North Lakes Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Great Britain

The Room was overall tidy and clean for the most part but there were several items that required attention to detail (see photos and below). There was a nice dog bed in the room and a single dog bowl we used for the dogs water. Thus was nice and the dog enjoyed it, seemingly. There was a dog towel in the room which was very handy. There was a blue sofa in the room, absolutely covered in marks and stains. Very dirty. I didn't want to touch it, as it made us feel a little ..eugh. Its understandable given its a dog friendly room, but again... attention to detail. The pillows on the bed were terrible, they were empty to the point you might as well have your head on the bed sheet - that said there as positives to the bed - the bed and bedding itself was very warm and comfy. I didn't wake up with a bad back or sore sides and it was comfy to lie on. The rooms are incredibly noisy - you can hear next door talking on both sides, doors slamming at all hours, people talking in corridors and noise outside. We literally heard someone taking a dump at 5am next door and taking a pee. The people were not loud, the room just has no sound proofing. We were unlucky enough to have the milk dispenser outside our room, so the dog was getting set off constantly. When we went to make hot drinks, the cups were dirty and one still even had a full lip stick mark on it. There water dispenser the other end of the corridor and although this doesn't sound like an issue it's a pain making 15 journeys a day with the container. It could use a dispenser at each end of the corridor. The corridors smell nice and like you'd expect of a Spa facility but the carpets were worn and dirty. In the bathroom, the side of the bath was falling off, there was rust all along the curtain rail and the shower curtain was full of stains. The shower head was rusty and and even on the hottest setting the shower water is just slightly beyond warm - not hot. The shower is in a bath and it looked quite outdated, rather than having a walk in shower. But, the White Company shampoo, body lotions and hand washes were really nice. The white bathroom towels were clean and fairly soft, they smelled fresh. The bathrobes supplied, 1 was dirty and the pocket was hanging off the other. We got a replacement from the reception and that one had a pocket ripped half off too. The spa itself - pool was a nice temperate but it was tiny in comparison the amount of customers using it. Not enough space to swim, kids splashing, screaming and shouting. It was not relaxing in that respect. Steam room was a good temperature and had a eucalyptus scent which was good. The jacuzzi was nice and hot but again, anything over 4 people was cramped and invasive - as it was busy for the 2 hours we were in there this was constant. There are only 6 deck chairs, we were lucky enough to get 2. Hot drinks available or water from desk nearby, which was a nice touch and very enjoyable. The breakfasts were 5 out of 5. The dinner the same. The food was great albeit a little expensive for the size of the meals. But the quality was brilliant. We had to ask for a dog sausage as this was not automatically provided. The staff were all really nice, really helpful. 10/10 for the staff. All the staff worked really hard. Really polite, fix anything you ask of them and rectified anything they could. There was a children's birthday party on the Saturday, they kept running around and shouting in the dining area. This was really upsetting everyone's dogs. The staff asked the parents to control the children (in better wording) which helped slightly but they were still a nuisance and it ruined the chilled atmosphere. Hosting a kids party in such a venue seemed a little ridiculous - understandable as money I'm sure is tight there and every penny counts. But, taping off the door would be better, as we didn't go to a relaxing spa hotel to deal with...

Overall, the hotel lacks a clear identity. By trying to appeal to too many different groups—families, couples, dog lovers, and spa-goers—it risks disappointment. If it had been advertised as a family-friendly hotel with a pool, sauna, and hot tub, I wouldn’t have been put off booking (or as a business traveller), but I would have arrived with much clearer expectations. While I’ve stayed in worse places, I'd try other options if I was back in the area.

Here's why:

We booked this spa hotel last minute for a couple’s NYE getaway but were immediately disappointed to find that the advertised à la carte restaurant was unavailable, replaced by an £85 buffet. After questioning what we were getting for the price, staff eventually agreed to reduce the rate and reassured us the buffet would be a “lavish seafood buffet” with “carved meats.” When I specifically asked if “carved meats” meant a carvery, I was told, "no".

