WHEN your room is advertised as having a complimentary pair of binoculars for guests there is a tendency to be suspicious.
The fact that the management is providing visual aids to appreciate the surrounding area suggests it could be one of those so-called "sea view" establishments where you have to balance precariously on the bed to see a tiny patch of blue in the distance.
My scepticism was swiftly dispelled when my wife Karen and I were shown into our luxury suite at the Rothay Garden Hotel in Grasmere in the Lake District - this really was a room with a view.
Advertisement your story continues below
Two windows in the lounge/bedroom area offered wonderful vistas of the mean and magnificent Helm Cragg. You didn't need binoculars to appreciate the setting on the outskirts of Grasmere village.
The River Rothay runs right outside and once you get used to the fact that the running water is not rain - you can tell we are Mancunians born and bred - it is a pleasant alarm call in the morning when you drift out of a deep sleep.
Rothay Garden owner Chris Carss is looking to go up in the world. So, when you have lofty ambitions where do you expand? Into the loft of course.
Which is why we found ourselves in the former staff quarters in the first of the newly designed loft suites. The loft project is the latest stage of the one-time Victorian gentleman's residence's efforts to shake off the twee Lakes image and provide a base that will attract all ages though the 40-something bracket is the targeted clientele.
The Rothay Garden is re-inventing itself with four-star standard at three-star prices the idea. In 18 months the "evolution", as opposed to "revolution", will be about complete and the objective is to be the best hotel in Grasmere and among the top five in the Lakes. There already is a luxurious designer bathroom with Aquavision TV at the end of the bath to watch your favourite shows.
There's also a large flat screen TV in the bedroom/lounge area as well. Indeed, the hotel spent more on the two TVs than they used to spend on refurbishing a whole room 10 years ago.
But to sit inside watching the small screen or gaze out onto the wonderful scenery would be criminal when you have Grasmere and the fells outside the front door.
