The best hotels in the Lake District for a scenic stay (updated 2025)

Where? Great Langdale, near Ambleside

The Lake District’s Landgale Valley might just be the nicest spot in the Lake District, and the Langdale Hotel & Spa is one of its loveliest places to stay. It’s home to the Brimstone Hotel, an upmarket but perfectly welcome hotel where rooms have open balconies with magnificent views over the woodlands, free-standing baths and a ridiculously comfy bed, as well as good breakfast. The Langdale is also home to self-catering chalets, cottages, lodges and a spa, and the little town of Ambleside is just a taxi ride away.

Address: The Langdale Estate, Great Langdale, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 9JD, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from around £370 per night
Closest transport: Oxenholme Lake District Station (around 20 minutes by taxi) or Windermere Station (taxi transfer or bus)

Where? Watermillock, Ullswater

Where? Bowland Bridge, Strawberry Bank, south-east Lake District

A characterful warren of interconnecting rooms, low ceilings and fireside nooks, the Mason's Arms has been a favourite among locals for decades. A drinks menu as long as the phone book (quality and quantity though it must be said), a capacious heated terrace with heaters and a crowd-pleasing pubby menu haven’t harmed. Its charms have survived the addition of accommodation, which comprises cottages with an open fire and suites, attractively done out in contemporary country style. Convenient for Windermere, but pleasantly removed from its tourist traffic. 

Address: Strawberry Bank, Cartmel Fell, Bowland Bridge, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6NW, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from around £105 per night
Closest transport: Nearest train: Grange-over-Sands Station (10 minutes by car)

Where? Loweswater, Mellbreak Fell

You won’t find anything flashy at this remote inn in the quiet western Lakes. Instead, you’ll be impressed by the warm hospitality, delicious food and great real ales (with many brewed in the Lakes). Oh, and there’s fantastic walking as Kirkstile Inn is between Loweswater and Crummock Water, bang up against Melbreak crag. The cosy bedrooms come beamed and decked out in classic cottage furnishings.

Time Out tip: Properly hungry? While the traditional pub fare comes impeccably sourced and cooked, with no foam in sight. Just good, proper pub food (and a whole menu just for sausages). 

Address: Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 0RU, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from about £140 per night
Closest transport: Workington (30 mins by car)

Where? Borrowdale Valley, near Keswick and right by the Lodore Falls

If quality food and a dose of relaxation sounds just as appealing as rambling through boundless countryside, then this Lodore Falls hotel is your dream spot. While the main hotel remains mostly traditional, with an elegant British-led dining room and cosy lounges warmed by open fires, Mizu, its fantastic pan-Asian restaurant, offers first-rate sushi and rice dishes in a modern setting. Then there’s the spa (plus 18 adjoining suites), so you might not make it out for a walk after all.

Time Out tip: There’s a great afternoon tea here, and it’s dog-friendly so your pooch can come along too.

Address: Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa, Borrowdale, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5UX, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from around £203 per night
Closest transport: Penrith Station (around 30 minutes by car)

Where? Bowness-on-Windermere, Lake Windermere

This Georgian estate has defined informal Lakes luxury for three decades, a pioneering boutique with its handful of stylish rooms, hideaway location and unstinting personal service. There’s five very nice ‘spa lodges’, each with a steam room, hydrotherapy tub and outdoor sauna. And the three high-end restaurants, Champagne bar, croquet lawn and no-weddings rule keep it exclusive. The hotel also specialises in local cuisines – it’s real Lake District luxury. We haven’t even mentioned the private hot tubs... 

Where? 

Where? Grasmere, Central Fells

William Wordsworth came to Grasmere for the simple life, and you can still tramp into the fells from here, but the new Forest Side hotel is all about sophistication. This gothic manor has been transformed into delicately beautiful, eco-friendly lodgings conceived around all things Lake District – even the carpets woven from Herdwick wool are sourced locally. The Michelin-starred restaurant doesn’t just use Cumbrian ingredients; it grows, pickles and forages them, then confects them into unforgettable tasting menus.

Time Out tip: As is a dying art these days, rooms here actually include breakfast. Always a win in our books.  

Address: Forest Side Hotel, Keswick Road, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9RN, United Kingdom 
Price: Starting from around £310 per night
Closest transport: Nearest train access via Oxenholme Lake District Station (approximately 30–45 min by taxi), or Windermere Station by taxi

Where? Lake Grasmere, a short walk from Grasmere town

Found just a short walk away from Grasmere village, on the shores of Grasmere, the Ambleside does grandeur as few others can – or any hotel can, honestly. The Daffodil is a stunning mid-nineteenth-century mansion, but don’t go thinking this is a stuffy old house that relies on its looks. In fact, the Lake District hotel is about as contemporary as they come, offering a high-end, high-spec spa, seriously swanky rooms and some of the best dining in the area.

Address: The Daffodil Hotel & Spa, By The Lake, Keswick Road, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9PR, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from around £130 per night
Closest transport: Windermere Station (around 20 minutes by car)

Where? Seatoller, Borrowdale Valley, central Lake District

A guesthouse for over a century (with the visitors’ books to prove it), Seatoller House is a legend among walkers. It’s a combination of hostel and rural retreat, steeped in the culture of the outdoors. Meals are communal (but far from basic), and the location at the head of Borrowdale is a hiker’s dream. Rooms – everything, in fact – are less rudimentary than you might expect, with pleasing white-and-wood decor and their own bathrooms. Beautiful gardens too. They pride themselves on a really nice warm welcome, and it’s been going for over a century, so they've pretty much perfected the art in that time. 

Address: Seatoller House, Borrowdale, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5XN, United Kingdom
Price: Starting from around £175 per night (breakfast included)
Closest transport: Keswick (around 30 minutes by bus)