Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa

Another amazing stay at Lodore Falls Hotel and Spa. We booked a suite once again as the last time we stayed our suite was absolutely wonderful and well worth the extra money. This time we stayed in the spa building again on the 3rd floor. We had a view over the spa and out to the lake and a balcony with views onto the fells. The sure was huge with plenty of seating and space to relax. The bedroom was separated with a room divider which made it feel cosy. The bathroom was huge with gorgeous shower looking out onto the fells. You also get entry to the spa included with your room. The spa is beautiful, a lovely atmosphere and a good selection of facilities. Various heat experiences, showers, outdoor sauna etc. the relaxation area is lovely too. The infinity pool was my favourite and the views are to die for! The cocktails in the champagne bar were delicious and perfect to have whilst enjoying the views! We booked the Boxing Day sale offer so we also got breakfast included - we had this in our suite and it was delicious! This was easy to order and you can specify a time to have it delivered. We also got an allowance for dinner which we could use in either the falls brasserie or Mizu. This time we went to Mizu and had a fabulous meal. We don’t usually eat a lot of Asian food so we order a selection of things to try with the help of the staff. Food was amazing, service was great and there was a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant. I can’t fault our stay here at all. Everything was spotlessly clean, the staff were very welcoming - I can’t wait for our next stay!

Well after 25 years of going to the Lodore Falls Hotel, and getting married there 25 years ago, we will not be returning. We booked for 1 night in February to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and what a disappointing stay… Firstly, on check in, there were 2 staff members, one a lovely bubbly friendly lady, our check in was very different, the lady did not want to engage in conversation, and quite frankly did not make any effort at all. After a lovely walk and few drinks at the bar, where all the staff were amazing, friendly, very welcoming, professional and polite, we were looking forward to dining in the main restaurant. This is where it all went down hill and ended our normally enjoyable visit to the Lodore… We ordered drinks, browsed the menu, the first waitress was really friendly and took time to answer questions and chat. My husband had ordered soup and a side order of bread, as this does not come with your soup - this was a first for us, not getting a roll with soup…the bread was served by a different staff member, they made no eye contact, no communication and just dumped the bread plate on the table and walked away. The starters arrived, the soup did not look appetising and had absolutely no flavour, lots of seasoning needed to be added, my beef cheek with horseradish cream was dry, absolutely no flavour, the creme was exactly that, as not sure where the horseradish was… As they came to clear the plates, the original waitress asked if everything was okay, as we had not eaten much, my husband said not really, proceeded to explain why in a very quiet, polite and professional way. The waitress was very apologetic and promised the main would be better, however, we were so disappointed and saddened by the whole experience that we did not want to stay and decided to leave the restaurant. Breakfast was worse - the service was terrible, items dumped onto table, two staff members attitudes lacked professionalism, incorrect order and food poorly presented. On check-out, there was another couple complaining about the breakfast service to the reception. The whole experience (bad service & food) was not representative of a 5 star hotel, very disappointing and unfortunately spoilt our anniversary treat. On check out, the assistant manager had removed the meal cost. Following numerous phone conversations with my husband and management, they offered a return to a suite - however, this incurred an additional cost of £320 - No Thanks… We will not return or recommend to anyone else.

The hotel is in a lovely lakeside spot and just below the waterfall. Yes, we did walk up to view the waterfall – and don’t recommend others doing so unless they are very sure-footed. The track, such as it is, is very uneven with loose stones and tree roots offering plenty of trip hazards. And, yes, I fell – twisted my ankle and bruised my back. Inside, the bars and lounges are both very nice. Comfy seating, log fires, welcoming staff. Our room (320) was fine for an overnight stay but was quite compact and I think if we had been staying longer , we’d prefer a room with more cat-swinging opportunities. We had dinner in the Falls Brasserie. I’ve reviewed the meal on its own Tripadvisor page but suffice to say here that the food was generally fine but service was much slower than you might have expected . Staff just seemed disorganised. Breakfast is the sort where it’s “help yourself to the buffet and we’ll come and take uyour order for hot food”. Only they didn’t. I was on the point of giving up and just getting a couple of pastries when I was able to flag down a server. She couldn’t take the order but did go and get someone who could. The Full English was fine when it arrived. It’s a shame really. The hotel itself is nice. Food in the restaurant is fine. But the memory we take away is of the poor restaurant service. Management needs to get a grip – they’ve got staff who are friendly and engaging but they need organising and supervising.