Drunken Duck Inn

Hotel review

This pub deceives in so many ways. First, it's at a cross-roads, seemingly miles from anywhere with glorious fell views, yet is just 10 minutes from bustling Ambleside and Lake Windermere. Second, from the outside it looks a typical country inn, yet has a quirky-contemporary style - rugs on oak floors, wood-burning stoves, slate-topped bar and walls crammed with prints. And third, while it's very much a pub with its own microbrewery, its food is serious: inventive and tantalising and with an entertaining open kitchen. Rooms are split between the pub and a two-storey addition across the courtyard that blends well with the original building. No two are the same, though the feel is similar with a mix of vintage and contemporary furnishings, wool cushions and bed-throws, faded-floral curtains and country-fresh colours. Prints and cartoons hang on walls while bathrooms are rustic-chic with tongue-and-groove panelling or slate-effect tiling; most have feature baths as well as separate showers. You'll be torn whether to relax in your room or in the bar, which is always full of lively banter. A real pub where everyone is made welcome.

Helen Pickles