Lakeside Hotel & Spa
Lakeside Hotel & Spa is a country-house hotel on the quiet southern shore of Lake Windermere at Newby Bridge in Cumbria, about 20 minutes from the M6. Families come for its all-day indoor pool, gardens straight onto the lakeshore, and the aquarium, steam railway and lake ferry a minute from the door.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who this lakeshore hotel suits, and the facts to weigh first.
Lakeside is a traditional country-house hotel with an all-day indoor pool and a cluster of family attractions right beside it. It sits on the water at the quiet southern tip of Windermere, its lawns run to the lakeshore, and the Lakes Aquarium, a steam railway and the lake ferry are all a minute from the door. What it isn't is a resort with childcare: there's no kids' club, no crèche and nobody laid on to mind the children, so the family days are yours to plan around the pool, the lake and the attractions. It's also an old, much-extended building, so it isn't flat and step-free throughout. You'll get the most out of it if you want a real Lake District hotel with swimming on tap and days out on the doorstep, and you're happy without a programme.
Best for
You want a traditional lakeshore hotel with an all-day pool, flat gardens to the water and a cluster of attractions you can walk to, and you'll plan your own days.
Maybe not for
You need a kids' club or crèche, you want a sandy beach, or you'd struggle with steps and no confirmed lift in an old, multi-floor building.
Best ages
Babies upwards. The pool has no age limit and the lakeshore and attractions suit toddlers, but there's no structured childcare at any age.
What stands out
The 17m pool open all day with no children's exclusion windows, and the aquarium, steam railway and lake ferry all beside the hotel.
What to check
A cot and highchair, the exact family-room layout, since bunk beds aren't always guaranteed, and step-free access if you have a heavy pushchair.
Where is it?
On the southern shore of Lake Windermere at Newby Bridge in Cumbria, about 20 minutes from the M6.
Quick facts for families
What the hotel is like
Where Lakeside sits, how the old building is laid out and what that means with a pushchair.
Lakeside Hotel & Spa sits at Lakeside, near Newby Bridge, on the southern tip of Lake Windermere in Cumbria, the quietest end of England's largest lake and well away from the busier crowds around Bowness about six miles up the water. It began as a 17th-century coaching inn and has been extended a good deal since, so it's a traditional country-house hotel rather than a purpose-built resort, with its own wooded gardens running down to the shore and lake-and-fell views from the lake-facing rooms. It's part of Classic Lodges, a small group of characterful northern-England hotels, which took it on in 2021 and has been refurbishing it in stages since. For the wider area, its lakes and its walks, see our Lake District guide.
There are 73 rooms, nearly all in the main building, which also holds reception, the restaurants and the pub. A glass conservatory wraps the old stable block for afternoon tea and lake views, there's an oak-panelled lounge with a fireplace, and the spa and pool wing adjoins the hotel with level access. A handful of Lodge Suites stand as separate lodges in the grounds, the Garden Rooms sit in a country-house wing at the back overlooking a field, and the Windermere Suite, the events space, is in a converted building across the road. You get around on foot inside the hotel, with no golf buggies, and the lakeshore, terrace and lawn games are steps from the entrance. It's an old, multi-floor building, though, which is worth a note for pram families: several room types are reached by steps, no lift is confirmed, and only the Lake View Terrace and the Garden Rooms are ground floor, so if step-free access matters call the hotel to confirm a room before you book. Parking on site is free, with plenty of spaces and electric-car charging.
Every restaurant and bar
Each place to eat, how booking works and where young children fit at each meal.
Meals aren't bundled into one rate here. The standard basis is bed and breakfast, with breakfast included and everything else booked and paid for as you go, so there's no half-board or all-inclusive option. There are two proper restaurants, a small pub, the conservatory for afternoon tea, and room service. The current family offer, branded Save, Sip & Stay Free, sits on top of that basis: children aged 12 and under stay free, adults get 10% off the best available bed-and-breakfast rate, and there's a complimentary glass of fizz for adults on arrival.
The Lakeview Restaurant is the smart one, contemporary fine dining with à la carte menus that change with the season around local farm and artisan produce, soft lighting and bay windows over the water. It suits a special-occasion family dinner, or an evening meal once children will sit through it, more than an everyday lunch with a toddler. The hotel doesn't publish set opening hours or a dress code, and booking is through its online system, so reserve ahead, especially in peak periods, and check availability there for your dates.