Upon arrival for dinner, the canapés and champagne were a nice touch, and the service was friendly. However, the “carved meats” did indeed turn out to be a carvery. To be fair, it was a very good carvery, with plenty of meat and all the trimmings, but calling it anything else felt unnecessarily patronising. If it’s a carvery, just call it a carvery.

Similarly, the seafood buffet was not “lavish.” For that description, I would expect premium options like lobster, but instead, it consisted of mussels, prawns in pink sauce, and minced crab meat. While the seafood was nice, it didn’t match the premium experience we were led to expect before the rate reduction. The addition of a singer and attentive service was a pleasant touch, but the experience still wasn’t worth £85, even with a NYE premium. As it was, the reduced rate felt fair, given drinks weren’t included.

Even at the reduced rate, having dogs near the dining area barking during NYE dinner felt inappropriate. We hadn’t realised the hotel was dog-friendly when booking, partly because I’ve never known a spa hotel to allow dogs, so I hadn’t thought to check. While this is great for dog lovers, hearing barking from rooms throughout the stay was a little odd and detracted from the atmosphere.

The “spa” was another over-promise. It’s essentially a family swimming pool area with a small sauna, steam room, and hot tub. While this setup might appeal to families, it’s far from the spa retreat I had envisioned. Treatments were available, though we didn’t try them, so I can’t comment.

The room itself was modern, spacious and well-decorated, with thoughtful touches like a Nespresso machine. However, a faint chlorine smell lingered in the room from the moment we opened the door, which wasn’t ideal.

On the day of check-out, we decided to take our bags to the car before sitting for breakfast to save us going back to the room, before leaving. Just as we were walking back in to the hotel entrance, a staff member approached us, evidently checking to see if we were leaving without settling our bill. He told us we needed to pay before leaving, despite it being blatantly obvious we were returning back inside, to have breakfast and settle up. This unnecessary and awkward encounter just summed up our stay.

On a positive note, breakfast was reasonable, and the staff were by and large friendly and...

My wife and I recently spent an excellent weekend at this hotel. It is very well located on the junction of the M6 and the A66 to provide a gateway to the Lake District … the visitor attraction of Rheged is close by. It also provides a very pleasant stopover when travelling north to south or west to east across the country.

The hotel supports families visiting the Lake District or on holiday generally, attracts passing trade from people on the road for work or a stopover for business in the Penrith/Carlisle area. It also attracts many locals from Penrith and Cumbria for functions, weddings, conferences, and to use the spa and leisure facilities. It has an excellent well-run restaurant, well-stocked bar and extensive breakout spaces for impromptu coffees, drinks and conversations. The buildings are well-designed to a high quality with some excellent spaces and the grounds are leafy and private.

Some considerable organisation and skill are needed to handle larger social functions, coach parties and conferences as well as small family groups, couples and individual travellers. This is not an easy task to bring off and yet during our stay, the North Lakes Hotel and Spa was able to accommodate a wedding party, a coach party and possibly a conference together with tourists, business people and locals using the hotel’s facilities with effortless ease.

As with all good hotels, the key to this offer is an excellent staff who know the business and are empowered to deal with guests in an efficient and friendly manner. As a consequence, the overall ambience of the hotel is relaxed, and self-evidently this rubs off on the guests too by putting them at their ease. The FYR restaurant provides good food at reasonable prices. A grill may not be everyone's taste, but the menu does provide for those, like myself, who are seeking a less meaty cuisine and the kitchen is very happy to do whatever they can to help guests with their dietary requests.

I have a disability and am a wheelchair user. Most good hotels provide accessible facilities these days, but often treat people with disabilities as a special needs group. But, together with nursing-mothers, children and seniors we are an equal part of our diverse population. North Lakes handles this diversity very well and goes out of their way to help everyone fit in and feel at home.

If you are looking for a really good hotel with a wide range of facilities that you are happy to share with others, with a service oriented staff and a relaxed ambience for a price that won’t break the bank, The North Lakes Hotel and Spa is as good as you will find anywhere in this...