The Windermere Suites

If you’re looking for a place that’s romantic but with a bit of an edge, these suites should more than fit the bill. While, from the outside, it looks a solid and conventional, stone-built Victorian villa, set back from the main road between Windermere and Bowness, step through the door and you could be in a rather swanky nightclub. Polished hardwood floors, charcoal walls and black sofas provide the backdrop to over-sized chandeliers and moody, tango paintings. All eight, suite-sized rooms are similarly dark and, let’s face it, sexy. With hardwood floors or soft carpets, the walls are covered in textured or shimmery wallpapers in varying shades of grey. Statement lampshades, glass tables and white or silvered designer furniture - including baroque-style beds - add bling while brocade curtains and velvet throws add a suitably sultry air. Bathrooms are rich, dark affairs with huge air-baths, mood lighting and wall TVs. The overall effect is undeniably seductive. Three of the suites have patios, two with their own separate entrance. Breakfast, served in-room on a smart black trolley, offers a good choice, from granola and a cold meat platter to eggs Benedict and the full-cooked English. There’s a short room service menu but there are plenty of eating choices either in Windermere or, a 20-minute- walk away, in Bowness. Owner Vicky Monk has a good eye for design, is very hands-on and runs the place with a relaxed, easy-going atmosphere. You will feel very spoilt here.