Smoke on the water
EMMA JOHNSON and her husband get a fresh taste for the Lake District at the plush Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa in Windermere
IT ALWAYS rains when I go to the Lake District. It’s just a fact of life, like toast always landing on its buttered side and England embarrassing the nation in international football tournaments.
Except, just like Gareth Southgate’s boys (so what if they didn’t quite bring it home?), Cumbria’s holiday hotspot surprised me on my most recent stay.
Not only did I escape a soaking, but it was actually sunny for extended periods.
Given where we were staying though, had it rained sideways the entire time, it couldn’t have put a dampener on things.
My husband and I were lucky enough to enjoy a long weekend at the Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa on the shores of Lake Windermere.
Owned by the English Lakes group, the hotel – which dates back to the 18th century – is undergoing a huge £19m refurbishment which is destined to make it one of the region’s hottest properties.
Not that it struggles to attract a dazzling clientele – Tom Cruise and Joan Collins are among former guests.
When the hard hats and hammers are laid down, Low Wood will offer new leisure and spa facilities, a modern atrium area and a new restaurant, Blue Smoke, while guests will have 131 rooms to choose from, including a host of high-end suites.
We stayed in the main hotel building in the Oak Suite.
With its stunning, unobstructed lake view, it couldn’t not have been better appointed. The large lounge and the spacious bedroom were dressed in lush fabrics in on-trend shades of grey, cream and taupe with accents of gold, and the bathroom, while missing a bath, made up for it with a huge walk-in shower.
The inability of hoteliers to put good lighting, mirrors and electric sockets in the same postcode is a great bugbear of mine. At Low Wood Bay not only did they achieve that but it was like a Kardashian-quality selfie every time I checked my reflection.
On the bed sat the Lake District’s must-have accessory, a four-legged friend... of the stuffed variety. For a charity donation I could even take him home.
There was no charge, however, for the Grasmere Gingerbread nestled on the tea tray in the room (from Sarah Nelson’s famous shop no less) and it was quickly gobbled up.
While there is still work going on at the hotel for a few months more – none of which caused any disruption for us – many of the new facilities are finished.
The super-stylish Blue Smoke restaurant, with its squishy-seated booths, conservatory and outdoor fire pits, opened in October. Low Wood Bay also offers the highceilinged, wood and mirror-panelled Windermere Restaurant, where the extensive breakfast is also served each morning.
As the name suggests, food at Blue Smoke is cooked over hot embers. And it is done right before your eyes. A three-metre long double woodfired grill is the centrepiece of the restaurant and you can watch as the chefs throw your steak, chicken or veggies on the grill.
Away from London and its celebrity chefs, it is notoriously difficult to make hotel restaurants into top dining destinations. All too often they look nice and serve good food but lack atmosphere. Not so at Blue Smoke.
Both times we visited it was busy and buzzy. The diners were a real mix too – first daters flirted over their food while large groups laughed and joked.
Yes, we ate there twice. Townie that I am, it never occurred to me on our first night that not every restaurant in the Lakes is happy to feed you past 9pm. Luckily, after a couple of knockbacks elsewhere, Blue Smoke squeezed us in around 9.30pm. I had the salmon to start, followed by monkfish and it was pretty special.
But not as special as the tasting plate on our second visit. A great way to enjoy the Blue Smoke experience, it served up small portions of salmon, chicken, courgette and aubergine and the star of the piece – the bricklayer steak.
I’d never heard of bricklayer steak before. A rump cut, marinated in paprika and chilli for 24 hours and pounded out, it was so tasty and tender I could hardly believe it wasn’t fillet. We finished our dining experience by sharing a chocolate mousse with spiced rum. Utterly divine.
After lunch my husband and I laughed our way through a cocktail masterclass, knocking up Singapore slings and espresso martinis. Neither of us is likely to be called upon by Tom should a Cocktail sequel be on the cards, but the drinks went down very nicely as we soaked in the scenery outside beside the restaurant’s fire pits, which didn’t even need to be lit.
While the new spa at Low Wood won’t open fully until September, the gym, with its indoor pool and Norman’s Coffee & Juice Bar is complete – and we put it to good use working off our the beef and booze during our stay.
But you don’t have to be a gym bunny in the Lakes to burn calories. There is no better way to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the area than by walking.
My husband and I are no hikers, but even we could manage the 20-25-minute stroll from Low Wood Bay to Ambleside, where we enjoyed a drink at the Wateredge Inn.
The pretty spot is where you can hop on the lake cruises, a tourist must-do. Although as guests of the Low Wood we were able to board at its own marina opposite the hotel by flagging the captain down from the jetty. If you are lucky enough to have your own lake cruiser, or just a small sailing boat, you can moor it there.
We were happy just to look at other people’s bobbing up and down as we took a late afternoon tea in the atrium of the hotel. Delicate sandwiches and cakes, accompanied by a pot of hot tea and a glass of bubbly, made for the perfect end to our brief stay.
Just as I was spooning the last of the jam and clotted cream on to my second (or was it my third?) scone, the first drops of rain began to roll down the atirum window.
Ah well, it was great while it lasted... a bit like England’s World Cup.