The ambience of the whole hotel; the opportunities for sitting quietly, both indoors and outdoors was great; the lovely grounds and the view across to Appleby castle; the spacious room.

Our choice of meal in the 'Bistro' was a little disappointing. The menu offered turkey and ham pie in a creamy sauce with a pastry lid as I remember, with chips. In actual fact the 'creamy' sauce was rather more like soup than we expected; there were no separate vegetables, though the helping of meat was excellent. Difficult to eat with a knife and fork - had to use spoons! Personally, we would have preferred to have had the meal on a plate rather than in a cooking pot. Disappointment to do with presentation and expectation rather than quality of food.

The rooms were lovely and spacious, bed was very comfortable and the spa bath tub was a nice touch. The dinner at the AA restaurant was amazing, the service and quality of food was great. The surrounding land/scenery was very beautiful.

The ambience felt quite flat. Whilst dining although the food was incredible, the lights were not dimmed, there was no background music instead you could hear the whispering of neighbouring tables. The ceiling of the bathroom seemed incomplete, assuming this is because there was ceiling speakers fitted and was left unfinished. The bed also squeaked a-lot however was very comfortable.

The staff were very friendly, welcoming and helpful. Breakfast was excellent and the hotel was in a lovely setting with great views. The hotel had character, and we were given a free upgrade without asking. The beds were huge with plenty of pillows and cushions.

There is no lift and it was a bit of a trek to our rooms, but we were offered assistance with our luggage and the view from the room was worth it.

The aqua thermal journey in the spa was amazing. Bar prices decent for a 4* hotel. Food at breakfast and in the bistro was delicious. Attentive friendly staff throughout. Very powerful shower in the room. Bed very comfortable. Beautiful views over to Appleby castle and beyond.

There was a pack of mouldy fruit left in one of the bedroom cupboards. That's all there was for negatives.

A great setting with wonderful staff and a great restaurant. The bar was limited but what was there was well stocked. Can't praise the staff highly enough! The hotel is a bit oldy worldy which adds to its charm. That said the room had a whirlpool bath and great shower.

The only real criticism I had was the windows were old and let in a bad draft. What didn't help was the gales on my second night. Better curtains over the blinds would've helped. Once the heating was on I didn't even notice the cold air.

Lovely hotel in a beautiful location. Food was excellent in both restaurants and good selection for breakfast. Staff were friendly and helpful. It was nice to have the Spa facilities and it’s worth noting this is a separate chargeable enterprise from the hotel. It was a nice treat though to be able to spend a couple of hours relaxing there.

The bedroom was very warm due to the weather we were experiencing at the time, however the window only opened a small way, about 2” at the top so very little air circulated around the room.

When we arrived we were given an upstairs room in the adjoining building. The exterior stairs were a bit steep for me so we asked if they could change us to a ground floor room. They very kindly obliged and we were given a fabulous, large room on the ground floor with two very comfy chairs in front of the TV. The bed was large and comfortable and the shower in the bath was good. The staff were friendly and helpful and the view from the breakfast room overlooking Appleby are beautiful.

Guests were requested to wear a face mask while attending the breakfast buffet. We didn't see anyone else follow these instructions and it wasn't enforced by the staff.

Staff were very friendly and personable. Enjoyed using Spa this time , pool was especially good. comfortable and clean rooms.

Have to say as person with mobility issues surprised entrance into hotel no handle rails. I know only few steps but with my knees it makes such a big difference having rail to help get up the steps. Also no obvious disabled car space . I’d still stay just feel this would aid people with similar issues entering hotel. Everything else was ideal

The hotel is lovely, most of the staff are too. One particular lady found it very difficult to smile or look up from her screen when you entered the hotel. But the rest made up for her lack of social skills. Breakfast & resturant staff were marvellous. Plenty of parking and close enough to walk into town.

We had a Deluxe bedroom, which was fine, the bathroom very small. The toilet squeezed between the bath tub and wall. Luckily, we are not big people, if you are, this would prove to be a problem. So tight, each time you sat down, the loo roll is knocked off the wall ! Plus the shower was very weak/fine spray, takes an age to remove soap.

The staff were so welcoming and friendly, we had a lovely greeting from the lady on reception.The hotel was tastefully decorated, ready for Christmas. The spa was very relaxing and again the staff were great. The food was bang on as my husband would say, plenty of little areas to relax.

I'm really sorry to say my husband and myself found the bed and pillows a bit too hard for our liking but we had a great time never the less.