Hotel New Dungeon Ghyll (Ambleside, United Kingdom)

Of course it had to be the views from the property that guests most appreciated about the hotel. It is in a very remote location and overlooks the Langdale Pikes, which left guests in no doubt that they were at the very heart of the Lake District.

Several guests were avid walkers and mentioned that, due to the proximity to the peaks, there were a number of challenging day-hikes that could be started right from the property itself.

Whatever small problems guests might have reported in connection with their rooms, cleanliness certainly wasn't one of them. They said that their rooms were spotless on check-in and tended to remain very clean throughout their stay.

Though not a universal sentiment, a solid core of guests felt that the hotel was presenting itself as more luxurious than it really was, and then trying to justify room-rates they felt were exceptionally high.

While there were also many compliments, quite  a number of recent guests mentioned that the staff often seemed brusque and harried, speculating that the reason might be that the hotel is understaffed, especially at busy times.

While there were certainly many good reviews of the food as well, there were perhaps too many guests who said, in effect, that it was oversold. Some speak of small portions of the main dish with huge portions of cheap fillers like chips, which completely put them off. The feeling was that the food was being presented as better than it actually was, with prices pushed up much too high.