Abbey House Hotel

eally good second stay at Abbey House. Had a great vegan breakfast and the staff were brilliant — especially the breakfast team who couldn’t do enough to help. Didn’t eat at the restaurant for dinner this time, as my last visit didn’t have a vegan option. Looks like they’ve since added a risotto, which is a good step forward. There was a wedding on, but they kept it pretty separate so it didn’t disturb the stay at all. Bed was really comfy. Slept right through until 8am thanks to proper blackout curtains, even with the sun blazing outside. Usually I’m up at 5am with the light, so that was a win. And after a long day of walking and swimming, a hot soak in the freestanding bath was exactly what we needed. Bliss. Boss place. Likely to return. We use it as a base to get into the Lakes and it works well for that.

Stayed for 2 nights. Staff very welcoming and helpful. Food was really nice and not too expensive. Will definitely be returning. Such a nice weekend we had.

I am really disappointed to have to give such a beautiful place a lower review but I am only being honest. We had driven up from Preston and visited Grizedale Forest. It was an unsually hot 30° and we were in the middle of a heatwave. We chose Abbey House after reading the wonderful reviews. Check in was no problem, it was quick, friendly, and seamless. This was brilliant because we were extremely hot and needed a cold shower and the air con. We walked into our bedroom and were blasted with heat! The room was stifling! We immediately rushed to open the windows and saw that one was open. However, we couldnt open any others! Then we spotted the A/C machine. Imagine you are gently blowing onto a candle in a way that makes the flame dance but doesn't blow it out. That was the strength of the fan...from the other side of the room. This is the LAST thing we needed. I went down to enquire about swapping the A/C for another one only to be told there were no more. We had a cold shower and realised there was no extractor fan in the bathroom, and we couldnt open the window because a cable tie kept it locked tight. The steam filled the bedroom making the heat so much worse. We just got dressed and left to sit in the gardens. We arrived at the bar, hot and sweaty, and waited to be served. The bar man was miserable and didnt greet us, we had to wait for a waiter to come through and serve us instead. It felt very unfriendly. He was like that most of the night! We sat outside in a beautiful seated area under the trees to cool down. The tables were filthy and sticky. There was a wedding on so I understand they had been busy but it only would have taken 10 minutes to wipe them down. Neither of us slept that night because we were just so hot. After a long days walk and a long drive this did not bode well for the journey home. The waiting on staff were super friendly and very professional. The food was gorgeous and the hotel was otherwise spotless. I think if we had visited on a normal British weather day then this review would be very different and probably 4/5 stars so I am genuinely gutted to give it 3. None of the staff were surprised to hear how hot our room was, so it appears this isn't unusual. When we got home we bought a fan from Aldi for £12 which gave off more of a breeze than their A/C unit. The hotel and grounds are stunning and we were really looking forward to staying there so feel very disappointed in our experience.