Review: Low Wood Bay Hotel and Restaurant, Windermere

If you want a decent Manager’s away day sorting, just ask me. A quick search and I had booked a bargain overnight stay at Low Wood Bay hotel in Windermere. I absolutely love this part of the country. I’ve visited Ambleside and Bowness on many occasion and knew it would be perfect for some team bonding over a good ramble. The good reviews of the restaurant at the hotel were merely a happy coincidence…

We had a fabulous day walking around Ambleside and walking up to the waterfall. We then got the boat over to Bowness for a wander before heading back to the hotel for our dinner. I popped out whilst the others were getting ready to take some pictures of the amazing view.

These photos were taken from the doorstep of the hotel, just perfect. i can’t imagine a more perfect wedding location if I tried and there are many photo albums in reception of couples who thought the same.

Onto dinner and we had booked the hotel on a dinner, bed and breakfast rate. I was expecting 2-3 options for each course but was pleasantly surprised to find out we could order any starter, main and dessert with a slight supplement for some dishes. There were also some fabulous offers on prosecco which I quickly snapped up and enjoyed.

For starters I went for the creamed leeks and goats cheese which are served in a crisp pastry case with a balsamic reduction. The sweet leeks balanced really well with the soft and creamy goats cheese. I loved the addition of a crisp pastry case for added crunch and didn’t feel the dish really needed the balsamic reduction.

I simply had to go for the lamb as my main. It was a close call between the lamb and the steak but others went for it so I didn’t miss out. I haven’t photographed my colleague’s food but the steaks were appreciated by all. They weren’t medium as requested but the cut of meat was so good it just melted in the mouth.
The lamb, like the steak, wasn’t pink as requested but it was soft and juicy. I really enjoyed it and this part of the country is just the place for a good piece of lamb rump. The chantenay carrots had been cooked in orange so had a lovely sweetness and the red wine jus worked really well with the full dish. The dauphinoise potato was a little disappointing; it was fairly solid, almost in a ‘cake’ form. I wanted more cream and a looser consistency which would have complimented the lamb.

A vegetarian colleague ordered a linguine in a vegetable sauce. The dish was bland with little taste or seasoning. She didn’t eat much of it and when asked how the meals were (when the rest of us had finished I’d like to add) she expressed her concern to our waiter. He apologised and said he would tell the chef her feedback. I was shocked that an alternative wasn’t offered and the matter wasn’t mentioned again. A shame that this little slip in service spoiled her night somewhat, the rest of us were perfectly happy.

For dessert I wanted to try something different and went for the banana bavarois. I was expecting the lovely creamy tower mixed with banana that arrived, what I wasn’t expecting was the lovely caramelised bananas and ice cream on a ginger tuille. The toffee flavours from being caramelised enhanced the flavour of the banana which gave the bavarois a new depth and I felt it didn’t need the ice cream at all. In fact, I ate that separate so it was like a second pudding for me!  This is in no way a bad thing.

I didn’t photograph the hotel but the beds are comfy with a massive duvet and spotlessly clean. You do get some noise from the road outside and it was really warm weather when we visited so had to sleep with the windows open which, added to the noise. The staff kindly gave us a fan to keep the heat at bay but a spare sheet would have been useful as a lighter cover for the bed. At any other time of year this wouldn’t be an issue and I can’t wait to return. They regularly have some amazing deals. We paid £150 for 2 sharing a room with dinner, bed and breakfast so only £75 per person each. An absolute bargain and I felt the food, including the gorgeous breakfast, was worth this price alone. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled next time I need my Cumbrian fix.

This experience was paid for.