Belsfield hotel Hotel

Kendal Road, Bowness-on-Windermere

To walk into the newly refurbished Belsfield Hotel perched above Lake Windermere is to step into the pages of a glossy homes magazine. It has been rebranded as the second Laura Ashley hotel in the UK and the lust-worthy interiors blend perfectly with the Georgian property built in 1845, with its high ceilings, ornate cornicing and wooden shuttered sash windows.

Sink into comfy velvet love seats in the library to watch birds swoop over the still waters of the lake over a spot of afternoon tea. For dinner, the brasserie serves decent nibbles like black pea hummus and potted mackerel and black pudding bon bons, as well as the requisite steaks and hot pots.

Alternatively, an old fashioned lift takes you to dinner in a more formal setting, the stunning dining room. A five- course tasting menu is a Cumbrian culinary celebration of local produce starting with white onion velouté or oak smoked salmon with pea shoots. A very tasty roast duck dish, served with a marmalade jus and crispy potato rosti, comes recommended, while white chocolate pana cotta and strawberries is the star for dessert; not too sickly with just the right amount of acidity from the berries to cleanse the palate.

You couldn’t ask more of the location. For an afternoon sojourn, Bowness town is just steps away, as are the jetties to the piers where steamers depart on Lakeland cruises to Ambleside and back in a day for the full Lake District experience. RR. Doubles from £150.