Independent hotel guide
North Lakes Hotel & Spa
Easy arrivals, family swimming, wet-weather breaks, Penrith and eastern or northern Lake District day trips.
- Upper mid-range
Image: North Lakes Hotel & Spa.
At a glance
Quick facts
- Price band
- Upper mid-range
- Neighbourhood
- Penrith
- Location
- the Lake District
Editorial take
Why consider North Lakes Hotel & Spa?
A pool, spacious family-focused rooms and school-holiday extras close to Penrith’s transport links.
Best for
Easy arrivals, family swimming, wet-weather breaks, Penrith and eastern or northern Lake District day trips.
Avoid if
you want a lakeshore view, a walk-out fell village or a clearly documented five-person family suite.
- Family
- Couple
- Business
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Family-break programme with pool access and children’s extras
- Practical Penrith position for road and rail arrivals
- On-site dining, parking and indoor facilities reduce bad-weather friction
Trade-offs
- The setting is a gateway town rather than a lake or fell village
- Published room pages do not state one clear maximum family occupancy for every category
Fit check
Who it suits — and who should skip it
Best for: Easy arrivals, family swimming, wet-weather breaks, Penrith and eastern or northern Lake District day trips.
Skip it if: you want a lakeshore view, a walk-out fell village or a clearly documented five-person family suite.
Related reading:the Lake District hotel guide; Best Family Hotels in the Lake District; Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in the Lake District.
Stay details
Rooms and spa
These are the room categories for which our current source set contains useful, comparable detail. They are not presented as a complete live inventory.
family room
Signature Family
Spacious signature category; some rooms have a sofa bed. Confirm the exact maximum occupancy and bed plan.
suite
Family Suite
The suites page lists a family suite with a king bed and separate living area; confirm child beds and maximum occupancy directly.
Facilities in our source set
- Swimming pool
Pool access is included in the published family-break package and with qualifying direct bookings; verify child times and booking conditions.
- Sauna, steam room and jacuzzi
Complimentary access is published for qualifying direct bookings; other rates or channels may differ.
- Temple Spa treatments
Treatments are separately bookable or included when explicitly listed in a spa-break package.
- School-holiday activities
The hotel advertises seasonal activity packs and school-holiday programming; content and dates can change.
On the ground
Location and access
North Lakes Hotel & Spa is at Ullswater Road, Penrith, CA11 8QT. See our the Lake District hotel guide for the wider area context and other places to stay.
The hotel is on Ullswater Road in Penrith, making it a practical road and rail gateway. Confirm the final walk or taxi from Penrith station and current onward bus links for Ullswater and Keswick.
Before you book
Good to know
Children
The family break includes children’s extras and pool access. Confirm the exact room occupancy, sofa bed, child charges and current pool rules.
Pets
Some ground-floor Signature rooms are dog-friendly; reserve the exact category and confirm the dog limit, dining access and current charge directly.
Policy notes
Pool and thermal-facility inclusion varies by booking route and package. Confirm child access, treatment duration and the terms attached to the selected rate.
Accessibility
No accessibility survey has been carried out by BestUKHotels.com. Confirm parking, step-free entrance, lift, the allocated family room, exact bathroom and pool access directly.
Quick answers
Questions travellers ask about North Lakes Hotel & Spa
What is the main reason to choose North Lakes Hotel & Spa?
A pool, spacious family-focused rooms and school-holiday extras close to Penrith’s transport links.
Who is North Lakes Hotel & Spa best for?
Easy arrivals, family swimming, wet-weather breaks, Penrith and eastern or northern Lake District day trips.
Where is North Lakes Hotel & Spa?
The hotel is at Ullswater Road, Penrith, CA11 8QT. The hotel is on Ullswater Road in Penrith, making it a practical road and rail gateway. Confirm the final walk or taxi from Penrith station and current onward bus links for Ullswater and Keswick.
What should I check before booking North Lakes Hotel & Spa?
The official room pages do not publish one universal family occupancy; enter the full party and obtain the named room, sofa-bed use and pool inclusion in writing.
Featured in our Lake District guides
North Lakes Hotel & Spa is shortlisted in these editorial guides, each written for a different trip.
Curated guide
Best Family Hotels in the Lake District
Curated guide
Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in the Lake District
Curated guide
Best Spa Hotels in the Lake District
Alternatives
Other hotels we have written up that may suit a different brief.
The Ullswater Inn
- Best for
- Families of four, walkers, Ullswater Steamers and a practical Glenridding village base.
- Trade-off
- No swimming pool or kids’ club
A straightforward Glenridding inn for families of four who want bunks or another clearly described child bed, all-day pub dining and an Ullswater itinerary outside the hotel.
Booking tipFamily Room 4 can contain bunks, a sofa bed or a single bed; ask which layout is allocated, because the room name alone does not specify it.
Another Place, The Lake
- Best for
- Active families, swimming, lake sports, relaxed group trips and dog owners booking the right room.
- Trade-off
- The rural shoreline setting limits spontaneous off-site dining without transport
The strongest active-family choice in the shortlist, with eighteen acres on Ullswater, a private shore, a 20-metre pool, supervised children's sessions and water-based activities.
Booking tipNot every room has a lake view; compare the room category, family set-up, swim times and activity availability before paying.
Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa
- Best for
- Country-house breaks, spa time, families, celebrations and travellers exploring the quieter northern Lakes.
- Trade-off
- The rural estate setting makes a car or pre-booked taxi highly practical
The spacious northern-Lakes country-house option, with forty-three rooms, a large spa and 400 acres beside Bassenthwaite, well suited to travellers happy to make the estate their base.
Booking tipCheck whether the room is in the main house, spa wing or grounds and whether it has the lake, estate or courtyard outlook you expect.
Editorial evidenceSources6 cited references supporting this page
Claims are paired with the publisher and access date used during editorial verification.
Pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, qualifying direct-booking access and spa treatments
Some ground-floor Signature rooms are available as dog-friendly accommodation
Family break, pool inclusion, children’s extras, school-holiday activities and package terms
Signature Family room, sofa-bed variation and qualifying direct-booking pool inclusion
Family Suite, separate living area and address
Upper-mid is an editorial relative price band, not a quoted live rate.
Coordinates for CA11 8QT
OS Code-Point Open centroid for CA11 8QT
Open Government Licence. Map pin is the postcode centroid, not a surveyed hotel entrance.
How this page was researched: how we review hotels · editorial policy · affiliate disclosure · corrections