Lake District: Glowing review of the Daffodil Hotel and Spa, Grasmere

But what is it like to stay at one of these hotels? The answer from my experience: absolute bliss.

On a sunny Bank Holiday Monday in May, my friend Eve and I drove through the stunning Lake District valleys to the four-star Daffodil Hotel and Spa, on the outskirts of Grasmere, in search of some much-needed girl time and probably our body weight in cocktails.

I must admit it isn’t the first time I have visited the hotel, having made my way to the Daffodil once before a number of years ago for a spa day at the venue.

Although I had previously visited, I really couldn’t remember what the popular Lakes hotel was like and was more than pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

From the moment we arrived we were greeted with a wonderful reception as we were given a key to our room and talked through everything we needed to know ahead of out stay.

The view of Grasmere water from the room (Image: NQ staff)

On entering the room, we were absolutely giddy in a way only two friends ready for an evening of cocktails, good food and gossip in such a beautiful setting could be.

The room we were given was nothing short of amazing, with a window giving us a view of the beautiful grounds and Grasmere water.

After getting our overnight bags unpacked, we headed down to the patio area to enjoy some cocktails and a little bit of the bank holiday sunshine.

A look inside one of the rooms at the hotel. (Image: NQ staff)

Sitting down with a Bramble cocktail it was like being abroad: the sun was shining with many happy guests sat amongst us enjoying the weather and relaxing on lounge sofas.

It was a few hours of chatting and many more cocktails on the menu, with the wonderful hotel staff catering to every need throughout the afternoon.

We were booked in for dinner at around 6.30pm and were welcomed into the dining room by yet more lovely staff members, who looked after us impeccably.

We opted not to have starters in order to save ourselves for the main event, in which I chose roasted stonebass fillet with mussel and spring vegetable potage, fennel slaw and herb oil.

Eve went for a cornfed chicken breast with chorizo ravioli, creamed savoy cabbage, butternut squash and a chicken jus.

My evening meal with a side of mashed potato (Image: NQ staff)

My meal was delicious, with a real feel of luxury throughout; every element of the main was filled with flavour.

Although I didn’t try Eve’s dish, she said it was amazing and particularly took a liking to the chorizo ravioli, which she said was the best she had ever tasted.

The dishes were extremely filling – so much so that we decided not to have a pudding and instead took a walk into beautiful Grasmere village to try and burn off some of the cocktail and main meal fuelled calories.

Despite living in Cumbria for all of my life, Grasmere is somewhere I have only visited a handful of times, but the quaint charm of the place left us both feeling very luck to live in such a picturesque part of the world.

A view from the patio outside of the Daffodil (Image: NQ staff)

After an afternoon full of drinks we went back to the room and decided to call it a night, with the stunning surroundings and extremely comfortable (and may I add enormous bed) we both had a fantastic evening of sleep.

Breakfast followed with the same great service, tasty food, with a hot and cold buffet style service. There was everything from continental dishes to full English and even smoked salmon and scrambled eggs which I went for at a small additional charge.

Breakfast at the hotel (Image: NQ staff)

After all this it was time for a visit to the spa - one which was much needed and a total pleasure. The facilities seemed to be built for the ultimate relaxation and with the Lake District sun turning to (as often) torrential rain on the Tuesday morning, the sauna, steam room and pool area provided a real treat.

Although it is only a small spa facility, what it lacks in size it definitely makes up for in providing a retreat from the pressures of the outside world. We stayed in the venue for quite a few hours and left totally relaxed.

The Daffodil Hotel and Spa is an absolute treat. I must give credit to all the wonderful staff who went completely above and beyond to make sure our stay was amazing. Nothing was too much and I will definitely be back in the future to support this wonderful Cumbrian hospitality business.

Rooms at the Daffodil Hotel and Spa, Grasmere between now and September start from £190 for bed and breakfast.

There is currently a  ‘Summer Retreat’ offer (https://www.daffodilhotel.co.uk/offers/summer-retreat/)  from £210 and includes extra discount on food and beverage.