement to say it’s money well spent.

Forest Side Hotel
Ian Jones

The Cranleigh Boutique

The Cranleigh Boutique, Kendal Rd, Bowness-on-Windermere, LA23 3EW - Visit now

It’s safe to say The Cranleigh Boutique is not what you’d expect from a Lake District hotel. Far from the traditional cosy cottage feel you’d find in most of the places to stay in the Lakes, The Cranleigh Boutique plays host to a bunch of vibrant, almost out-there rooms with an entirely unique character.

Ian Jones

The Samling Luxury Country Hotel

The Samling Luxury Country Hotel, Ambleside Rd, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1LR - Visit now

Famed for personalising your visit in advance, The Samling is at the higher end of Cumbria’s hotel offerings – it even boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant. Situated in 67 acres of land, with contemporary art works dotted about its gardens, this hotel commands lake views, a kitchen garden and a wide range of luxury rooms.

Lawson Park Farm Cottage

Lawson Park Farm Cottage, Lawson Park Farm, East of Lake Road, Coniston, Cumbria, LA21 8AD - Visit now

Lawson Park Farm Cottage near Coniston is stylish holiday accomodation indeed. Winner of a prestigious Royal Institution of British Architecture Award it combines eco-features with interior artworks to deliver a quirky yet luxurious self-catering get away. Originally part of John Ruskin’s estate at Brantwood, the setting is stunning – inside and out – in its own gardens and with views across the Crake Valley to the Coniston Fells.

LawsonParkFarm, courtesy of venue

The Trout Hotel

The Trout Hotel, Crown Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 0EJ - Visit now

The independent and award-winning Trout Hotel sits on the bank of the River Derwent in Cockermouth, which is pretty much as idyllic and relaxing a setting as you can get. Inside, you’ll find good, old fashioned service and a welcome attention to detail; it’s run by an enthusiastic team who go out of their way to make visitors feel at home.

The Trout hotel Cumbrua

Where to go in Cumbria

Cumbria
Hotel
Gilpin Lake House

Gilpin Lake House is a stunning Lake District getaway, hosting just 16 guests on 100 acres of private grounds, with its own lake.

Cumbria
Hotel
Askham Hall

In a picturesque nook of Cumbria’s Eden Valley, Askham Hall offers luxury accommodation in a historic country house just outside of Penrith.

Bank House
Cumbria
Hotel
Bank House

Close to the centre of Penrith, Bank House is a stylish family-run bed and breakfast, in a Victorian house with a traditional garden. 

The Swan Hotel and Spa
Windermere
Hotel
The Swan Hotel and Spa

The Swan Hotel in Newby Bridge is a boutique hotel with quirky rooms and cottages, based at the tip of Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

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