Superb

My wife and I visited this lovely hotel for a long weekend recently, on the basis of other reviews in Trip Advisor. Happily the other reviews were accurate and we had a fantastic weekend.

Kath was so welcoming and gave us tea and cakes on arrival, just what we needed after a long walk.

Although we were placed in the only downstairs bedroom it was perfectly fine and gave stunning views of the Lake District mountains.

Breakfast was excellent with other choices besides the usual 'Full English', with a lovely salmon and egg concoction especially enjoyable.

We ate dinner and the food was superb. The whole setup at dinner is what we like, staff attentive but not bothering you unduly, a nice atmosphere in the bar before and an unhurried progression through the 4 courses.

The location is also superb if you like walking. It is only 5 minutes walk from the Whinlatter Forest Visitors centre, which is the gateway to many fell walks.

i cannot recommend this hotel highly enough and consider it to be excellent value for money, something not always apparent in the Lake District.

Refreshing!

Having stayed in many hotels in and around Keswick I feel compelled to write this review!

The experience that Kath and Liam give you from start to finish is excellent.

You are made to feel 'most welcome' in their intimate hotel. The evening meal is certainly a strong point and I would go as far as to say the best in Cumbria - judge for yourself.

Anything that can be is home made, including the delicious date and honey bread.

The room I had was spotless, good size (you are in a cottage) and quiet - you are in a forest!

Unfortunately I stayed only the one night and couldn't explore the local surroundings but the other guests suggested that the walks from the hotel door were all enjoyable.

I did joke with the other guests that I wouldn't write a review incase they couldn't fit me in next time - and yes I will definitely return.

Birthday Special

My partner, Karen ,booked this hotel on the recommendation of a work colleague. What an absolute gem of a place. From beginning to end we had a truly exceptional weekend without any faults whatsoever. On arrival we were greeted by Kath with a tray of tea and homemade cakes. Liam can only best be described as a genius in the kitchen creating top quality evening dinners and excellent breakfasts. The support staff were very polite and made our stay a memorable one. This is most definitely worth a visit and Karen and I (Dave) will be coming back.

Nice location, great service.

The Cottage in the Wood is a small country hotel situated in a secluded location in the Whinlatter Forest. The hotel is very picturesque with some stunning views from the dining room across the Skiddaw mountain range. Make sure you are first down for the excellent cooked breakfast so you can sit at one of the window tables and gaze out at the fantastic scenery. The owner Kath and all of her staff were always helpful and provided an excellent level of service. At £37.50 pppn for bed & breakfast it is very good value for money and I would seriously consider paying a little bit extra for one of the de-luxe rooms.

Fantastic Break

Just back from a fanastic weekend away at the Cottage in the Wood. The break started really well when we arrived after a long drive and Kath set up a complementary welcome of tea, coffee and cakes in the garden. The hotel is ideally set for lots of great walks, which we took full advantage of, and Kath and her staff were always on hand to offer suggestions.

We had booked the evening meals with them. There is a fixed menu, as noted in earlier reviews, so the choices are limited, however dont let this put you off as the food was consistently at an excellent standard. The views from the dining room are just as good as the food and we couldn't have wished for a better way to celebrate my wife's birthday.

Stunning Location! Stunning Food! We loved Cottage In The Wood

We have just returned from our second stay at Cottage In The Wood under Kath and Liam's management. The hotel is situated on the Whinlatter Pass just outside Braithwaite, near Keswick,with outstanding views of Skiddaw. As the name implies, it is a cottage hotel (formerly a 17th century coaching inn)and the rooms, of which there are just 10, are in the same style and spotlessly clean. Liam's food is to die for and whilst there is only one choice of three course meal(four courses Friday and Saturday)each evening, it is absolutely out of this world, with all food being sourced locally wherever possible. If you will eat almost anything, as we do, you will not be disappointed! The menu for the meal that evening is always available to tempt you at breakfast! The huge Cumbrian breakfast keeps you going through the day too, and you can choose something lighter if you wish. Liam and Kath cannot do enough for you, so if you have special dietary requirements they will certainly do everything they can to accomodate.

We had superb weather on this trip but on the previous occasion it was very wet and each afternoon when we returned to the hotel, Kath was on hand to take our wet coats and boots from us. She whisked them off to the drying room, so they were ready for the next day's walking - how many other hotels offer that kind of service?