John Ruskin's Brasserie, with its Top Bar, is the bright, relaxed, family option: pub-style cooking with local produce, dog-friendly, and the easier room with young children. One recent review found the food and the choice disappointing, though most reports are positive.
The Muddy Boot Pub is a small, cosy traditional pub tucked inside the hotel, oak-panelled with a log fire and the hotel's own Lakeside Ale on tap. It serves bar snacks rather than full meals, and walkers on the West Windermere Way stop in as well.
Breakfast is included and comes up again and again as a highlight: a continental spread of pastries, cured meats, cheeses, fruit and juices, plus a hot menu cooked to order, from a full English to pancakes or avocado on toast, with a strong separate vegetarian menu. It's served until 11am and gets busy around half past nine at weekends, when the conservatory is a good spot to wait.
There's a separate lunch menu too, from light bites to more substantial dishes, with lake views and online booking. Afternoon tea is served in the conservatory overlooking the water, a seasonal spread made in-house, at £35 a head (last checked June 2026); book at least 24 hours ahead, and there's a version paired with a private boat trip if you want to make more of it. Room service is available, dialled from the room with the menu on request, which is useful if a baby's asleep and you'd rather eat in.
The restaurants cater for children, fussy eaters included, so ask what they can put together for young ones when you book.
Eating early with young children
The hotel's early-dining offer runs from 5pm to 5:45pm, and you choose either children eat free, with each paying adult ordering a main, or a complimentary bottle of house wine. Booking for all the restaurants is through the hotel's online system, and set hours aren't published, so use it to see what's available on your dates.
Rooms and suites
Every room type, which ones suit a family and what to confirm before you book.
The hotel doesn't publish room sizes anywhere, so the choice is mostly about the view, whether you're by the lake or looking over a field or courtyard, and whether you need a separate space for the children. The table below is the full line-up; the guidance after it is which ones suit a family.
| Room | Sleeps | View | Good to know | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodge Suite | 2 to 4 | Lake Windermere | A separate lodge with a private garden, a sofa bed and an outdoor bathtub (a bath set outside, not a hot tub) | In the grounds |
| Lake View Suite | 3 | Lake Windermere | An adjoining lounge, described as an extra play room | Via steps |
| Classic Junior Suite | 2 adults + 2 children | Field | A lounge area, a sofa bed and room for extra beds or a cot | Not stated |
| Courtyard Junior Suite | 4 to 5 | Courtyard | Bunk beds and a separate children's sleeping area with its own TV, plus a lounge; dog-friendly on request | Via steps |
| Lake View Terrace | 2 | Lake Windermere | A private terrace | Ground floor |
| Lake View Double | 2 | Lake Windermere | Interconnecting rooms available on request | Via steps |
| Garden Room | 2 | Open field | A private enclosed garden; dog-friendly; in the country-house wing | Ground floor |
| Classic Double | 2 | Not stated | A standard double | Not stated |
| Courtyard Double | 2 | Internal courtyard | A standard double, not lake-facing | Not stated |
| Cosy Double | 2 | Not stated | The standard double, found throughout the hotel | Not stated |
For a family, the clearest option is the Courtyard Junior Suite, which sleeps four to five and has bunk beds with a separate children's sleeping area that has its own television, plus a lounge. It looks over the courtyard rather than the lake and is reached by steps. One thing to know: bunk beds aren't always guaranteed, as one family arrived to a different set-up, so confirm the exact layout when you book. The Classic Junior Suite takes up to two adults and two children, with a lounge area and room for extra beds or a cot, and the Lodge Suites sleep up to four in their own lodges in the grounds, each with a private garden and a sofa bed. The Lake View Suite sleeps three with an adjoining lounge but is reached by steps.
If you want the lake view with a baby in an adjacent room, interconnecting rooms can be arranged on request for the Lake View Doubles. Every room has tea and coffee, a fan, a hairdryer, an iron, WiFi, bathrobes, hypoallergenic duvets, cotton linen and an en-suite, and pool access comes with every stay. Rooms can take an extra bed or a cot. A travel cot and a highchair aren't guaranteed as standard, so request both when you book and confirm they'll be there. Checkout is 11am, with a late checkout to 1pm at £20 an hour; the hotel doesn't state a check-in time.
