Stay right beside the shimmering waters of Lake Windermere at this gloriously grand Lake District hotel.

There are hotels and there are #hotelsyouneverwanttoleave – and Langdale Chase falls very heavily into the second category. A stately pile that hugs the very edges of Lake Windermere in Cumbria, it’s just been given a new lease of life as a luxury lakeside retreat.

My husband John and I arrive days after a house move from hell. We’d packed a bag quickly and fled from temperamental plumbing and rooms stuffed with cardboard boxes, desperate for some R&R. On arrival, we’re shown to a snug corner, handed glasses of chilled Champagne and within minutes the stress of the last six months is gone.

Built as a private home in 1890, Langdale Chase re-opened late last year after a major but sympathetic renovation. Today its grand interior, complete with minstrels’ galleries, oak panelling and stained glass windows, manages to be both super-luxe and warmly welcoming – all helped by the exceptional staff. An intimate bar with a cracking cocktail menu gives decadent city vibes, while the in-house private cinema with bento boxes and help-yourself ice cream is a nod to the kind of next-level experience you can expect here.

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING

Our room is a wonder with a large balcony sporting a copper jacuzzi bath and views across the lake. It’s full of lovely touches – such as home-baked pastries, an array of books about the area and binoculars to let you see life on the water up close. As the evening draws in and the rain falls, I take full advantage of the doubleended bath with a two-hour soak before dinner.

Food here is contemporary and there’s a modern dine-where-you-please vibe – you can take supper in the bar, at one of the plush lounges or in the sleek and stylish restaurant. We head to the dining room for a more formal, grown-up offering – I start with meltingly good ox cheek with chestnut purée, smoked butter and dashi, while John is seduced by venison carpaccio topped with caramelised parsnip and shavings of Old Winchester cheese, which he eats in almost reverent silence! For mains, I opt for butter-poached cod with creamy smoked turnip and black jewelled bottarga, and John orders Lakeland Dexter beef, served pink, drenched with stout and arranged with crisped oysters. It’s a flavour bomb he won’t stop raving about.

Curious puddings of smoked cheese panna cotta and ‘textures of milk’ with honeycomb and bee pollen tempt, but we decide on three varieties of cheese from a wonderful menu. There’s a Black Dub Blue from Westmoreland’s Appleby Creamery, a six-monthmatured Fellmore double Gloucester and an Oxford Isis soft cheese, made using honey mead. Served with fruits and nut crackers, all three are a triumph, as is the extensive wine list.

Next morning, the real beauty of this hotel hits – it’s almost part of the lake, with its own private jetty and lawned gardens that fall away to the shore. Lured from our room by the exquisite surrounds, we head out of Windermere to embark on one of our favourite walks – the Elterwater Waterfalls Loop, which lifts the soul even in the drizzle! Returning to the hotel, we take afternoon tea, which is an absolute must. With classic savoury finger sandwiches followed by a series of warm savouries – including potted shrimps on a toasted crumpet and cheese-filled baby doughnuts – and sweet fancies, it’s a good thing we arrive hungry.

Later, watching the sun set across the water from the privacy of our copper jacuzzi, the stress of the house move a distant memory, I think of the guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright, who once said the Lake District ‘has the power to soothe and heal’. With its national park a Unesco world heritage site, 16 beautiful lakes to explore, and now this gorgeous retreat, you don’t need a reason to visit – you need a reason not to