We stayed here for 3 nights to celebrate my husband's birthday. Not having stayed in this area before I found the hotel on the internet and wondered if it would be as good as the website showed. On arrival we were given a wonderful greeting by the friendly and very efficient receptionist who informed us that we had been upgraded to a VIP suite.
The surroundings are perfect with well tended gardens, (would love to stay in the summer and enjoy alfresco dining).The hotel itself is luxurious, tastefully decorated, and beautifully maintained. Our suite was superb with masses of space and a 4 poster bed. Food is excellent with varied menu featuring a number of game dishes in season. We loved the log fire in the bar and wood burning stove in reception/lounge. All staff were very attentive and professional, without being intrusive, but we have to give extra marks and a big thankyou to Jill- June?, not sure of her name, in reception, who gave us wonderful service.Our only slight negative comment would be that the hot water was not very hot on one occasion when my husband ran a second bath a little while following mine.
We are walkers and on the first day did the Walk in J R Tolkein's footsteps, suggested by the receptionist and it was a lovely walk, albeit a bit muddy in areas, which was expected at this time of year.
It was nice eating bread each day that had been baked in the on site bakery. We purchased some to take home with us.
I would suggest that traveller's purchase a one inch map of the area if they intend to explore the area as most of the lovely country roads are not shown on many road maps.
A perfect few days.

We stayed at this outstanding hotel and in years of travelling around the world I have experienced few better overnight stays. We were upgraded to a suite, and the suites were fabulous. We had a very early start, and the kitchen accommodated us by providing an unbelievable breakfast on demand to set us up for the day. But that was nothing compared to the quality of the evening meal, which was as good as anything I've ever tasted. Add to that the attentiveness of the staff, the beauty of the setting, the attention to detail throughout, I could go on and on... Just about perfect.

I held my wedding here in July this year and we had the most amazing day and would like to thank Janet and all her staff for their care and attention in making our day so wonderful. We didn't need to worry about anything at- all the tables were lovely, everything was clean, the timings worked perfectly, the food was delicious and all the guests loved their bedrooms. We were lucky enough to be blessed with gorgeous sunny weather so the gardens were in full glory and our guests sat outside all day !
The staple oak suite was magnificent, very comfortable and tasteful. Our family and friends were all very impressed. The children enjoyed roaming around the gardens and looking at the pigs and duckpond. Breakfast was self service and was all very fresh with plenty of choice, toast was made to order. Beautiful hotel with a lovely mix of country and modern, it truly reflects Lancashire and the surrounding area.
Do take the things you read on here with a pinch of salt, this really is a good hotel (it is a country chic hotel which began life as a farm so unless you know the country and the county you can't really compare it with an ultra modern city hotel because it isn't supposed to be !)

I stayed for one night as my sister was married at Gibbon Bridge. I loved every minute of staying here. The rooms were very spacious and spotlessly clean, the hotel is full of character and beautifully decorated, the food is simply a taste explosion and the staff are wonderfully helpful and polite. The reception was held in the cavalier room which was very cosy, perfect for an intimate wedding of 40, the staff were very attentive all night serving dinner and drinks. I would thoroughly recommend anyone staying for a special treat book suite 31 as it is amazing! Don't listen to the rubbish reviews about lighting and creaky floorboards - the hotel has character for goodness sake! I never write reviews but this hidden gem truely deserves one. Wonderful :)