The Izaak Walton Country House Hotel

So we arrived here for a 2 night stay to be told no chef,and could have a take away if wanted! We went to our room which was lovely it had great views it was lovely and clean, we decided to go out as no food which cost us in total 30pounds in a taxi,sophie ( reception) said the owner would put a note on the door to tell you how to get in as door would be locked after 10.30!we arrived back at 11.15 no note door locked all in darkness! If we hadn't seen a guest who let us in the fire door around back god knows what we would of done! As he said the owner had said to him and his group to leave the bar earlier and sit in another room! To which she fell flat on her face blind drunk.....we came down for breakfast which was awful..boiled bacon...yak..snotty egg,run out of beans...this hotel could be the best around its such a shame,going back to the door being locked that would of not been good if there was a fire surely!!!my husband had booked this 2 night brake as a surprise and was very disappointed by everything....apart from the staff who were amazing especially sophie and also the cleaning staff thankyou....so please think serious before you book here!!!

No chef..horrible breakfast...not being able to get back in on returning from getting food Having to go out and get food rather than stay at the hotel...

Huge, beautifully furnished bedroom and en-suite, all very clean and 'as new' condition. Very comfortable bed and pillows. Heavy, luxury, curtains to keep the light out. Large thick bathroom towels. Good WiFi. The view of the Peaks from our room was amazing. Downstairs, the lounge and dining room also had lovely furnishings in very good condition. All parts of the hotel that we saw were clean, very well presented, and beautifully maintained. Outside, there's ample parking and grounds looking direct to Dovedale. The hotel has its own footpath from the back of the hotel down to the Dovedale stepping stones, and another to Ilam Village. Short walks and very convenient - much better than driving to the Dovedale car park (which isn't cheap).

We were told the hotel had suffered a last minute cancellation by a large party, which left it under-occupied over our weekend. Consequently, there was only a skeleton staff and dinner options were limited. However, we found The Old Dog, just a 5min drive away, which did amazing food and beers, all locally sourced, and reasonable prices, so we were happy!

The view

No restraint, is was damp, ceilings falling down, couldn’t get a full breakfast, the bar glasses where filthy.

Excellent location

The location

The beds were very narrow - we are both slim and thee was only just room to run over in bed

The location is excellent for walking from the hotel and immediately into the beautiful surroundings of Dovedale, Ilam and beyond. The bedroom was spacious and comfortable with lovely views across the hills.

No information before arrival that the restaurant wasn’t functioning. Mixed messages on arrival as to why. We had planned our trip so that we wouldn’t have to drive once we had arrived at the hotel but ended up driving around trying to find somewhere to eat - many places fully booked on a Saturday night! The bathroom and room decor were both a bit dated. The choice of wall art around the room was strange (all three large pictures were “classics” but depicted 3 unhappy looking women and then 4 picture of local flora) The guest information was printed on paper and then laminated with obvious spelling and grammar errors. General feeling was that behind the scenes was struggling.

Great location for walking Excellent staff Beautiful views from the room

Kitchen was closed while I stayed but was given a great recommendation nearby