The pool, spa and gym
The indoor pool and its all-day hours, the spa garden and treatments, and the gym.
The pool is the main thing on site for young children: a 17-metre heated indoor pool, open every day from 7am to 7pm, sometimes to 8pm at busy times, with no booking and, importantly, no children's exclusion windows, so families can swim right through the day. It's unmanned, so children have to be supervised by an adult the whole time, and you enter down gentle steps. There's an adjoining jacuzzi, warmer than the pool, and robes, slippers and towels are provided for guests. It's a single pool rather than a separate children's pool, and the hotel doesn't publish a depth. The changing rooms alongside have showers, hairdryers, basic toiletries and lockers.
Beyond the pool, there's a spa garden, a landscaped outdoor area with a fire pit and heat domes where you can have champagne or afternoon tea, and a treatment list using the Elemis range, from facials and body wraps to massages and a hydrotherapy massage bed, with pool and spa-garden access included when you book a treatment. The gym is open 7am to 7pm with running and rowing machines, a bike, free weights and benches, looking out over the spa garden, and needs no booking.
Nature's outdoor poolThe lake and lakeshore
Lake Windermere is England's largest lake, and the hotel calls it nature's outdoor pool, with the water immediately off its own gardens. The lakeshore here is garden lawn running to the water's edge and a private jetty, so there's no sandy beach, and duck feeding from the shore is a small pleasure young children take to. There's no lifeguard and no designated swimming beach. One real caution: the lake can develop blue-green algae, and the hotel asks guests to check before swimming and to stay out of the water if it's present, as it's dangerous to children and can be fatal to pets. Blue Flag, the beach award, doesn't apply to English freshwater lakes, so there's none here; the water is monitored separately.
Babies and toddlers
The honest picture on childcare, what is here for the youngest children, and what fills a day on site.
It's worth being plain about this before you book: there's no kids' club, crèche or supervised childcare of any kind at Lakeside. Families who need someone to mind the children so they can have time to themselves should look elsewhere. What the hotel does have for little ones is the setting: an all-day pool with no age limit, flat gardens straight onto the lakeshore, and the aquarium, steam railway and lake ferry all within a short walk, which together make an unusually strong base for a toddler even without a programme to hand them to.
For the practical baby logistics, plan to confirm things directly. Rooms can take a cot, there's an early-dining offer where children eat free before 5:45pm, children aged 12 and under stay free on the current family offer, and room service means you can eat in once a baby's down. Highchairs, a travel cot, baby-food or bottle warming and babysitting aren't guaranteed, so ask for what you need when you book rather than assuming it's there. The hotel's number is 015395 30001.
On siteThings to do at the hotel
Beyond the pool, there's plenty on site for a wet day or a lazy one. The games room, refitted at the end of 2022, has a PlayStation 5, giant Connect Four, table football, an American pool table and board games, open to all guests. The hotel runs private skippered boat trips on Windermere for up to four people, by the hour or half-day, no licence needed, with life jackets and a briefing included and champagne or afternoon-tea packages on top. The gardens are themed, scented, subtropical, aromatherapy and spa gardens, with lawn games on the terrace for guests and bookable tours with the head gardener. There are walks from the door too, from Gummer's How, a two-and-a-half-mile moderate climb with panoramic lake views, to the six-mile West Windermere Way, a miles-without-stiles route that passes the hotel and takes pushchairs and bikes, plus a four-mile woodland walk to High Dam and an easy four-mile lakeshore route past Beatrix Potter's Hill Top. If you're starting from the other end of the lake, there's also an easy two-mile walk up to Orrest Head from Windermere town, which starts by the railway station.
The area and days out
The three attractions beside the hotel, the short-drive days out and how far the towns are.
The location is the real draw, and three attractions sit almost on the doorstep. The Lakes Aquarium is a stroll across the hotel car park, with Morecambe Bay and freshwater species and otters, and it's excellent for toddlers. The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, a historic steam railway through the Leven Valley, runs from just outside the hotel. The Windermere Lake Cruises ferry docks a minute away, with scheduled boats up the lake to Bowness and to Waterhead for Ambleside, so you can park at the hotel and make a day of the water; self-drive electric boats can also be hired from Bowness.
