Hotel of the Week: Gilpin Hotel & Lake House

For anyone that’s stepped foot in the Lake District before – whether on the craggy hillsides dotted with fluffy sheep or among the blossoming woodlands teeming with flower, ferns, wandering deer and trickling waterfalls – we know it’s a place of never-ending magical beauty. Taking full advantage of its backdrop, Gilpin Hotel and Lake House is a set of two family-owned country manors near Windermere in Cumbria, whose bubbling jacuzzies and spa suites design themselves around the area’s small mountain lakes, otherwise known as tarns.

Once the family holiday home, today the properties sit as gleamingly swanky, commodious private bedrooms, suites and lodges, with Michelin-starred SOURCE and spas galore on site. A mile apart from each other, Gilpin Hotel is the primary property, boasting the hotel’s two restaurants, central spa area and 30 bedrooms, suites and lodges, while Gilpin Lake House is more intimate, with just six bedrooms and two spa suites that overlook a glistening central tarn.

Visiting in the height of a summer heatwave, marking the end of a little sweatier than anticipated car journey, on arrival my guest and I were swept into the hum of crickets, grounds in full bloom and a sun-dazzling high of twenties. Feeling more South of France than coolcation, it didn’t take long to ease into the countryside calm. We were welcomed into the lounge, winding through snug, homely reception corridors that open into a bright conservatory area with cushy armchairs and a drinks list to peruse.

WHAT ARE THE ROOMS LIKE?

Once we were finished with a pair of very refreshing grapefruit tonics we had singled out, it was time to venture to our room for our first night. Finding ourselves on a golf buggy down a winding pathway, our stay in the Lake Spa Suite was at the end in its own property, and it looked magnificent. We parked up at what felt like the treasure at the end of a gold hunt, as the wooden cabin-like lodge sat right above a luminous tarn – as if floating on the water.

The property opens itself up through vast glass doors and windows to wooden decking and a picture-perfect exterior of a sky-blue scintillating jacuzzi and rocky grassland home to a llama or three. The suite is completely private, with no sight of anything or anyone – apart from the llamas – in the quiet wonder of the surrounds.

While the outside is pure rural bliss, the inside leans more towards a bachelor pad Airbnb, as a gaping central open planned living space is polished in a glossy, almost tropical finish. Filled with statement pieces, the room features a grand ceramic vase with snake plants poking through, towering mirrors complemented with intricate golf-leaf sinks, a white stone bathtub in the centre and a jet-black fireplace that hangs from the ceiling. To the right side of the space is the bedroom, and more uniquely, the other is kitted out with its very own professional spa featuring a sauna, steam room, massage table and massage chair.

Never before have I stayed in a room with its own fully functioning spa, so I felt a bit like a kid in a candy shop hopping from sauna to steam to lying on the massage table with inflammation-tackling infrared lighting glowing down on me. After enough rejuvenation jumping, we catch sight of the Laurent-Perrier champagne gleaming from its ice bucket and escort our glasses to the hot tub. The suite sets itself up very well for a couple’s celebratory or honeymoon retreat.

On our second night, we were booked into a spa room at the Lake House, and while the room itself wasn’t as impressive as our lavish lake spa pad – that’s a tough one to beat – the setting absolutely radiates with beauty. It was quite breathtaking arriving at the Lake House, particularly as we were lucky enough for a fully shining summer’s day, but the view of the tarn looks as if it’s plucked straight from a Beatrix Potter book, with English countryside in its full glory. Utterly serene, you could see the splash of a tadpole in water, as a couple of wooden canoe boats float placidly. A lushly green lawn leads to a wooden deck, with a small ladder into the tarn, for anyone that way inclined. I chose to perch on the bench and simply soak in the real-life picture in front of me.

WHERE CAN YOU EAT AND DRINK AT THE HOTEL?

We ate at both restaurants during our stay, dining at SOURCE the first and at its fun casual pan-Asian sibling Gilpin Spice the second. SOURCE, run by Head Chef Kevin Scanlan, brings sleek tables, muted colours and moody red electric lighting for both a composed and exciting atmosphere. Generous tasting menus are lively and intricate; we began with intensely packed miniature savoury choux pastry and onion tartlets. Impressive dishes included an amalgamation of foraged mushrooms in all their varieties – cep, enoki, truffle, and Japanese-inspired long grown heritage beef barbecued with pickled kohlrabi and a nutty, full-bodied sauce with juniper and green peppercorn. Deeply flavourful and rich, and complemented with expert wine pairings, it’s a real treat.

SPHERE’S TOP TIPS FOR A TOP STAY

• If you're staying in Gilpin Hotel, wander down to the Lake House for afternoon tea with the prettiest garden view

• If you can, opt for a spa lodge or suite, each own to their own private hot tub, sauna and spa room.

Classic Bedrooms start from £395 per night, Lake House Bedrooms start from £430 per night and Spa Lodges start from £900 per night. Book website.com thegilpin.co.uk