We stayed at the Oak Bank from 30/12/11-02/01/12 for a 3 night New Year break.
It is in a lovely location in Grasmere village with its pubs, tearooms and walks straight from the door.
We arrived earlier than our check in time, but Simon showed us to our room without a problem. We thought the room was a little small at first but it turned out to be very cosy and with a comfortable bed. Perfectly adequate for a stay in the Lake District (you dont spend a lot of time in your room anyway!). We were welcomed with afternoon tea in the cosy bar lounge with the real fire going. Very relaxing. Here we got chatting to the other guests who were staying for the same 3 night break.
The evening meals and the breakfasts were exceptional with a good choice of quality dishes made with locally sourced ingredients (just watch that waistline!!).
New Years eve was perfect. We went out walking in the morning then to the complimentary Langdale spa in the afternoon for a swim, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. In the evening we met in the bar for champagne and canapes followed by our 8 course meal. We paid extra for the matching wine flight and thought it was well worth the money. After dinner, coffee and petit fours were served in the lounges followed by dancing and fireworks. We felt so relaxed around the staff and the other guests (some of whom had returned here year after year for new year) that we felt more like we were celebrating new year at a friends house.
It is obvious that Simon, Glynis and the staff work very hard. They gave us excellent service throughout our stay and I certainly hope to return for another stay.

We stayed at this hotel between christmas and new year for two nights having booked after reading tripadvsor reviews. We were certainly not disapointed. Our room although slightly on the small side was beautifully furnished and decorated. A small caraffe of sherry was a lovely touch as were the nice toiletries in the bathroom. The food here is something else! We had dinner on both evenings and so pleased we did - was excellent value. To find fine dining is such a small friendly hotel made our christmas. Will deffinately be back

We booked 2 rooms for a 2 night stay between Christmas & New Year we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The rooms were very comfortable although slightly on the small size but very clean with nice decor. The food was amazing, I can't remember having food of the oak banks standard anywhere for a long time. The service was excellent and although this was our first visit we will definitely be back.

We were delayed on our way to Oak Bank but this was no problem, sandwiches were made for us without asking and because the proprietress felt sorry for us and our long journey she upgraded our room. Frankly we couldn't have asked for more with this hotel, the food was good, their local knowledge was excellent and they couldn't have been more helpful.