Rothay Garden

Let me say at the outset what started well ended almost in disaster. My wife has a number of dietary issues including no vinegar as it is a migraine trigger. When booking the accommodation I made them aware. They called me prior to our stay and again checked the dietary issues. Again at checking in we ran through the issues. At dinner the salmon starter came with the vinegar with on the salad. Fortunately my wife recognise this immediately on tasting and disaster was averted but no thanks to the hotel. We were promised the manager would contact us but no response thus far. Hotels grounds are nice but I wouldn't recommend to those with sensitive diets.

Great location for all main areas of the lakes The atmosphere at the hotel is very peaceful & relaxing Now for the odd part, no air con in rooms. When we got to our room with it being a hot 28 degrees outside the windows were open, no blind drawn, blazing sun through the window & only a small table fan which was doing barely anything! Not good enough in that heat. No fridge so again pointless if you’d want to have your water chilled. Then came the complimentary gin decanter, well a dribble in the bottom anyway so asked at reception for it to be topped up. Oh dear the look I got from the one woman was if I was some alcoholic off the street! Her reply was it’s only a shot per person, one time only, like a welcome drink, not the same experience we’ve had at other harbour hotels at all. So in other words you could just leave a 50ml miniature in the room for a couple, why the massive decanter with 2 bottles of tonic? Then came on the first night a faulty fire alarm or so we thought! It went off at various times throughout the night, we did go downstairs around 3 in the morning but as no staff seemed to know what was going on we just went back to bed. In the morning at breakfast we asked about it & was told there had been smoke coming from the dishwasher, small fire so that’s why it kept going off! So sorry no one evacuated the hotel when this was going on, no apologies either from staff. Great health & safety there, along with that our windows didn’t open fully to get out if there was a fire we’d have been burnt alive, that’s without the room being hotter than hell with no air con anyway! The food is what made me think ok, this isn’t too bad as along with the service was outstanding. We had breakfast each morning, freshly cooked & had dinner twice which was great value 3 courses for £35. Now for another negative, on checking out our bill was more than expected & after checking there was drinks that were put through at higher cost plus tips for bar service when we had stood most of the time waiting anyway as staff serve there & serve food in the restaurant all at once! Bit like Pepe from carry on aboard! I asked for tips on the bar drinks to be removed & the drinks altered, which was done but only after I’d been told, well that’s how the system puts it through….well it’s not is it? If I buy house wine, I don’t expect to be charged for a more expensive bottle for example, that is not the system that is someone charging it. Plus I was also told that when you check in you sign to pay a tip each time, errrr no I will tip on food service if I deem it necessary for good service & food quality (which we did in cash!) but I won’t tip for bar service, which I go & order myself! All in all poor from the harbour brand

We’ve just returned from a lovely night away with my partner. We stayed in one of the suites and were warmly welcomed back once again by the lovely reservationist, Joanne, who made us feel right at home. Our room was spacious, modern, and spotlessly clean, with a lovely balcony overlooking the river. The hotel is in an excellent location, perfect for exploring the beautiful Grasmere area on foot. Breakfast was delicious, and we both enjoyed the Full Cumbrian. My only minor criticism would be that the poached eggs were slightly overdone, but that’s purely down to personal preference. We had another wonderful stay and will definitely be back again soon!