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What a hotel, had a superb time and was made most enjoyable by the hotel. I stayed there in June 2006 and found that the hotel to be of a very high standard. The rooms are fantastic and very clean. We stayed in the Rydal Water Suite for 2 nights and thought that it was a lovely room. The service in the diining room again was very good and the breakfast was great. Already reccommended the hotel to family and fiends who are going to book. I would certainly return in the future.
I really do not know why this hotel has received bad reviews! We went for 2 nights in June 06 and stayed in the Ullswater suite room 12. For the price of an average hotel (£160 for both of us for 2 nights) we had a widescreen tv, dvd player, sofa, four poster bed and jacuzzi big enough for four people! The staff couldnt have been friendlier and we saw the owner who spoke to us and was very pleasant (contrary to reviews already posted!). We paid £3 each for breakfast in bed and we had toast, coffee, cereals, and continental breakfast delivered promptly at 9:30. We paid for evening meal one night and it was beautiful. My partner has never had a steak cooked as well in his life! Best of all, the hotel is a 5 minute walk from all the action of Windermere and there are beautiful shops nearby. To sum up, the best parts are;
- the jacuzzi - deep enough to dive in - really cant get across how huge it is!
- location
- the rooms - superb decoration, comfortable and beautiful
- value for money
- friendly staff
- and obviously breakfast in bed!
We will return later in the year!
My husband and I stayed at 21 The Lakes for our first wedding anniversary in April 2006. After booking, we were disappointed to see lots of terrible reviews for the hotel and we did not know what to expect. However, we arrived with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised. We were staying in the Waswater Suite which had a separate private entrance through a patio area with a hot tub. Our suite was lovely, with a downstairs seating area with widescreen tv, a beautiful bathroom with very large spa bath and an upstairs bedroom. Breakfast in the hotel was lovely but we did not try an evening meal, as we enjoy walking into Bowness and eating in one of the many restaurants there. Although our stay was fairly pricey (£320 for 2 nights) we felt the outdoor hot tub, large spa bath, lovely room and free entrance to Parklands Lesiure Club was worth it. We enjoyed our stay at 21 The Lakes so much that we planned to spend our birthdays and anniversary there each year. However, we were extremely disappointed to learn that when we tried to book a weekend in October you have to now book 3 nights to stay in a room with a hot tub. Unfortunately because of this, we will now be choosing alternative accommodation for our twice yearly visits!
It looks nothing like the website and smells!! I have already once stayed in this hotel, we stayed in the Superior Regal Suite which was OK. We decided to return again and stay in the Contemporary Suite. IT DOES NOT HAVE 2 CHAIRS LIKE ON THE PICTURE! Instead it has a dirty old cardboard couch with a sheet thrown over. We planned to stay 2 nights at £290!! And we had already paid in full!! But left after just one night! The room was minty and the television was put in a hole in the wall to look like a PLASMA!! Very cheap! Very small!! The lady on the reception was rather rude, we complained when we left the second night and she said 'well youse were quite happy to stay in it the first night'. HOW RUDE!! Trust me, do not go and waste your money on this hotel!!
My wife and I recently celebrated 30 years together and decided to splash out on a weekend break in the lakes. W e actualy stayed at 21 The Lakes on the night of our anniversary having booked and payed in full some weeks earlier. We arrived too early to take our room so decided on a walk. Before we left for our walk we were asked to dedcide on our evening meal which for us took away part of the pleasure of dining out.
We returned later to find the room ready and the friendly yet somehow scarey receptionist left us to enjoy the room,private patio and outdoor hot-tub / jacuzzi. She returned with our pre-ordered afternoon meal of sandwhiches {nothing special ]
The room itself was o/k to nice. It tried to be classical with a huge four poster and false looking exposed beams. A nice touch was a telly in the bathroom sunk into the wall.
In the evening we dressed and went to the tiny conservatory for a drink where we met a couple on thier honeymoon. Now, I am a bitter and whisky man and my wife likes wine. The only bitter was a local bottled brew and the only wine was a house white.
The newlyweds hadn't booked a meal and upon asking for a table were abruptly told NO.
It became clear later that there was no chef on duty and our meal must have been kept warm or re-heated. Our main courses were awful.
The breakfast was a reasonable buffet affair with some waiter service.
All in all we enjoyed our stay at 21 The Lakes but the lack of a proper bar and unacceptable evening meal fiasco means that we probably wont be returning.
