Low Wood Bay Hotel & Spa, Windermere, Lake District

On the main A591 that hugs Lake Windermere, it sits midway been Windermere town and Ambleside, two of the area's popular towns. The upsides are that it's easily accessible - around 30 minutes from the M6 - and has sweeping lake views; the downside is that it's a busy road that crawls with traffic in high season, and it's a two-to four-mile walk to the towns. Check out the absorbing new Windermere Jetty Museum or take the kids to Bowness's World of Beatrix Potter.

By car: The hotel is 1 hour 40 mins from Manchester, around 3 hours from Edinburgh and 5 hours from London. Free private parking is available 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 30-minute taxi ride from the station. Book trains to Oxenholme Lake District.

The hotel sprawls across a large site, from the original creeper-covered, white-washed 18th-century coaching inn with modern courtyard extension, to a long leisure centre and a bold glass-and-slate chalet-style building with luxury bedrooms. Interiors segue from hardwood floors and elegant armchairs in the older parts, through a bright airy atrium to sleek velvet furnishings and pale grey walls in the modern areas.

For the active, there are watersports - at a centre across the road from the hotel - a large indoor pool, fitness centre and exercise studio, as well as walking route guides. For the indulgent, there's a swanky spa with indoor and outdoor water features as well as a raft of treatments. Just want to relax? There are plenty of lounges as well as a terrace for warmer days.

• Two restaurants
• Bar
• Wellness centre
• Swimming pool
• Family hotel
• Pet-friendly
• Free Wi-Fi
• Free parking

There's a wide choice of bedrooms ranging from the corporate-style courtyard rooms with limited views to the light and contemporary leisure-centre rooms (some with balconies). Rooms in the original building boast high ceilings and there are sprawling suites in a seperate chalet-style building.

Room types: Willow, Hazel, Lime, Oak Suite, Winander Club, Winander Club Oak Suite, Winander Club Oak Duplex

Key amenities: ensuite with luxury toiletries, robes and slippers, TV, tea and coffee facilities

Dine in either the elegant Windermere Restaurant or the contemporary, bistro-style Blue Smoke on the Bay. The former offers traditional classics, while the latter is more casual with an open kitchen and a wood-fired grill. There's afternoon tea in the lounge, plus an all-day café in the atrium.

The Windermere: traditional, seasonal British cuisine. Open daily for breakfast and dinner. Two courses £28.

Blue Smoke: seafood, steak. Open daily for lunch and Tues-Sat for dinner. Mains from £17.