If you are looking for a riotous night life, perhaps this is not the place for you, but if, however, you are looking for the small bijou hotel, with gourmet food and immaculately clean accommodation, away from it all to re-charge your batteries, and at very reasonable prices then this is definitely the place to stay. We look forward to our next visit.

Superb, Excellent, Great Service

I have stayed at The Cottage on 3 occasions the food is to die for, and has recently received such recognition in "The Good Hotel Guide" The Hotel is ideal for walkers and allows dogs. Liam and Kath can't do enough for you and make you feel totally at home. The views and the scenery are breath taking.

Disappointed ....

The Cottage is in a beautiful setting and near wonderful walking but the approach to customer satisfaction was very disappointing. The rooms were all very cold and the ground floor bedroom damp. The heating had some problems but the response was 'well it is winter'. We were given room heaters but they were small, very noisy fans and not much good. One of our friends had mice in her room; eating the soap and climbing in her back. The response was traps set which did not catch anythign the first night but went off in the night. The owner seemed to think this was OK and did not even ask the next morning if our friend was ok. My mother had two small dogs. We were told this was fine before going but when we got there there were numerous restrictions. They could not stay in her room while we ate and they had to go into a freezing vehicle! There were some good bits in the menu but it is set and no choice so a little limiting for a longer stay. All in all we were very disappointed after a wonderful break the year before in another hotel in the lake district.

This family group originally booked six rooms including our only ground floor room dedicated to pet owners. Between making the reservation and arriving an additional pet owners room was requested with the original booking for one dog becoming three. We explained that we only have one room for pet owners and couldn't help. However, we relented as they were clearly in a 'pickle'. We wish we hadn't, the dogs were not well behaved and were poorly supervised. This led to some tension between ourselves and one of the group.

The episode with the mouse was unfortunate. However, we are in the middle of a mountain forest and this sometimes happens in the countryside during particularly cold spells. We assume the reviewers reference to a mouse being 'in her back' is a typo and should be 'in her bag'.

The reference to heating problems is innaccurate; new boilers were installed only last year and they work fine. Additionally, we also provide electric blankets. There is no damp in our ground floor room as suggested (we have just inspected the room). We check on the comfort of ours guests frequently. One guest only, complained of feeling cold and an additional heater seemed to resolve this. Anyone who has dealt with Kath will know she would not dismiss a complaint with 'well it's winter'.

Our dinner menu is fixed and offers no choice (other than dietary or personal dislikes) and changes daily with good variation. This enables us to use all fresh and top quality ingredients . We ensure all potential guests are aware of how we operate. On check out, we again checked with the group regarding their stay and none of the comments posted in the review were raised.

This episode led us to reflect on our policy to accept pets in the hotel. However, we have many regular caring and considerate dog owners whom we welcome and look forward to seeing.

Absolutely fabulous

We have stayed at the Cottage in the Wood three times in the last 18 months and we have had an absolutely wonderful stay each time.

The hotel is just outside Keswick on the Whinlatter Pass - you will need a car to stay there.

It is a small family-run hotel and the owners, Liam and Kath Berney, really make you feel welcome; nothing is too much trouble for them.

The rooms are always clean and the views from them absolutely wonderful.

I must now mention the food which is out of this world. It is food you would expect at the most expensive restaurants which is where Liam, the chef, has indeed worked at one time and it shows. If you stay for the evening meal there is a set menu which Kath makes sure you are happy with each day (we have always been happy!) and if you eat there you must start with the choice of breads which Liam bakes himself - they are just too good!

I agonised over writing this review as I always agonise over whether to tell people about the hotel for fear that there will be no rooms free when we want to go, however I think it only too right to spread the word for Liam and Kath.

If you are looking for a hotel with lots of amenities such as swimming pool, Wi Fi system, Sky TV, gym etc. you will not be happy at the Cottage.

However, if you want a quiet hotel in a beautiful, picturesque position in good walking and cycling country with beautiful scenery then this is the place for you. I guarantee that at the end of your stay you will feel totally relaxed and refreshed.

With rooms priced from 35 pounds per person per night for bed and breakfast, you can't argue with that!