I booked the Buttermere mini suite for a weekend break with my girlfriend. When we arrived the hotel staff were friendly enough and showed us to the room which looks much bigger on the website pictures.
The room was ok although very obviously done on a shoe string budget, and the bathroom lovely - bar the fact you can't use the bath's jet features after 10pm.
It was baking hot and there was no way to ventilate the room apart from leaving the glass door (there are no windows) open all night onto the courtyard and "private(?!?!)" balcony. There was no where to get cold drinks after 10pm, and no mini-bar or fridge to keep them cool after you had been the 15-20 minute walk to the nearest shop to get them.
Breakfast in bed was ordered and it arrived cold and totally unappetising and the less said about the restaurant on our last night the better. Both the starters were awfully presented and just piled on the plate, you could hear the microwaves ping seconds before your starters arrived. Both were returned with only a slight bit eaten (smash and a cut up sausage - no thanks). The "fillet" steak for the main course - I would have been annoyed to have been given that as stewing steak.... terrible... we walked out of the restaurant and went somewhere else instead.
We returned to spend the last night in the hotel and left very early, neither of us could wait to get away and there is no way we would return again, a truly awful experience.
Disappointing, This Hotel is really only a “Glorified B&B”
You pay the exuberant price for a themed room & don’t expect anything else. I’ve stayed in far superior hotels for the same cost.
Car Parking is terrible, I ended up parking on the street, and the breakfast room is absolutely tiny, you move – the table moves & so does the next guest crammed in with you.
Evening meal arrangements are peculiar - you have to choose your meal before 5pm. Needless to say I didn’t use this opportunity.
Plus points – The staff are very helpful & courteous, the rooms & in fact the hotel are immaculate.
Overall, I think it’s overstretched to perform the function of a “Hotel”.
We booked this hotel as a birthday treat after raving reviews in a couple of magazines. As soon as we arrived the reception area was dull and tiny and our room the mini regal suite seemed to have had a cheap and tacky makeover done to it, with gold spray mdf furniture. With the humidity, no air con or fan was available and we had to keep a window open which subsequently resulted in our 11 week old baby being bitten on his eye. One staff member was very rude to my husband when he asked if the babies bottles could be sterilised using the microwave saying she was much too busy, even though we had asked before booking if it would be okay to bring the baby. The bathroom was tiny and no shower gel or nice towels available. Breakfast was also disappointing for the price and I can't understand why you can't cancel once you have booked and have to pay upfront - perhaps its in case you read one of these reviews and find out the truth! Overall I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.
This hotel gives good website. Unfortunately the reality is actually an overglorified, tacky B&B. In my opinion there are trade description issues for using the word 'boutique' in connection with this place.
Our room was patently done on a shoestring budget. The 'floating' bed was actually a half painted mass of RSJ's and a death trap due to the height of the step from the floor. The spa bath redeemed the room somewhat, except that you couldn't use it after 10pm. The curtains were so flimsy you woke at about 6am. And we were advised that if we didn't make our room available for servicing by 10.30am, there was a risk it wouldn't get done! This for a place which charges £170 a night. No minibar either.
On the Sunday morning of our stay housekeeping continually pestered us to get into our room, before finally asking how long we would be be. They then proceeded to vaccum outside in case we didn't quite get the hint.
We had to order dinner two days before we arrived as they stopped serving at 8pm, and the only words for the meal are 'truly awful.'Everything out of packet, then straight into a microwave. We didn't ever make breakfast as it finished at 9.30am, but the whole cooking smell lingered over the hotel and made it up to our room anyway.
The only positives I can think of are a. it is in a good position near the lovely town of Bowness.
b. It gaveus a good laugh it was so dreadful. Until we remembered how much it cost.
As a journalist I will be investigating just which ladies magazines this place has meant to have won awards in!
Stayed in the Rydal Water mini suite 2 nights in jul 06 at cost of £300.
This is the worst value for money hotel i have ever stayed in and felt ripped off to say the least, the web site is totally misleading and the room was very average, it was very small ,you could not see the TV whilst lying on the bed as the 2 seater settee along the bottom of the bed blocked the view.
The bathroom was modern with a jucuzzi bath, but again very average for the money.!
The setting of the hotel is misleading on the website its on a busy road!
If we had been allowed to view the room prior to paying no way would we have paid!
I ve written to complain customers services is non existant.
Be Aware that once you have paid forget it, you will get no partial refund they don,t accept complaints !
The place is a disgrace to the tourist Industry.!!!
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Address: Lake Road, , Windermere, England LA23 3JF
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