A few minutes' drive opens up more. Fell Foot Park, a National Trust lakeside park about five minutes away, has an adventure playground, lawns down to the water and seasonal rowing-boat, kayak and paddleboard hire from April to October, with dogs welcome including at the café. Graythwaite Adventure, also five minutes off, runs bushcraft, axe throwing, archery, clay shooting and off-road driving for older children and adults. Within ten to fifteen minutes there's the Hawkshead Chocolate Factory, Beatrix Potter's Hill Top farmhouse, the Lakeland Motor Museum, the World of Beatrix Potter over at Bowness by ferry, Wray Castle, a National Trust Gothic castle on the lakeshore with grounds and woodland to wander, and the Treetop Trek and Nets at Brockhole from about age four.
Further out you're into most-of-a-day trips: Grizedale Forest for cycling, walking and Go Ape about fifteen minutes off, indoor climbing at Kendal Wall around twenty-five minutes, Honister Slate Mine with its via ferrata over in the north of the district, and the adults-only Shed One Distillery and a Walk with Wolves nearby, with Hadrian's Wall a long drive if you want a bigger day. For towns and shops, Bowness is about eight miles by road or six by the ferry, Ambleside roughly thirteen and Kendal seventeen, Ulverston about nine and Hawkshead about eight, with Kendal holding the nearest supermarkets and pharmacies.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrates them, and how it stacks up against similar Lake District stays.
On Booking.com the hotel scores 8.4 out of 10 from over 1,000 verified reviews (as of June 2026), with cleanliness scoring 8.9, facilities 8.8 and staff 8.8, and it has a strong reputation on TripAdvisor across well over 2,000 reviews; Family Hotel Expert visited and gave it their highest designation. Classic Lodges took the hotel on in 2021 and has been refurbishing in stages, which is the backdrop to the dated-room comments and one older review flagging a drop in standards under the new ownership, set against the solid current scores.
What families love
- The lakeshore location and the views, the most consistent high point.
- Breakfast, generous and with strong vegetarian choice.
- The all-day pool, open to children right through the day.
- The warmth of the staff.
- The aquarium and steam railway right next door.
Common gripes
- Some rooms dated, standard rooms in particular, with a sense of paying for the view; refurbishment is ongoing but not finished throughout.
- The odd inconsistent service moment, though not the general pattern.
- Dining on the pricey side, with a service charge, and one recent brasserie meal that fell flat.
- Smaller flags in a few reviews: noisy fire doors near one room, slow WiFi in older reports and parking filling when the restaurant is busy with non-guests.
How it compares
Against similar Lake District family stays, the Lakeside's pattern is clear: it trades structured childcare for setting and all-day swimming. Another Place, The Lake on Ullswater has an Ofsted-registered kids' zone for ages three to twelve in the rate and supervised toddler sessions across eighteen acres, none of which the Lakeside has, though it sits at a higher price and doesn't have Lakeside's attractions at the door. Armathwaite Hall on Bassenthwaite restricts children's pool use to a supervised window from 8am to 9:30am, and Low Wood Bay on the north of Windermere restricts it to roughly 8am to 10:30am, so the Lakeside's 7am-to-7pm pool with no exclusion windows is a practical edge over both. Armathwaite adds a 400-acre estate and its own wildlife park, while Low Wood Bay sits closer to Bowness and Ambleside. Landal Whitbarrow has a dedicated children's splash pool and a full holiday-park activity programme, but it's self-catering rather than a hotel. The Lakeside suits families who want a traditional hotel with all-day pool access, a direct lakeshore and standout surroundings, without needing a children's programme.
Getting there and when to go
The routes in, the best months for a family, and the weather to plan around.
Lakeside is a drive-to hotel. By car it's about 20 minutes from the M6 at junction 36, following the A590 to Newby Bridge and the brown signs, with free on-site parking, electric-car charging and valet parking on request. By train the nearest stations are Oxenholme, about 30 minutes by taxi, Grange-over-Sands, about 15 minutes, and Ulverston, about 20 minutes, with the hotel recommending Blue Star Taxis and Lakeside Taxis; there's no hotel transfer service. By air, Manchester Airport is around 90 minutes' drive and Liverpool about two hours, with car hire from both. You can also arrive by boat: the Windermere Lake Cruises ferry docks right outside, with scheduled links to Bowness and Ambleside.
