Willowbeck Lodge - Carlisle

Sunny S.

We came here to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary, a lovely surprise organised by my husband. It took us just under two hours to drive from Edinburgh, and it was absolutely worth the trip. The B&B was spotlessly clean, cosy and welcoming. Everyone we met greeted us with a smile, creating such a warm and friendly atmosphere that you rarely find in larger hotels, which can sometimes feel a bit impersonal. I absolutely adore this kind of family-run place.

I’m lactose intolerant, and both breakfast and dinner were handled with great care. The chef was incredibly thoughtful. I even learned for the first time that sausages can contain milk. At first, I thought they’d simply forgotten mine, but it turned out they were making sure they were safe for me to eat.

Thank you for a wonderful stay. We’ll definitely be back again.

One funny moment: my husband told me there were otters in the pond, but they’re shy and only come out at night. So I found myself hiding behind the curtains in the early hours, hoping to catch a glimpse. Sadly, no luck this time.

johnsI9412LF

We recently stayed at Willowbeck Lodge for one night, on two occasions ten days apart, once on our way to Scotland and the other on the return journey. On both visits we enjoyed the same high standards of hospitality. Our room was clean, spacious and very comfortable providing a restful night’s sleep after long journeys. Breakfast was very good with a wide choice and served in the attractive bar area. We also had dinner in Fini’s Restaurant, on the ground floor, on both occasions and thoroughly enjoyed our meals (I have reviewed this separately under Restaurants).|We will certainly make a return visit to Willowbeck Lodge next time we are travelling through the area. Being only 1¼ miles from Junction 43 of the M6, near Carlisle, makes it so convenient, and its setting amongst the trees by a wildlife pond makes it such a calm place to spend the night.

Kristy ?. O. T. T. A.

Omg what a hidden gem this place is.
I've only just checked in and already happy to write a 5 star review!
The place is an artists dream, I sat and painted by the pond & relaxation was perfect.
Our room is right next to reception, hardly any noise so far and very happy to hear the bar shuts at 10pm which is ideal for sleep!
The room is done to an extremely high standard, nice to see a portable mirror for us lady's who need light for make up the next day.
There's a double shower which is actually a double shower, two shower heads! A little terrace where you can sit too. A privacy screen between the reception and room would be a great addition as it would define it as a separate area.
Food was nice and well labeled for allergies. Not a huge choice but a quality choice on the menu. Staff are lovely, very polite and professional.
Drinks are fairly priced.
Food tasted very good, I had scallops which are tricky to get right and they were perfectly cooked, top marks to the chef, they've absolutely got good experience.
We're planning on a return visit and bring the kids next time. Lovely stay 🙂

Pat M.

Excellent stay at Willowbeck Lodge. Great room, with a lovely bathroom and immaculately clean. As former 5 star Guesthouse owners, we can appreciate the effort that goes in to providing a service that looks effortless to guests! A lovely evening meal from an uncomplicated and simple menu, a refreshing change from pages and pages of not so great choices. The scallop starter was a particular hit. We're staying again later in the year.
Thoroughly recommended!

Graham S.

Great Hotel, lovely setting, nice rooms, excellent food, good service.
We arranged a get-together with some of our friends to celebrate my wife’s birthday. We chose Willowbeck because it was more-or-less halfway between us and looked promising - and we were not disappointed. It’s a splendid hotel in a lovely setting. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the food was superb. But beyond that was the welcome and service provided by owner/manager Andrew who, from the very beginning, made every effort to make sure that we were well looked-after and content. Let’s come again.!

reviewerxyz

What a beautiful little hotel. So tranquil and yet so close to the M6 and Carlisle city centre. We loved everything about the place. The room was huge and the bed very comfortable. The only downside, if you could call it that, was the breakfast. We were told on arrival that the inclusive breakfast was a continental - if we wanted a full English cooked breakfast it was a further £15 per head on top of the price we'd already paid. At almost £200 for the room, I found this to be a bit cheeky, especially given that I never noticed anything on the website mentioning the fact that it was only a continental breakfast when booking it, nor since returning home and scrutinising it further. I don't mind paying for things, but the price already seemed to reflect more than we were given. The continental breakfast was OK, cereal, fruit juices, a few croissants, some platters of cold meat and cheese, and you were offered toast if you wanted it. I enjoyed what I had, I just felt a bit cheated. It certainly wouldn't stop me going back if I was ever in the area again though.

Rach_and_Rich

We have visited her previous and absolutely loved it and so grabbed the chance on a recent holiday to use it as a stopover. Rooms and breakfast cost £170 so above average in price. Unfortunately we didn't have the same wonderful experience as last time.|Positives: Lovely setting and wildlife, room was nicely decorated and clean, staff were pleasant. |Negatives:|-on arrival we were shown to our room which had external access by a member of staff. The key he gave us wouldn't open the door for my husband who struggled for some time. I tried too so we had to ask the staff ember to come back and help. He struggled too but after some time managed to gain access. No apology or comment that he would get it looked at. It. meant we had to leave our room unlocked for our stay.|-at dinner we ordered our food and our main meal was brought before our starters. Apparently the system had swapped them around. We agreed to eat our main course before our starters. |-breakfast has now been changed and is continental only. on arrival we were told we could have a cooked breakfast but would have to pay for it and order the night before. This was a surprise as there had been no mention of this and given the price I would have expected a cooked breakfast. |-orange juice was undrinkable as though it was not diluted sufficiently and definitely wasn't 'fresh orange'|-husband is vegan and we had notified them of this on booking. The only breakfast available was toast with vegan margarine. He was OK with this, but other vegan potential customers may wish to know this. |-grounds felt shabbier than last time....there was a broken light fitting and electric cables, chair and table upside down on the ground outside our room. ||If the above issues were resolved we would return, but not as things stand.

P-Fry-Travels

We stayed at Willowbeck Lodge this weekend on our way home to Scotland. Its location is so convenient just 1 mile off the M6. First class, modern accommodation with beautiful furnishings and fixtures. The owner kindly upgraded us upon arrival to one of the superior rooms. We ate in the restaurant, food was first class and the staff were very friendly. Breakfast was delicious, with plenty of choice and could be ordered the night before. The grounds are stunning and parking was very convenient. We will definitely be visiting again.