Forest Side Hotel

LikedThe hotel and gardens were beautiful as was the location. Breakfast and dinner were superb as were the drinks, great barman and restaurant staff, barman always attentive and friendly. Room was stylishly decorated. Choice for breakfast superb including traditional Cumbrian English breakfast, the best smoked salmon ever with scrambled egg and muffin, roasted Shiitake with poached eggs and prosciutto crudo. Dinner was also incredible with choice of 8 or 4 course set menu, we had the 8 course menu and it was wonderful (but it was £150/person ... to be expected for a Michelin restaurant).

DislikedThe bathroom was particularly small, no dedicated shower or bidè, had to climb into bath for a shower or to clean after using the toilet, my partner has knee problems and climbing into the bath is not easy. We were not informed by the hotel or Booking.com that there was only 1 restaurant in the hotel and this had to be booked for evening meals in advance of arrival, when we arrived early afternoon the restaurant was fully booked so we had no choice but to eat out after a long drive. We also didn't know that the restaurant only offered two set menu options 4 and 8 courses and no a la carte menu, prices not easy to find and £150/person for the 8 course menu, a wonderful meal but not something you want every night, I think this should be looked at to accomodate hotel residents so that a smaller but equally high quality option could be available. Reception staff could be a little bit more friendly in their demeanor, they were very professional but were not welcoming like the bar and restaurant staff. No safe in the room was a negative, this is a high end hotel with a fine dining restaurant worth dressing up for and like in other similar hotels a safe should be provided for valuable items.

LikedLocation, food, staff, room

LikedWe had a lovely room was it was beautiful with a balcony over looking the gardens with a great view. We did the 8 course tasting menu and the food was 5 star absolutely delicious.

LikedFriendly staff, beautiful property and great location. We really enjoyed our stay.

LikedVery helpful staff, who were more than willing to organise an early breakfast on one morning of our stay.

LikedAmazing staff and service. Food is incredible

DislikedGenerally all great. It’s pricey but you get a lot of nice experience for your money

LikedCozy, clean and full of character

DislikedA bit noisy at night with doors banging and floors creaking.

LikedLocation was excellent. Excellent breakfast.Helpful staff. The bathroom was lovely with a spacious shower and bathtub. We had lunch at the Michelin star restaurant and it was great, but we have certainly had better food experiences for the price.

DislikedThere is no lift and we had to take our own suitcases all the way up to the third floor whilst carrying a 2yo upon arrival, as they only person who could potentially help us as per the receptionist, was someone from the restaurant and we did not want to bother them as they looked really busy. Now when you pay these prices for a deluxe room, this is unacceptable. The second is a matter of preference. The deluxe room appeared to be a spacious room with large windows and very bright. Our room turned out to be very spacious indeed but in the loft, so we only had 3 tiny windows and it felt a bit claustrophobic. As said, that’s a matter of preference cause some people may like this, but it was a shame cause the scenery outside was beautiful and we couldn’t really see it.