With smartl interiors and imaginative, locally sourced, restaurant-quality food, this dog-friendly country inn on the Lowther Estate is a happy mix of pub informality and country-house comforts.

Bring the dog, bring the kids, revel in the gorgeous scenery and the great outdoors at this ‘lifestyle hotel’ with private shorefront on Ullswater and plenty of activities on offer. It's the old, staid Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented (out with the chintz and swags, on with the wetsuits or hiking boots!)

Refreshingly different from some more traditional Lake District offerings, this contemporary hotel is in a beautiful setting overlooking Grasmere.

Lakeland luxury at its finest comes courtesy of Gilpin, with its Michelin-starred dining, private hot tubs in the majority of its indulgent rooms and attentive staff. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath.

In the Debatable Lands, just south of the Scottish border, Gerald and Margo Smith's stylish, Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms scored very highly with a trusted Guide reader – and no debate about that!

A 'sprawling, traditional building in a beautiful setting' at the tip of Windermere, this family and dog-friendly hotel has easy access to lake-based activities as well as a spa.

Hrishikesh Desai's innovative, Michelin-starred cooking is just one of the attractions at this luxury country-house hotel in beautifully maintained gardens deep in the Cumbrian countryside.