Weekend Away - The Samling
Kathryn Otto enjoyed a break at The Samling in the Lake District
The Samling sits cradled in a bowl of Lakeland fellside, looking out over panoramic lake views, south along Windermere and west towards the Coniston Old Man mountain range. Here guests enjoy exceptional hospitality and comfort, with award winning fine dining - enhanced by one of the world's best wine lists - and delivered with attentive but unobtrusive service.
Location
Although many come to enjoy the exceptional hospitality, The Samling is the ideal base from which to explore the beautiful Lake District, with several walks and even a National Trust trail starting in the grounds of the hotel. There are watersports aplenty on the lake - from paddle boarding and kayaking to sailing trips and bespoke boat excursions, with cycling and mountain biking nearby. For those looking to enjoy the literary side of the area, a trip to Wordsworth’s Cottage and a visit to Hill Top – the home of Beatrix Potter, who was famously passionate about the area – is very special.
The Grounds
The grounds of the Samling hold a beautifully varied mix of old deciduous woodland, fellside, traditional hay meadows, vegetable gardens and beehives, and a highly unique ornamental garden featuring ingenious water features and interlocking cascading ponds carved from the hillside’s bedrock. These channel the local springs under and around the hotel and down to the lake. The woodland is a haven to wildlife and plant species, including swathes of English Bluebells, birds, and surprisingly exotic looking moths. The variety of the wildlife has a concentrated interest in the rest of the garden – particularly the vegetable gardens, and sometimes they win, enjoying the best efforts of the gardeners demonstrating an adventurous taste for more exotic micro greens than they find in the woods. The ornamental gardens and water feature are particularly intriguing. They have a listed Georgian stone Summer House that looks along the length of lake Windermere, but we don’t know the age of the intricately devised water systems – as they run under the buildings common sense dictates they were built as part of the plan. The old fashioned hay meadows provided happy grazing for the hotel bees, housed in hives on the edge of the old orchards, where the deer left their young to shelter in the long grass last Summer
Restaurant
Housed in an impressive new glass fronted space, The Samling’s restaurant is led by Chef Robby Jenks. Here guests can enjoy a modern menu inspired by the breathtaking lakeside panorama with seasonal, locally produced ingredients, with the kitchen garden producing many of the menu’s key ingredients. Robby’s aim is to produce a captivating dining that will delights guests, complimented by an extensive wine list of over 600 bottles. The Chef’s Table is an exhilarating dining experience, positioned directly opposite the kitchen to allow guests to become part of the kitchen experience whilst enjoying a beautifully crafted menu, specially designed for the table and paired with the extensive wine list The Samling prides itself on.
Rooms
The interiors of The Samling reflect the lakeside location, with soothing dove greys, blues and greens of nature. Hypnos mattress and deep filled pillows ensure guests enjoy a good night’s sleep, waking refreshed and ready to explore the UNESCO World Heritage sites nearby. The Samling has 12 bedrooms, suites and cottages, each named after a Lake District location and individually designed. Windermere, for example, is a two-floor cottage set to the side of the main house, with a large sitting room, upstairs sleeping area, freestanding copper bath and a private terrace overlooking the water. Another is Coniston, a Junior Suite in the main house, has a double-height vaulted ceiling and exceptional views across the lakes. For families, there are interconnecting rooms available.
Our Visit
After a lovely leisurely drive up to the Lake District taking us around an hour and a half my partner and I arrived at the beautiful Samling Hotel. Once checked in, the first thing we noticed was the mix of a Georgian style building with a glass floor to ceiling extension that is home to their restaurant and gives the most breath-taking views over Lake Windermere. This is what makes the Samling so special - the views they are simply stunning from every area of the hotel.
We were shown to our room which was a duplex, luxurious double bedroom upstairs and a bathroom with a roll top bathtub and enormous walk in shower along with a living room that led onto a private patio with again those incredible views across the lake.
We wandered into Ambleside, the closest village to the hotel and enjoyed a bite to eat in the sunshine before returning back. We quickly changed and enjoyed a glass of Champagne in the outdoor hot tub that the hotel had arranged for us, which I must say is probably up there with one of the most romantic experiences we have enjoyed.
For our evening meal, we were treated to their modern fine dining tasting menu in the restaurant, which was remarkable, you can see why people visit for the menu alone let alone the views that also come with the experience.
The following morning, we visited Windermere picking up some local treats for my Mother who was born in the Lake District and enjoyed a relaxed drive home leaving us feeling a lot more rejuvenated than we did when we arrived.
Personal Note
The Samling is one of the most luxurious hotels the Lake District has to offer, and we will certainly be coming back again and again. We will remember enjoying champagne in the hot tub looking out over Lake Windermere for many years to come.
The Samling offers nightly rates from £310 based on two sharing a Double Room in low season, on a bed and breakfast basis.
The Samling, Ambleside Road, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1LR
t: 015394 31922
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