In a world of luxury spas, huge HD LED flatscreen TVs in every room and champagne on tap, the Hazel Bank Country House prides itself on something a little different - genuine hospitality.

It’s a recipe which has worked well for Gary and Donna MacRae since they took on the seven-bedroom country house hotel in the Borrowdale Valley.

“We do not want to be known as a boutique hotel, we are a classic country house where guests can really get away from it all. Don`t get me wrong we have smart TVs in every room as standard, we just don`t advertise it,” said Gary. “We say to people, we have a spa and it’s called Derwentwater. We have a gym and it’s called Great Gable!”
It’s 11 years since they bought the business and their occupancy rates have soared.

Before Covid they operated on 96 per cent occupancy all year round with 80 per cent repeat visitors.

Their customers’ average stay is 4.2 days with many returning two or three times every year. Over the years the business has won many awards, including an AA 5* gold accommodation award and in the past 12 months, The Good Hotel Guide’s Best Hotel in the North of England and the Conde Nast Johansen Best Small and Exclusive Hotel in the UK.
Gary and Donna have owned and operated Borrowdale businesses for more than 30 years. Donna was born in the valley and they were both pupils at Laithwaite School in Keswick before Gary did an engineering degree in Workington. “I never wanted to leave Cumbria,” he said.
The couple spent about £300,000 refurbishing the place, including installing a biomass boiler enhancing the hotel’s green accreditation.

To increase trade they decided to start taking one-night bookings and used online travel agents.

Once it picked up they changed it to two-night bookings which remains to this day.

“We don’t accept dogs or children and most of our guests, including ourselves, have both at home! We know exactly what people want from a break,” Gary said.
Every night they cook a four-course meal for the guests. “It’s like a dinner party every night,” he said. “In my view it’s all about the hospitality.”

A team of five, including Gary and Donna, run the place.

Donna does all the cooking when the chef is off and Gary is in charge of hospitality as well as managing the four acres of gardens, with its red squirrels, bats, newts, badgers and deer.