Rothay Manor, in Ambleside, is a Four Red Star hotel. Kate Houghton went to find out what that really means.
We’ve all heard the term ‘four star’ when applied to hotels, but until I visited Rothay Manor, in Ambleside, I was unfamiliar with the term Red Star. I looked it up. The AA created a star rating to classify UK hotels in 1912, as an aid to travellers so they knew what level of service and comfort they might expect. The AA say that ‘Inspector Choice Red Stars are awarded to hotels that stand out as the very best in the British Isles, regardless of style. These hotels offer excellent levels of quality throughout, outstanding levels of hospitality and service.’ In 1956, the AA introduced the very useful AA Rosette Award scheme, the first nationwide scheme for assessing the quality of food served in restaurants and hotels. The restaurant at Rothay Manor has been awarded 3 AA Rosettes for four consecutive years now, awarded by the AA only to ‘Outstanding restaurants that achieve standards that demand national recognition well beyond their local area.’
Oh yes, I thought, this is going to be good.
Pulling up outside the country manor house that is Rothay Manor, there’s an immediate sense of welcome. The white render and wrought iron balconies immediately signal traditional comfort and ease. Checking in is friendly and fast, and we were quickly guided to our room, in the recently opened annexe, The Pavilion.
It’s a stunning room, designed with comfort and peace in mind. Most visitors to this part of the Lake District are here to walk, of course, whether a gentle amble around the villages and lakes, or something more energetic uphill and down. So returning to a comfortable room, beautifully decorated and with everything you could possibly need to help you define what luxury in the Lakes look like for you, that’s the dream. And at Rothay Manor, that dream comes true.
Rothay Manor is just a ten-minute walk from Ambleside, which gives it the distance you need for peace, but the proximity you want for an easy life. My husband loves a good long walk. Me, not so much. Being able to stroll into the village and have a potter about meant I wasn’t tied to his timetable, or he to mine. On our day of arrival we had a good wander about, before enjoying some absolute idleness in our luxurious room – and how often do you get to do that with no feelings of guilt?
Dinner on our first night was booked for the hotel’s restaurant, and we headed over at the appointed time ready for a cocktail and a lengthy browse of the menu. The bar area is another tempting space in which to enjoy some time. Expect to spot a four-legged guest dozing close by. The hotel is proudly dog-friendly, even to the extent of building a dedicated dog wash and boot room, so you can swap muddy boots and paws for something cleaner, and even wrap your hound in a special doggy dressing gown.
The restaurant is also notably traditional in décor, yet with a very contemporary edge – it's like your daydream imaginings of a really old-fashioned country hotel, yet with all the comforts and pleasures of modernity woven through.
The menu held our attention for some while, decisions decisions! I eventually plumped for a starter of Courgette Flower with Goats Cheese, and Mike for Lamb Belly with Black Garlic and Miso Glaze. Mine was delicate, fresh and sweet with the acidity of the cheese punching through. Mike’s was outstanding – the flavour quite delicate, with just enough fat to ensure a melt-in-the-mouth texture but not to overwhelm, and the glaze was a background element, lifting the overall taste sensations and tying it all together.
I went on to enjoy a beautiful piece of lamb rump, with roasted onion, barbecued aubergine and a candied aubergine puree. Oh my, it was fabulous. The knitting together of lamb with the sweet bite of roasted onion, and the smooth aubergine... and who knew candied aubergine was a thing? Mike chose the pork fillet and belly, with umeboshi (a sharp Japanese plum sauce) braised turnips and crispy gyoza. The umeboshi cut through the sweet, fatty pork belly, while the turnips offer an earthy counterpoint and the gyoza delivered a textural contrast.
The next morning we enjoyed an excellent breakfast, with Mike fuelling up for a walk with a quite spectacular full English, while I took it a little easier. Just as he headed off to the hills, the rain began. My plan for the day had been to enjoy a long bath (in the day!) and then go for a potter about town, no husband asking how long I was going to be in any shop I chose to enter. The first I accomplished, but in and out of shops with an umbrella is not my idea of fun, so I headed for Zeffirelli’s, the characterful independent cinema with five screens across three venues, not to mention a jazz bar, five vegetarian restaurants across five locations and two guest houses. I enjoyed a matinee performance of The Barbie Movie, before heading back to the hotel to meet up with Mike, now happily ensconced in the bath, sipping a red wine and feeling appropriately smug about his four hour walk.
We ate dinner in Ambleside that evening, and next day, after another marvellous breakfast, headed back down the M6 feeling wholly revived, ready for the week.
rothaymanor.co.uk
