The Darlington Arena

I don’t want to be a bore about the Boar, but this was a special little haven in the woods. Stunning location, lovely bedrooms, excellent food, friendly staff. Treat yourself!

Lovely location with great views over lakes the room was comfortable and roomy and there was a good outdoor enclosed dog area. The receptionist and restaurant staff were lovely and helpful. The only problems were 1. that the room we got was not the one we thought we’d booked. The photos on Expedia definitely showed a balcony on the ground floor which with elderly parents and a dog was why we chose it. (I I suspect this is more an issue with how Expeda show their accommodation ) and 2. Despite being the hottest days of the year in an official heat warning the pool closed early both days and so we were unable to use it. The manager tried to blame health and safety as she was the only one allowed to open the pool but surely you get trained staff in. The hotel ( and indeed the whole of the Lakes) were full and the hotel l boasts one of the best pools. It took some convincing to receive a suitable refund and shows that whilst the staff can be very accommodating it only takes a seemingly uncaring manager to undo that