Stakis Keswick Lodore Hotel

The Lake Disrict is one of the most beautiful areas in Britain and everyone visiting the United Kingdom should go there at some time. There are hundreds of hotels in the Lake District, and probably thousands of B&Bs, so it can be a problem deciding where to stay. There are the shrines of gastronomy, such as the Sharrow Bay Hotel, Miller Howe and Michael's Nook. There are small hotels which cater particularly for climbers and hikers. Your choice may be influenced by which part of the Lake District you want most to explore.

If you are looking for a family hotel with comparatively modest prices, leisure activities for the children, as well as for adults, and are happy to be in the northern part of the district, on the banks of the beautiful Lake Derwentwater, then the Stakis Keswick Lodore Hotel could suit you well. And dogs are welcome too.

Like many large Edwardian and Victorian houses in the Lakes built with the local rather dark stone, the outside can be somewhat forbidding. But within, the reception areas and the public rooms downstairs are cheerfully furnished and welcoming and look out onto the lake and to the hills beyond. Behind the hotel, a short walk up through the woods leads you to the dramatic Lodore Falls.

Adjoining the hotel is a small but pleasant "Leisure Complex". I never know why it has to be a complex - this one, at least, seems to be quite straight forward! There is a squash court, exercise room and a small indoor pool, heated to an agreeable temperature, and a bar and refreshment area.

The bedrooms are adequately rather than luxuriously furnished, but there is all that one needs, with TV and tea and coffe making facilities. The best rooms enjoy a wonderful view on to the Lake.

The large dining room also looks on to the lake, although there are a number of small tables for two in the middle of the room. From the Manager downwards, staff are clearly trained to remember your name and to address you by it. Service is good and of the cheerful variety. One is more likely to hear "There you go Mr Pelham!" than "Would your Grace require lemon with his Lapsang Souchong?" But they aim to please, generally succeed, are quick but not rushed and are very efficient. Tartan is the dress theme for the waiters and waitresses, and it looks crisp and smart.

For dinner there are, for a first course, a rather good Hors D'Oeuvre plate, including modern fancies such as hummus, mini spring rolls with beanshoots and guacamole and garlic crisps; good Cumbrian air-dried ham; hot goat's cheese salad; gravad lax with blinis; garlic prawns; game salad. Asparagus with a poached egg proved to be an excellent dish. The asparagus was fresh and cooked "al dente". The egg was runny, the salad interesting, with red currants. And, like all the dishes served, it arrived beautifully hot, with no signs of it having been kept hot for the previous half hour or so.

Main courses include duck leg confit on red cabbage; lamb fillet; roast tuna steak; fillet of cod; chicken schnitzel and grilled steaks. When I asked for mustard to go with some rather good sausages wrapped in bacon, it arrived quickly, long before anything got a chance to get cool. The price of the five course set dinner is 20.50.

On the wine list, the cheaper wines are good value, starting with Bulgarian house wines at 12.50 and French Pays d'Oc and Sauvignon blanc at 13.50. The best red is a Nuits-St-Georges '93, rather over-priced at 39.90. House champagne is 29.50. There are plenty of half bottles. The local beer is good and well kept.

For breakfast, a good buffet is served, with hearty cooked breakfasts available. Fruit and tins of oatcakes are on the tables.

There is a nursery in the hotel, open from 8 am to 6 pm, with NNEB nurses in charge, where babies and children can be left for a time and where they can, if wished, have meals. This can be a splendidly useful service for parents who want to escape on their own for a time.

The mountains are on your doorstep, so walking and climbing are easily achieved and very popular. There is fishing in the lake and in the river. The beautiful gardens at Lingholm (where Beatrix Potter wrote some of her tales) and at Myer House are nearby. Keswick, some two miles away, is an attractive town for shopping. And, of course, one can simply explore the Lakes by car, going South to Grasmere , Ambleside and Windermere, for instance, and returning by Troutbeck (where John Peele, the legendary huntsman hailed from), Patterdale, Pooley Bridge and Keswick. It is wonderful country.

Stakis Keswick Lodore Hotel, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5UX
Tel 017687 77285. Fax 017687 77343.
Twin or double rooms are 95.00 per room. Dinner bed and breakfast rates from 59.50 per person - less for stays of 5 nights or more.

Michael Pelham is proprietor of Pelham Tours, specialising in gastronomic, sporting and other tours.

Pelham Tours, Old Way House, Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7YL
Tel 01590 612264. Fax 01590 612747. Email peltours@interalpha.co.uk