Langdale Hotel & Spa, Great Langdale, Lake District

Just beyond Elterwater village, the hotel is hidden from view in a private wooded estate that's also home to a timeshare of lodges. Surrounded by fells, including the magnificent Langdale Pikes, it feels rural, although Ambleside, the nearest town, is only four miles. Langdale is a popular valley with walkers, so the road can be busy. The site is also equidistant between Elterwater with The Britannia pub and Chapel Stile with The Wainwright Inn.

By car: 2 hours from Manchester, 3 hours 20 minutes from Edinburgh and just under 5 hours from London. There is free parking on-site.

By train: trains run from Manchester Piccadilly (just over 1 hour), London Euston (3 hours) and Edinburgh (2 hours) to Oxenholme Lake District station. The hotel is a 40-minute taxi ride from the station. Book trains to Oxenholme.

Made up of a scattering of chalet-style buildings, which blend into the wooded, hillocky site with their use of slate, timber and glass, the hotel has surprisingly metropolitan-contemporary interiors. The large restaurant-bar-lounge has chic, velvet-covered chairs and designer lighting, while bedrooms are sleek and polished, perfect for active couples who like their comforts.

There's pretty much everything those looking for an active break could desire: a leisure complex with pool, gym and sauna, bike hire (and storage), drying room, walking routes and maps - and a spa to unwind and recover. The main bar and restaurant have casual seating areas plus a couple of outside terraces, one of which is heated by a log fire.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Gardens
• Swimming pool
• Spa and wellness centre
• Free parking
• Free Wi-Fi

Most of the 50 bedrooms have a sleek, uncluttered, masculine style with neutral or deep-hued shades, clean-lined furniture and a dash of luxe in silky or wool cushions. Top-tier rooms are in a different league: either Scandi-lodge affairs beside water or night-clubby designer suites, some with copper slipper baths.

Room types: Cosy/Roomy Lakeland Signature, Attic, Waterside, Ultimate Rooms

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with Pure Lakes toiletries, tea and coffee facilites, TV, bath robes, Free Wi-Fi

Stove is a bright, buzzing bistro-style restaurant and bar with a semi-open kitchen, serving up a crowd-pleasing menu of classics such as confit duck leg and braised red cabbage or fish pie and samphire, as well as burgers and pizzas, the latter hot from their wood-fired pizza oven. It's fine and filling, if a little heavy-handed.

Stove Restaurant & Bar: relaxed, bistro-style dining, hearty comfort food. Open 12-9pm. Dinner mains from £14.