Hillthwaite House Hotel

, Windermere, United Kingdom
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Hillthwaite House Hotel

, Windermere
3 star

Rooms: 16

Thornbarrow Road - Windermere - England - LA23 2DF - United Kingdom Hotel Website | | 44 01539443636
237 Traveller

Reviews - Hillthwaite House Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Hillthwaite House Hotel

great stay

from mybike321
just a quick line to say how enjoyable our stay at hillthwaite house was, from arrival, to departure. room 12 was immaculate ,great view lived up to our expectations, food was excellent, lounge very comfortable with open fire, staff friendly and efficient ,we will hopefully return in the future

Regular Tourist

from RegularTripper
We stayed two nights on the hotel special deal. I had seen some of the comments on this website and was unsure what we would find. To our delight we found the hotel to be very good. Our bedroom, in the annexe, was of a good size and was decorated to a good standard. The king sized bed was very comfortable and the bathroom fttings and fixtures were to a good standard and all in good working order. The food was excellent and the service prompt and professional. All staff were pleasant and helpful. Some of the decorations and furniture in the public areas may not suite all tastes but we found overall that the positve aspects of the hotel far outweighed any negative aspects. I would certainly stay there again.

We really liked Hillthwaite House

from rosieh
We took a weekend break at Hillthwaite House to celebrate my husband's 50th Birthday. I was looking for somewhere with a good restaurant and chose Hillthwaite after reading some good reviews on Trip Advisor.

We stayed in the "Lodge" or annex, which is a separate building connected to the main house by covered walkway. Because we left it quite late to book we couldn't get an exec room, however the room we did get (double with jacuzzi bath but no lake view) was very nice. Large comfy bed, spotlessly clean, and well decorated/furnished.

The hotel is no more than a short stroll away so you don't feel "out of it" in the annex.

All of the staff were helpful and friendly, at check in, during our stay and when checking out. In particular there is a young Australian couple who seem to work incredibly hard at keeping things ticking over (and they are both a dab hand at multi-tasking).

The food is excellent, and there is a good wine list with wine/prices to suit most tastes. The dinner included in our rate was 5 courses, and the choice on the menu was well thought out. Breakfast menu is also extensive. The quality of the food is superb and it is very well cooked.

Overall the hotel has a nice atmosphere... nice mix of people/age groups and not at all stuffy (as sometimes this type of hotel can be, in my experience).

Hillthwaite House is situated between Windermere and Bowness - about a 20 minute stroll from each. The road up to the hotel is a slight hill and then the hotel drive gets quite steep (but it's short and manageable). It was nice to leave the car behind for a day and walk around/take boats and buses.

The pool and sauna are nice to spend a little time in before breakfast or dinner.

I would struggle to criticise this hotel - apart from the creaky floorboards in the room above ours!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and I would recommend this hotel for anybody looking for a relaxing break in a great location with excellent food.

Fantastic food and service

from lindai
We have just had a fantastic two night stay at Hillthwaite House Hotel. We stayed in Annex Room 5 (small but very comfortable and with lake views). The staff at the hotel went out of their way to make our stay special - they were friendly, courteous, and very helpful. The pool, sauna and steam room were all very clean and tidy. As it was a great weekend weather wise we were able to enjoy having drinks on the lovely terrace overlooking the lake.

The best aspect of our stay was the delicious food - every meal was fantastic. In particular I was impressed with the quality and choice of vegetarian food. If you don't like what is on the evening menu, there is also an alternative vegetarian menu with around 6 choices of both starters and main courses. I'd definitely recommend the goats cheese puddings - I've asked the chef for the recipe! My husband reports that the meat dishes were also exceptional. We would definitely recommend Hillthwaite House and are looking forward to returning for another trip. It offers great food, friendly staff, comfortable accommodation and lovely views - and overall we felt our trip was great value for money.

what a let down

from firstclassalltheway
A luxury break was promised and not delivered.A total let down for our first wedding anniversary.Not only were we given the smallest room in the hotel (no 23,avoid at all costs !) with no discount (still cost £140 a night !),the room was a disgrace in that it hadnt been hoovered,the wallpaper was grubby and needed changing.On top of that there was a crack in the window and the heating didnt work (AT ALL).We asked to be moved and were told the hotel was fully booked.beautiful scenery ,terrible hotel !!
Management Response from SOUTHLAKER
This traveller has already e-mailed us with his complaints but in such a rude manner that I chose not to reply. However in response to the review I should like to comment that this booking was made less than 24 hours before arrival and we only had a small double room available which was made clear at the time the reservation was taken. I would also like to point out that the booking was for one night for bed and breakfast only on a very busy Saturday night when the hotel was full! Whilst I recognise that there was a problem with the room heating my staff made every effort to put the matter right but were prevented from doing so by the guest's continuous occupation of the room. The guests were offered complimentary drinks in the bar to enable the heating problem to be sorted out- they did not accept the offer. My final comments are that if the guests found the room so objectionable they should not have occupied it in the first place and found accommodation elsewhere and perhaps it would also have been sensible to plan the 'luxury break' a little more than 24 hours in advance when we may have been able to offer accommodation more suitable for such a 'special' occasion.

Fantastic stay

from memberld
Having just returned from a week-end break at the Hillthwaite Hotel I just had to say our stay was fantastic. Our compliments go to the wonderful chef - all the meals were magnificent, and the dining room is beautiful. The staff were all lovely, and extremely friendly, we had a really relaxing stay, our room was lovely (No 35), the views were overwhelming - the only down side was that we had to come home , we really could have stayed longer !