The hotel is open all year, with festive and Christmas breaks. For a family the best months are May to September, when daytime highs sit around 15 to 19°C, the days are long and you've the best chance of dry weather; July and August are the warmest and September the quietest. It's busiest and priciest at the UK school half-terms, especially May and October, and through the summer holidays.
The wettest corner of EnglandWeather
The Lake District is the wettest part of England, with around 2,000mm of rain a year at Windermere, which is why the indoor pool and the covered days out matter so much to a good family stay here. Daytime highs climb from about 7°C in midwinter to 19°C in July and August, with July the driest month, October the wettest and May often the sunniest. Pack waterproofs whenever you come.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7° | 1° | 218 mm | 18 |
| February | 7.5° | 1° | 192 mm | 16 |
| March | 9° | 2° | 167 mm | 15 |
| April | 12° | 3° | 114 mm | 14 |
| May | 15.5° | 5.5° | 114 mm | 13 |
| June | 17.5° | 8.5° | 109 mm | 14 |
| July | 20° | 10.5° | 108 mm | 12 |
| August | 19.5° | 10° | 133 mm | 13 |
| September | 17° | 8° | 153 mm | 14 |
| October | 13.5° | 6° | 242 mm | 19 |
| November | 9.5° | 3° | 216 mm | 20 |
| December | 7° | 1° | 230 mm | 18 |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. The hotel is open all year.
Health and supplies
There's no pharmacy or shop within walking distance. Newby Bridge village is about a mile away, and Kendal, roughly seventeen miles off, has the nearest full high street with supermarkets and pharmacies, with Grange-over-Sands closer at about seven miles for a pharmacy. The hotel has a small spa shop on site. For anything serious, the nearest full accident and emergency department is at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness, about 17 miles away on the A590. The Trust's other full A&E is Royal Lancaster Infirmary, further off at around 30 miles. Westmorland General in Kendal is slightly closer, about seventeen miles, but it's an urgent treatment centre for non-emergencies only and can't treat serious emergencies such as chest pain, a suspected stroke or severe breathing difficulty, for which it's 999 or one of the two full A&Es at Barrow or Lancaster.
Questions
The things families ask most, the useful links and when this guide was last refreshed.
Are bunk beds guaranteed in the family room?
No. Ask for the exact sleeping layout on your booking and get it noted, since at least one family has arrived to a different set-up from what they pictured.
Can we get a pushchair around the hotel easily?
Not everywhere. It's an old inn on several floors with no lift confirmed, so with a heavy pushchair ask for a ground-floor room when you book and have the hotel confirm step-free access to it.
Is there babysitting or childcare?
None is laid on, and a sitter isn't a listed service, so plan on having the children with you. For an evening to yourselves, ring ahead and ask whether the hotel can put you in touch with someone.
Can the children swim in the lake?
Yes, off the hotel's lawns and jetty when the water's clear, with no lifeguard, so keep young children within their depth. The one firm rule is blue-green algae: if the hotel flags it that day, keep everyone including dogs out of the water.
Where's the nearest A&E?
Furness General in Barrow-in-Furness, about 17 miles down the A590, is the nearest full A&E. Kendal's Westmorland General is slightly closer but takes urgent, non-emergency cases only, so for anything serious it's Furness General or 999.
How does children staying free work?
Under the current family offer, children aged 12 and under stay free in your room on the bed-and-breakfast rate. It's a running promotion rather than a fixed policy, so check it's still on for your dates when you book.
Can we eat early with young children?
Yes. There's an early sitting from 5pm to 5:45pm for families, and booking into it gets you a choice of the children eating free with a paying adult or a bottle of house wine instead.
See more Lakeside Hotel & Spa photos
Open the Lakeside Hotel & Spa photo gallery →Useful links
- Lakeside Hotel & Spa: the hotel's own site for rooms, dining, the spa and its family offers.
- Lakes Aquarium: opening times and tickets for the aquarium next door.
- Lake District with little ones: our guide to the wider area, its lakes and its walks.
Last updated 16 July 2026.
