Best boutique hotels in the Lake District 2023

When it comes to being almost irresponsibly good looking, the Lake District has easy-on-the-eyes down to a fine art. Bursting with bucolic mountain tarns and rugged windswept fells, this picture-perfect landscape – bordered by the Pennines and the Irish sea – has provided inspiration for Romantic poets and children’s authors alike.

Still as captivating as ever, this Unesco World Heritage Site is the perfect choice for a getaway in the UK. For families, a trip to the World of Beatrix Potter is well worth a visit – explore the home and grounds that inspired the author’s tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck. Adventurers are also catered for, though, and may be tempted to tackle the highest point in England, Scafell Pike, or take a ferry across Lake Windermere.

With so much to do, see and enjoy, it’s no surprise the Lake District is also home to some of the most splendid boutique hotels in the UK. From fairy-tale gardens to lakeside living, spa escapes to houses where old meets new, there really is something for everyone.

Neighbourhood: Grasmere

Harried city-dwellers will find the perfect spot to relax in The Forest Side, a beautifully renovated Neo-Gothic pile (now a restaurant with rooms) that dates back to 1853. Set on the outskirts of Grasmere, it offers prime access to the north and central lakes – Windermere is a pretty 25-minute drive away – and Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage is reachable on foot.

Rooms are high-ceilinged with modern touches (such as pea-green succulents and beech wood furniture) while the rest of the place shimmers with burnished silver, velvet sofas and soft shades of grey. The restaurant serves up Michelin-starred fare (there’s also an expansive kitchen garden, charcuterie and the chef has a predilection for on-site pickling) and the surrounding grounds are speckled with roe deer and rare red squirrels.