The weekend was booked by our son and his new wife as a thank you for all the help that we had given them for their wedding recently, and they were concerned as they booked it on recommendation from acquaintances of theirs, but we will certainly be visiting the hotel again.

Tired, shabby and in need of serious refurb!!

from MrChunkywunky
How can I possibly explain how bad this hotel was...We stayed for my wifes 30th birthday in the Summer. The rooms were the worst I had ever seen - we saw 2 which we rejected. The so called lake view jacuzzi rooms were slightly better, although I do mean slightly. Our double bedroom although clean was smaller than some single rooms I have stayed in at comparable hotels in the U.K. and in the blistering Summer heat with no air-conditioning our windows were painted shut!! The decor looked like it came off the set of Faulty Towers - fresh from the seventies. The pool area was filthy with a thick black tide mark running right round the edging - disgusting. The public rooms still show a glimpse of former, grander days but now are very tired and in need of refurbishment, the decor was old-fashioned (everything was flowery including the carpets and curtains, not for the younger generation !!), the furniture chipped and sticky with dirt. Oh, but breakfast and dinner in the restaurant was fine, as was the service a nice clean well decorated environment I guess they blew their budget on this area and forgot about the rest of the hotel!!! I would not go back nor recommend.
Management Response from SOUTHLAKER
I consider this review to be bordering on insulting, relying entirely upon the author's subjective opinions which I consider to be masking a personal 'hidden agenda'. My only comment is that if the traveller was so disenchanted with us in the summer why has it taken until October for him/her to pen such a critical review?

Good but not quite there...

from spal
We stayed at this Hotel as a family group of 8 to celebrate my father's 80th birthday.

There are lots of good things about the Hotel. The staff were very friendly and helpful and helped keep the surprise of us all attending. They were also helpful in setting up the birthday cake, etc, on one afternoon. The position of the hotel is very good with excellent views over the lake and the hills. The food was very good, although perhaps a bit of a limited choice.

However, the decoration generally of the hotel is a little tired and a bit shabby in some places and is not helped by the displays of plastic flowers. Our room, which was a lake view room supposed to be above the standard level of a double room was small and the ceiling paper had clearly come off due to damp at some stage and had been roughly and not completely stuck back.

The Hotel is supposed to be generally non-smoking, except for designated areas, yet by brother's room smelt very strongly of smoke, more so than perhaps someone just lighting up as a one off.

My daughter who had a single room looked out on to the inner courtyard area and the back door to the kitchens and was kept awake late at night and early morning by tidying and preparation.

Note that there is no lift - so disabled persons would have to be on the ground floor with limited view.

We also had probelms with hot water in some rooms when there was high demand in the early evening.

Whilst the food was good the service was slow. The hotel was relatively full but they seemed to have too few staff on duty to cope with the numbers, dspite having 1/4 hour time slots for dinner. At breakfast on both mornings we had to wait 20 minutes+ for our cooked breakfast, with tea and toast delivered earlier so was cold and needed replacing.

The Hotel pool "complex" consisted of a very small pool (10 meters long?) and a small steam room and sauna. There were no secure lockers in the pool area. If you got more than about 6 people in the pool it was full.

So overall, whilst we can't say the this family event was spoiled I think the general feeling of the group was that it was perhaps not quite as good as it could have been. We wouldn't throw our hands up in horror if someone said they were going here, but we won't be rushing back all the same.

Fabulous!

from Yoonie
My husband and I stayed at Hillthwaite House in November 2005, for a long weekend. We had absolutely the best time. We paid a little extra for a room with lake view and jacuzzi, but it was worth every penny. The room was lovely and the view was great. The staff are really friendly and helpful, but not at all "in your face". The facilities were very good, and the food in their restaurant is some of the best we've ever eaten. We will definitely be visiting again, and I would recommend it to anyone!

A Peaceful Retreat

from lLevidoll
We've just returned from Hillthwaite (Sept 06) and have loved every minute of being there. Compliments to the owners - they certainly know how to pick their staff - courteous without being nauseating, helpful and friendly. Dining room ran like clockwork, was a pleasure to eat in and the food was brilliant. The only downside was our room. We only booked a standard double ensuite, but in hindsight, when we go again (and we will) we'll pay extra for an upgrade. The bedroom was dated and the carpet grubby, and the pink bathroom suite was old and marked with wallpaper coming off the walls. However, I do have to say that it was very clean and comfortable, and there was everything in it that we needed to enjoy our stay. We used the swimming pool, sauna and steam room and they were fine. The atmosphere at Hillthwaite is relaxing and peaceful and we would recommend it to others. We will certainly be returning but hopefully not to that same bedroom !

Top Local Tips for Windermere

There are some excellent walks nearby. Excellent walks nearby. A visit to Brockhole visitor centre - It's free to get in, you just pay for parking in the pay & display car park. It has a great adventure play area for kids and you can get down to the lake & get a boat trip from the jetty on a small boat.

A very busy town If you are looking for a quite weekend away avoid Windermere town centre, take yourself further afield to a smaller town or village where there will be less people and you can really enjoy the Lakes experience. Too many tourists in Winderemere!

Blackwell if you like looking around houses, the wonderful Arts & Crafts house, Blackwell is only a few miles away

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Other names for Hillthwaite House Hotel

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  • hillthwaite house
  • hillthwaite hotel windermere
  • hillthwaite hotel
  • Address: Thornbarrow Road - Windermere - England - LA23 2DF - United Kingdom
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