Overwater Hall Hotel

AFTER success in a string of top industry awards, the Overwater Hall Hotel at Ireby is bidding for success in our Hotel of the Year category.

The elegant Grade II listed mansion, set in 18 acres of the Lake District National Park, began life as a country residence in around 1780 and remained a private house until it was converted into a hotel in the 1960s.

Directors Stephen Bore and Adrian Hyde and company secretary Angela Hyde are the fourth owners and, having bought the venue in 1992, are in their 20th year of ownership.

The trio first met at university and, after individual careers in hotels and restaurants, decided to buy their own business.

After refurbishment to make it more competitive, the hotel today consists of 11 ensuite bedrooms, and renovated bar and restaurant facilities.

Mr Bore said: “Most hotels have good locations, good service and facilities and I would say our customer service stands out.

“As a business, we have been successful and shown almost consistent growth year-on-year and taken it forward each year, apart from just a couple of years where it was difficult, such as when foot-and-mouth disease broke out in 2001.”

The hotel’s aims of 20 years ago have been achieved, with expanding sales and hopes of reaching a more ‘affluent market’ being realised after improvements to the quality of its accommodation.

The restaurant boasts two AA red rosettes, was named North West Hotel of the Year at the Enjoy England Awards in 2010, was Taste Cumbria winner at the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2012 and named sixth best hotel in the UK by TripAdvisor in 2011.

Mr Bore said winning awards was vital to the hotel’s profile and a boost to his hard-working staff.

“We work hard and congratulate each other on what we do,” he explained: “There’s nothing like having recognition from outside that staff can see – it’s very important.”

In a bid to remain competitive, plans to further enhance the hotel from January 2013 are in the pipeline, including refurbishing old stable buildings within its grounds to create self-catering accommodation.

Rothay Garden Hotel

FOUR-STAR Rothay Garden Hotel, in picturesque Grasmere, took a gamble when it closed for six months for a major investment in early 2011.

But it’s a risk which paid off, according to owner and managing director Chris Carss.

After a £2.3m redevelopment in 2008, after which it gained AA four-star rating, Mr Carss spent a further £1m upgrading 15 rooms, creating a total of 12 suites and redesigning and expanding its Garden Restaurant and Riverside Spa.

And all this in the worst recession in living memory.

Mr Carss, who with partners acquired Rothay in 1990, said: “Over the last three or four years we have been investing in the property and have spent in excess of £3m in that period.

“We closed down for six months, which was a big risk on its own, and we redeveloped what was a fairly typical Lakeland three-star into a contemporary four-star hotel.

“In Cumbria at that time, there were 97 three-star and 10 four-star hotels. We broke the mould and became the eleventh.”

The hotel was a tired-looking 19-bedroom, two-star venue when Mr Carss took over. By 1997, it was three-star and picked up two AA rosettes for its Conservatory Restaurant.

The hotel survived foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 and went on to build up trade through good service and hospitality and ensuring it was well-marketed.

Rothay has been steadily built up by Mr Carss for over two decades to make it one of the most successful and innovative in the UK.

Today, it boasts 30 rooms and is still situated in two acres of riverside grounds.

It stands proudly alone as a leading Cumbrian hotel business and not owned or marketed by any of the main hotel consortia in the UK.

Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel

A FAMILY-RUN hotel where Beatrix Potter illustrated two of her most famous stories is going from strength to strength after generating new ways to attract guests.

The four-star Lindeth Howe was built as a private home in 1879 and transformed into an hotel in 1983 - it is now a high-quality 34-bedroom country house hotel and has become a very popular in the Lake District.

Beatrix Potter spent many holiday at Lindeth Howe, where she illustrated Timmy Tiptoes and Pigling Bland. She bought the property for her mother to live in 1915 but sold it in 1933 when her mother died.

Lindeth Howe was enlarged in 1999 to a 36-bedroom hotel with further refurbishment taking place in 2009 when it opened two deluxe suites named The Potter Room and The Westmorland Suite and became a 34-bedroom hotel.

And in the past couple of years, money has been re-invested into the business with bedrooms being upgraded and redecorated.

In 2009, the hotel was awarded four stars by the AA, two Rosettes and a Gold Award from Visit Britain. It also has a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence Proprietors Norman Stoller CBE and Stephen Broughton lead a team of 29 full-time and three part-time employees, and aim to provide a welcome, warm and friendly service to ensure that every visitor leaves with a great feeling.

General manager Alison Magee-Barker said the hotel recently had recently launched a package combining short breaks with therapies, including holistic massage and pool therapy exercise. It is also focusing on providing outdoor experiences for guests, including rock climbing, abseiling and guided walks.

“It is our belief that the quality, pride and devotion of our team are reflected in the success of the hotel,” she said.

The hotel endeavours to purchase produce within a 20-mile radius and is a member of Nurture Lakeland to promote short breaks in the Lake District by rail.

And with the purchase of two electric bikes, it hopes to inspire guests to get around the district without a car.

Last year, the hotel hit the headlines after executive chef Marc Guibert created the World’s Most Expensive Dessert.