Stayed here for just the one night. My mum in law lives in Appleby and we usually stay with her but now the girls are getting older it's a bit crowded so we booked this hotel with a view to staying on future visits to the town. It was also a surprise christmas visit for her too as she wasn't expecting us We were greeted politely on arrival and given a brief tour of the hotel. Our room had a terrible view of the hotels various roofs!! . Our bed was comfortable but the girls were on sofa beds which were ok for the one night but no longer.Didn't get a great deal of sleep as we kept getting woken up by some sort of humming noise, think it was the heating. We were also woken up twice in the early hours by a toddler crying in the next room, so we felt quite exhausted the next morning. The best thing about our room was the bathroom which had a spa bath and tv. Had room service in the evening which was satisfactory. The breakfast was full english and very welcoming. Don't know whether we would stay again as we were expecting something a little more for the price we had paid, when we could have had alternative acommodation for a lot less.

So it rained for virtually the whole of our three days in the Lake Distict... but we weren't worried. It was our first stay at Appleby Manor Country House Hotel, just after Christmas in the new year, and I hope upon hopes that it won't be our last. From the friendly and warm reception (log fire crackling away) to the comfortable bedroom and first class food and service in the restaurant, we could not have hoped to have stayed in a hotel you could just 'sink into', and not want to move from, we especially enjoyed just reading or chilling out in the lounge with the large comfortable sofas and real log fire - heaven. Sure, we got out and about - the hotel is well situated to explore the Lakes, pennine way and a little further away the yorkshire dales.The Lakes are beautiful at any time of the year so you must spend a bit of time having a look at what is on offer - but we didn't want to go too far - we were enjoying ourselves far too much at Appleby Manor! Don't take my word for it - I've stayed in many hotels in this country and all over the world - for friendly service and a relaxed atmosphere, combined with quality food, try Appleby Manor well worth the 4 stars.

We stayed at Appleby Manor at the begining of December on a 3 for 2 deal. The hotel staff were incredibly friendly and we had a lovely welcome. The lounge and public areas are very impressive with plenty of room, the hall and reception had just been refurbished. Our room was one of the new executive deluxe rooms, very nice decoration and the jacuzzi bath and bathroom tv were a blessing after a busy day. Breakfast was amazing - you could basically have anything you wanted. We ate there all three of the nights and were treated very well and the food was delicious. The staff in the restaurant could not be faulted for breakfast or dinner. We loved appleby - such a beautiful quiet little village with stunning views all around. There are plenty of wonderful walks to do as well, very close to the pennine way, we ventured to murton pike and highcup nick. We would definitley stay in both the Eden valley and Appleby Manor Again.

The hotel was upgraded to 4 stars while we were staying there. Refurbished executive roons and new carpets and decorations were the reasons given for this. Whiloe heading towards 4 stars there are still some things that need attention before it can justfiably lay claim to this.

Reception
Pleasant, friendly, helpful. Gave us a quick orientation tour around the hotel as we arrived. However, 4 star hotels should not ask if we 'would like a hand with our baggage' - they should really do it automatically. A minor point, but would set them off on the right track if they did this.

Room
We stayed in the refurbed Executive rooms. The decor was 'countryside' formal which clashed a little with the more contemporary en suite. The TV in the bathroom was a nice touch, but the room was very small and you had to be careful not to burn yourself on the very hot towel radiator when getting dried. The lighting was very dim in the room - too dim to read by, and the heating, even when off, was overpowering without the windows being opened wide. I wonder what happens in the summer

Eating
The restaurant was the most 'almost but not quite' part of the whole thing. The two rooms use were harshly lit and there was very little intimacy created through poor use of lighting. The net effect was to reduce the otherwise fair food to a function to be got through rtaher than a dining experience to be enjoyed. No background music made everyone very self-conscious about talking, and while the staff were mainly friendly, there were minor tweaks that would get them up to a 4 star hotel. Having the same dirty tablecloth on the table for breakfast ( that we had dirtied the night before) was disappointing. The food was leaning towards the adventurous but was spoiled mainly by the lack of ambience in the place.

Other Accommodation
There were plenty of cosy and comfortable seating in a number of rooms downstairs, and in the evenings a fire was lit. Unfortunately this meant the rather cold weather added to a sense of cold in these rooms when they were not lit duing the day - and when we would have liked to have relaxed in the hotel. The background music was truly dire - OK for a shop or a lift, but tinny Abba songs played by lacklustre musos is not 4 star.

The swimming pool was hardly that. We were asked to sign a disclaimer of we wanted to use the pool because 'it was fine, but a bit cloudy'.

Summary
There are a lot of negatives here, and I probably wouldn't have mentioned them had they not been declared a 4 star hotel. As a 3 star they were a fine little hotel but they have got some work to do before they can truly be called 4 star.