Country house hotels are a curious breed. Get the mix slightly off and you can be left feeling like you’re visiting an aged aunt. But not with Gilpin Lodge, Cumbria says ANNA MELVILLE-JAMES

Thankfully  Gilpin Lodge in Cumbria is a 20-room haven that combines out-in-the-hills cosiness with sleek luxury and all a daffodil’s throw from Windermere, two miles away.

William Wordsworth would find it hard to recognise his beloved Lake District these days, clogged with Kendal Mint Cake and cagoules.

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Head past Kendal to Windermere however and you discover a “forgotten” corner of the Lakes. While everyone buys ice cream in Bowness, feet and mind can wander in tranquillity that really does inspire poetry.

Gilpin Lodge driveway curves up through 22 acres of stripy lawns and mature trees, opposite a craggy landscape of curious sheep. With no formal reception, just a cosy parlour with a log fire and guest book, there’s a real friendliness to Gilpin, run by two generations of the Cunliffe family – mum and dad John and Christine, son Barney and his wife Zoë. Many of the staff have clocked-up 20 years-plus service.

The hotel is built around a Victorian manor house with a lounge full of squishy sofas and large windows leading to a modern bar, with walk-in wine cellar.

Four dining rooms lead off the central area: two Victorian rooms, a larger conservatory and a fourth of oriental-inspired styling.

Bedrooms in the main house cater for classic and contemporary tastes. Such an eclectic mix in one small space is risky but it works. Classic and Master rooms balance traditional flourishes and contemporary comforts, while Junior suites, with spring colours and four poster beds, offer sophisticated style that wouldn't be out of place in a boutique London pad.

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We have one of the newest additions, six Garden suites elevated behind the main building, part Scandinavian chalet, part Japanese water garden, with cedar wood hot tubs to relax in on private decks, champagne at hand.

Inside, airy spaces are filled with rich colours and textures, as well as flat-screen TVs and DVD players. Bathrooms have huge tubs, sunflower-sized shower heads and Molton Brown smellies.

There's a golf course down the road and stunning lakeland trails a short drive away. We take a jaunt to Gummer's How, where a thigh-burning scramble rewards with an endless panorama.

Then it's back for afternoon tea and in-room spa treatments. Patio doors open and sunshine flooding in, it's the first facial I've had with lambs baa-ing in the background.

THE KNOWLEDGE:
Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel (01539 488818/www.gilpinlodge.co.uk) offers doubles from £290 per night (two sharing), half board.

Cumbria Tourism: 01539 822222/ www.golakes.co.uk Enjoy England: 0207 578 1400/www.enjoyengland.com

After such indulgence, there is just time for sunset on the patio and pre-dinner G&Ts before choosing from a three AA Rosette, five-course set menus.

In the candlelit conservatory, the Herdwick lamb and a paper-light apple pie, cider sorbet and cinnamon cream, reduce us to ecstatic silence, made all the more enjoyable by charming staff, who turn "posh" dining into a relaxed pleasure.

It's this combination of style and unobtrusive "feel-good" that makes Gilpin such a breath of fresh air. A real taste of country life and not a frilly doily or dust ruffle in sight.