Back from my rather long holiday, so I will catch up in due course.
Back from my rather long holiday, so I will catch up in due course.
Member since:13.09.2008
Reviews:62
Members who trust:140
INTRODUCTION
As many of you may know I am a hair stylist and I currently work with Matrix to promote and use all of their hairdressing products, so recently I was invited to a hairdressing conference / show which was being held for people within the hairdressing industry in the Cumbria area.
I have been with matrix for over six years now, so this was something that I could not get out of but I wasn't to complain as I was being paid to attend and take part in the show, which also included my travel expenses and a night's stay in a prestigious hotel where the show was taking part.
I do travel on a regular basis with work so staying at a nice posh hotel was great as the company budget usually only stretches to a travel lodge.
THE ABBEY HOUSE HOTEL
The Abbey House Hotel is four star accommodation located in Barrow In Furness which is a small town on the outskirts of the lake district, therefore making this hotel desirable for many.
The Hotel itself is situated in well over fourteen acres of private land which consists of woodlands and some stunning gardens, in the back drop of these stunning gardens are the well known Furness Abbey Ruins which are the best Cistercian foundations
in the country and therefore the Abbey House Hotel takes its name from the ruins.
This hotel is on the old side as it was originally built in 1914 by a gentleman called Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was built using massive sandstone bricks which are still intact today. I personally feel that the huge sandstone frontage makes this place very impressive on first impressions.
Before this was a hotel it was a mansion and guest house, but over the years this has been extended to make it as big as it is today. The main section of the Hotel has all of its original features, I felt slightly let down as the rooms seemed very modern compared to the rest of the hotel, I feel it has been extended but they have not been in keeping with the rest of the hotel.
According to many of the locals this is the best hotel in the area, because of its ideal location and stunning surroundings.
ROOMS
The rooms vary between twin rooms, double rooms, family rooms and luxurious suits that are mainly used as honeymoon suits all rooms are En-suite.
Each room is decorated differently making each of them unique, the reason I know this is because I was booked in as a double room, but upon arrival I was given a twin room with two single beds. The twin room was beautifully decorated but I needed a double bed as my husband was traveling through after work so he could also spend the night.
The double room was very light and spacious and decorated in brown / beige pastel colours, the only thing I thought was revolting was a floral throw on the bed but I have to say the throw was very in keeping with the rest of the hotel.
The room comprised of a double bed, writing desk and chair, two bed side units, a wardrobe and a television which had many sky channels available. The room had everything you would need to be comfortable and I could have very easily spent a week staying here.
The bathroom was located on the left hand side after entering the room, it was on the small side but contained everything I needed such as toilet, wash basin, a bath tub with shower and a vanity unit with large mirror.
The bar and restaurant overlooks the beautiful gardens making is an ideal location to either sit and eat or take in a drink or two.
Included in my stay was a full English breakfast, which included cereals, fresh fruit, toast, bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms and baked beans. All you need to do is take a seat in the restaurant and your meals were delivered by waitress service.
Even if you don't stay at the hotel you can go for a meal which are all served using silver service and the prices are very reasonable indeed, the thing that really appealed to me was the fact that everything was made to order, so it did take a while to arrive but at least it was fresh.
The restaurant can cater for starters, main courses and desserts which are all scrumptious and I would recommend it to anyone. Me and my husband have been back since just to the sheer quality of the meals.
The bar is also situated so it overlooks the grounds, it was very pleasant but the prices were very extravagant and it was not manned at all times, so I had to allow a little wait when waiting for a drink.
STAFF
While the show was in process you had staff all over the place and they couldn't do enough to help, but once the show was over and the guests had left the hotel, they all seemed to disappear and therefore the place was run on a skeleton staff after 9pm.
This wouldn't have bothered me but there were over fifteen of us staying the night and we had to find staff to serve us drinks, which I found a little bit strange as this was a really posh hotel.
The next morning my faith was restored as the breakfast staff were brilliant and served our breakfast to perfection, all of the staff were very friendly and polite and they certainly made the stay much nicer.
PRICES
As I have said this was covered by matrix, but after having such a lovely stay me and my husband retuned as the company was given a few discount vouchers after our stay, so I grabbed a couple as it was somewhere that I would like to return.
To stay at the hotel it costs any where 114.00 and 151.00 a night for a double room, these rates do vary if you stay longer of if you stay during the week.
All prices include the fantastic Full English breakfast, which is a must have as it was cooked and served to perfection.
DIRECTIONS
The Abbey House Hotel is located on the outskirts of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, and can be reached by taking the M6 motorway and exiting at junction 36. After you have exited the motor way you follow signs for the A590, if you follow this road and signs for Barrow In Furness you cannot miss the Hotel.
The Abbey house is situated in between two towns on the A590, Dalton In Furness and Barrow In Furness. So after leaving Dalton the Abbey house is on the left hand side of the road and it can't be missed, as it is surrounded by a sandstone wall that is lit up.
MY OPINION
This is a beautiful hotel aimed at tourists who are taking a break to enjoy the many locations associated with the lake district, such as hiking and various water sports, I have to say that know the area quite well this is not an ideal location for walkers as you will need to travel at least 45 minutes is a car before hitting any of the scenic walks.
This is situated in some beautiful grounds which are really nice to walk around if it is a nice day, and the nearby Abbey ruins are worth a visit as it is a bit of local history. You can visit the ruins but this costs extra so we walked around the out skirts of the ruins, but we still got to see it all.
I would recommend a visit to the abbey house even if it is just to get a quick drink in the bar, although you may be waiting a while for service. But it will be worth it as the scenery and settings are something that should not be missed.
Overall I was happy with my stay at the hotel but I felt it was a little bit over priced as the service between 9pm and 7am was nonexistent, which I found very poor as there was a big group of us in the lounge area awaiting service.
Pictures of Abbey House, Barrow-in-Furness
Abbey House, Barrow-in-Furness
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Set in 14 acres of private woodlands and gardens, the hotel takes its name from one of the ... more
greatest Cistercian foundations in the country, Furness Abbey.Just as Commander Craven knew how to make royalty feel at home, today's management has stopped at n...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Set in 14 acres of private gardens and woodland this Sir Edwin Lutyens building is just 25 ... more
minutes drive from Lake Windermere The hotel is very popular with locals for the excellent cuisine in the Abbey Restaurant or bar snacks that are available in th...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Mar 18th, 2009
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