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The Lake District · England

Gilpin Hotel & Lake House

Two houses, twenty-two acres, and a private spa attached to your bedroom.

Spa & Wellness ★★★★★ Crook, near Windermere
The setting of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House
Location image, not the property. Tim Heaton / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Gilpin sits just off the Crook Road between Kendal and Bowness, on the quieter eastern side of Windermere, and has been run by the same family for decades. It works as two properties rather than one: the main hotel in twenty-two acres of gardens and fell, and Lake House a mile away, a six-bedroom country house with its own lake, spa and complete privacy.

The signature here is the spa suite — standalone lodges and garden suites, each with a private sauna, hydrotherapy hot tub and treatment space, so the wellness happens at your own door rather than down a corridor. There is a separate Jetty Spa at Lake House with an indoor pool and lakeside sauna, and the whole operation is deliberately small enough to feel domestic.

Food is a genuine draw. SOURCE holds a Michelin star for tasting menus built on Cumbrian produce, while Gilpin Spice takes a looser pan-Asian route across the courtyard. Beyond the gate: the fells above Windermere, the Langdales, and some of the best walking in England within twenty minutes' drive.

At a glance

What to expect

  • Michelin-starred SOURCE restaurant
  • Gilpin Spice pan-Asian restaurant
  • Spa suites with private sauna and hot tub
  • Jetty Spa with indoor pool at Lake House
  • Twenty-two acres of gardens and woodland
  • Private lake at Lake House
  • Standalone garden lodges
  • Family-owned and run