Gilpin Hotel and Lake House near Windermere stays a family affair

Plenty of hotels describe themselves as family-run. At Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, the phrase is meant literally. The Cunliffe family has owned and operated the hotel near Windermere since 1987, and the business has grown and changed under their care for close to four decades.

The current generation includes John and Christine Cunliffe, together with their sons Barney and Ben. Each has played a part in shaping the place, and the result is a hotel that feels personal rather than corporate.

Ben Cunliffe, an architect by training, has been a driving force behind many of the hotel's developments. Chief among them is the Lake House, a separate, more secluded retreat that sits apart from the main hotel and offers guests a quieter, lakeside setting.

That approach has brought recognition over the years. The hotel was named Independent Hotel of the Year at the Catey awards in 2012, one of the hospitality industry's best-known honours. More recently, it won a Unique Experience Award in 2022, according to Top 50 Boutique Hotels, and the Lake House has been recognised as a best small hotel.

The Good Hotel Guide is among the independent guides that review Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, and travel writers regularly return to it when compiling lists of the finest places to stay in the Lake District.

Part of its appeal is location. The hotel sits in the quieter countryside on the Windermere side of the national park, close enough to the lake and its villages for easy days out, but far enough away to feel like a proper escape.

It also reflects something distinctive about Lake District hospitality: many of the region's most respected hotels remain in the hands of families who live and work locally, and who have invested in their properties over many years rather than chasing quick change.

Details of rooms, dining and availability at both the hotel and the Lake House can be found on the Gilpin website, where stays can be booked directly.