Broadoaks Country House and the Lake District

Broadoaks Country House is a 19th century luxury boutique hotel in the Lake District set on a 7-acre grounds and last weekend my husband and I had the pleasure of staying there. A few weeks ago we were researching places to visit in the UK and although I have been to the Lake District previously, it was a brief visit and I really wanted to go back. We found a deal on Groupon for Broadoaks Country House for £195 which included a romantic room, an afternoon tea for two, four course meal in the evening, spa access at a neighbouring hotel and breakfast. 

We arrived at the hotel for midday and were greeted warmly by the staff and given a tour of the hotel. The hotel features 15 bespoke bedrooms, a music room with piano and guitars for those who are musically inclined with a warm glowing fire so you can serenade your loved ones, a luxury restaurant serving Cumbrian produce with a French twist and a beautiful orangery where afternoon tea and breakfast is served.

As soon as we got settled in, we were led to the orangery for our afternoon tea. The surroundings were tranquil and relaxing, looking out of the orangery you could see miles of autumnal woodland with little streams running through them and picturesque slate buildings on the hilltops. The afternoon tea was served with beautiful patterned china and was over flowing with cakes, delicious sandwiches and freshly baked scones, so much so that my husband and I boxed quite a lot of the cakes up to eat at a later date. It was a luxurious start to our trip.

After our afternoon tea my husband and I decided to check out the spa. Our deal included access to the Old England MacDonald hotel in Bowness-on-Windermere, which was a ten minute drive from Broadoaks. The Old England spa featured an infinity pool which overlooked Lake Windermere and seating outside so you could relax and watch the boats go by. For the brave there's an ice room and for those looking to relax in some heat there was an aroma steam room and sauna. The spa access was a nice little touch to our hotel package and it really added to our relaxing stay.

We spent several hours at Lake Windermere admiring the view and walking all the little cobbled lanes browsing the shops. For those who love little independent stores, Bowness-on-Windermere is the perfect place to visit and there's something for everyone. Also if you love Beatrix Potter as much as I do, there's the Beatrix Potter museum and plenty of gift shops.

Once we had finished looking around the lakes, we headed back to the hotel and finally checked into our room. Our room was the Walnut romantic room which featured a magnificent white super king sized bed adorned with a variety of soft cushions and a victorian style bath with overhead shower and double whirlpool spa bath for two. The room was very luxurious and the hotel went above and beyond to ensure you had a wonderful stay from the impeccable room service to the sweetest handmade biscuits on arrival. 

The star of the hotel stay was the four course meal in the evening. We ordered a bottle of wine in the music room while we ate our canapés and choose what we wanted to eat and then we were led to the Oaks Brasserie which was candle lit and romantic. I opted for the French Onion Soup to start and the mushroom risotto for main. Both of which were full of flavour and not too heavy, it was the amount of food. The mushroom risotto had the freshest ingredients and it was by far the best risotto I've ever had, the roasted peppers on the side were a nice added touch and the amount of risotto was perfect as some restaurants often try to give you too much. In between the courses we were given two palette cleansers - firstly a champagne sorbet and secondly a limoncello shot, both of which were nice little touches, even though I'm not a fan of limoncello. For dessert I chose the vanilla creme brûlée which was again really light and the perfect end to the meal. The food was exceptional and many Tripadvisor reviewers agree, I would happily dine at that restaurant again.

The next morning breakfast was served in the orangery and consisted of a help yourself continental breakfast or a hot cooked meal to your liking. The breakfast menus were hidden in Beatrix Potter books which I thought was a lovely touch and I really enjoyed reading through one of my favourite childhood books waiting for my meal to arrive.

Our stay at Broadoaks Country House was wonderful, the staff were lovely and we got so much for the money paid - £225 for a bottle of wine, a four course meal for the both of us, afternoon tea for the both of us, a beautiful room, spa access and breakfast was incredible, especially when you would pay that just for a room in some hotels in the Lake District. Would I stay again? Definitely.

Have you stayed in the Lake District before?