The Howbeck & Retreat — Hotel in Great Britain

WOW...Luxury, Comfortable and Enjoyable Stay

I telephoned at 3pm on a Friday to see if they had a room available for a 1 night stay on the Saturday. The lady on reception was incredible! She explained that they did have a room and provided me with the cost and then went on to explain all of the information about this room.

Check-in time at this bed and breakfast is available between 2.30pm & 10pm. The thing that we really liked is that you did not need provide an arrival time within this so it gives you more freedom with your day and you are not constantly clock watching thinking about your check-in time. We arrived at around 5.30pm to check in, however upon arriving we discovered that there was no longer any parking spaces available as one person had chosen to park over two spaces. We therefore double parked and went in to inform the staff that this was an issue. Upon hearing this, the lady at reception quickly apologised and went to ask the other guest if they would kindly move their car over to allow us to park. Within minutes this problem was sorted and we were able to park. We only ever choose bed and breakfasts with enough parking for every room and the Howbeck has 11 spaces behind the property and another 2/3 (depending on car sizes) in front of the property.

Once we had filled out the relevant checking in forms the excellent staff member showed us to our room. We had booked Mickleden room which was on the back of the property and we are pleased to say that the pictures on the bed and breakfasts website are very accurate. The room was spacious and light with the double aspect. It was spotlessly clean and felt luxurious in every aspect. Sadly we did not have time to try out the spa bath but the rainfall shower was just blissful and the toiletries had a wonderful scent to them. We also managed to enjoy the complementary sherry which we felt was a fantastic 5* touch along with the bath robes. The bed was exceptionally comfortable and had opulent bed linen.

We went into Windermere Town for our tea as it is only a few minutes walk. And upon arriving back we were greeted by the welcoming and friendly lady on reception who we chatted to for a few minutes. We were please she took the time to talk to guests and nothing appeared to be too much trouble for her.

Breakfast in the morning is served from 8.30am until 9.30am and to be honest I don’t know where to start with this...it was AMAZING!!!! We found our table and were quickly asked if we would like tea or coffee which then appeared within minutes. The extensive buffet table was superb and consisted of fruit juices (with large glasses provided- not these thimble type glassed you get at a lot of places), cereals, fresh toast and local preserves, yoghurts, meats and cheeses. We did not try any of this as we don’t eat much in the morning but it all looked amazing. After around 5 minutes we were served with our full English and my gosh it was so tender, tasty and piping hot. I can certainly see why they have won the Breakfast Award so many times. This was an absolutely sunning breakfast and once again we were pleased to see that the images of the breakfast on their website are exactly what you get.

Check out was hassle free and quick, but to be honest at this point that was no surprise. The Howbeck also has use of the spa facilities at another 5* hotel down the road and although we did not use this the information in the room looked stunning.

To summarise this bed and breakfast is truly 5* luxury. The staff are professional, amazing and could not do enough for you (but equally know when to give you your space). This is one of the best places that we have ever stayed and we will certainly be retuning and would highly recommend this property if you are looking for somewhere luxury, relaxing and welcoming in a...

For my husband and I, the hotel sadly didn’t live up to expectation. The staff at times were friendly but seemed quite distracted with the general running of the hotel and often weren’t present and frequently unable to answer our queries or questions. The room we’d paid to stay in was very basic and we’d booked a luxurious romantic suite which aside from the £36 extra I had to pay for the champagne on arrival, the room was very small and not sound proof and we were paying £160 per night. The water in the shower was warm or cold and very little water would come out of the actual shower head when showering. We were promised a spa and hot tub during our stay. The spa, we found out was actually a discount to a spa in Windermere and as for the sauna, there was definitely no outdoor sauna - which the hotel had advertised. There was no working WiFi in our room and when I enquired, the staff seemed very confused by this request and told me that as the WiFi was free it didn’t matter that it didn’t work. I told the staff that the internet was part of the hotel’s facilities as listed on the hotel’s website, which meant that it wasn’t free and that we were in fact paying for a facility that we couldn’t access. Once more, the manager told me that as it was free, there was little that could be done and we were refused a discount on our room. With no working internet, it wasn’t always easy for us to contact friends/ family and plan each day as part of our mini holiday, such as contacting restaurants to book meals and locating exact areas for day trips. Unfortunately, we won’t be returning to this hotel. The facilities weren’t good enough and we were promised a romantic spa retreat, which sadly this...

Lovely hotel, staff were friendly and we had a very comfortable stay. We stayed in the Greenburn suite which was very spacious and the spa bath was fab. Great location near Windermere town, and about a 15 minute walk into Bowness. The exterior is kept beautifully with the flowers, and we noticed many people walking past were pointing out how lovely they were, so it felt we were staying somewhere special.

There are a few things I would take into account if you’re looking to stay here, but none I feel are worth removing a star for: Breakfast has toast, a starter of porridge/fruit/cereal and a large main. Amazing value but bear in mind it is a lot of food if you are in a rush! We wish the guy on the front desk hadn’t said 30 minutes would be enough time, as we were in a rush to get to Bowness for our scheduled boat departure. The mattress was very soft and quite high, but we slept very well. I know it may not be suitable for all. We sadly didn’t receive any welcome drink that other reviews said they were offered More drinking water should be provided, or a fridge added to the room. Tap water did not taste right and we had to keep buying bottled water from the shop

Overall I highly recommend and we’d love to...