poor Pr ,from the manager, a complete control fanatic ,not a relaxing stay,superficially helpful,small bath towels no glass beaker or biscuits in the room on the last day. not to be recommended

Lovely hotel, warm hospitality and great atmosphere. We really enjoyed our holiday in Lairbeck Hotel but we wish it was a bit closer to ... Italy! Grazie to Malcolm, Jennifer and Karen.

I think that there are a couple of individual features about this hotel to note; both could be seen as either positive or negative depending on your perspective.

1) The evening meal arrangements: if you take an evening meal you are presnted with the menu at breakfast and make a selection from 4/5 starters and 3 main courses - all of these change each day. The choices are of the home cooking rather than fine dining variety. This was exactly what we wanted so worked very well for us but if you like to be - for instance - always able to have a steak then you should be aware of this.

2) Not a good hotel for smokers. I never expect to be able to smoke indoors and am very happy to comply with these rules - however not being able to smoke in the garden seems excessive to me.

Having made these remarks there are lots of positives ; the friendliness of the owners and staff (well one member of staff who worked incredibly hard), the comfort and views from the rooms, the standard of the cooking. If you are happy with a limited menu and, preferably, a non-smoker then this is an ideal hotel. We met people who had been coming back for years and years so it obviously gets a lot right!

This is a wonderful Inn to use as your home base to explore the North Lakes Area and within an easy commute to the South Lakes. We arrived frustrated and fatigued from our first experience of driving on the other side of the road (Yanks) from Penrith train station. We were met by Malcolm who offered kind words of understanding, help with the luggage and an assist to Gran's Room #11.

Nice large room, comfy bed, full shower, large bathroom and free WiFi which worked great from our room. Because of the cocktail hour, Malcolm served as our bartender as well in a convivial room designed for guests to talk and share.

We had dinner the first night at the hotel fashioned from chef and co-owner Jennifer (Malcolm wife) and served by their very competent and friendly right hand person--Karen. The dinner clearly dispelled our notion that the Brits can't cook. It was most excellent as was dinner on our 3rd night. Varied menu including traditional English Beef Pie, Lasagna, Beef dishes, veggie dishes, salmon and local fish.

Dinner and full English Breakfasts are served in another delightfully light and airy room which made conversations with our fellow travelers easy. Most of the guests were Brits and Australians, up to the Lake Districts for walks and treks.

The weather was terrible with rain and wind, but we had a delightful time with our 3 hosts and other guests---all of whom were apologizing for the weather and giving us pep talks on driving the narrow roads on the other side. Malcolm produced Google maps for us to get to the nearby villages of Ambleside and Grasmere as well as our trip back to the Penrith Station.

I don't think we've ever had the personal care displayed from Inn owners who along with Karen are very easy to engage in conversation, share a story and a good belly laugh. This is the Inn where you want to stay for your trip to or through the North Lakes.