A CUMBRIA hotel has been named the best family hotel in the UK.

Another Place, The Lake, on the shores of Ullswater, has been awarded the title by the new edition of The 2017 Sunday Times Best Places to Stay: 100 great British hotels, to be published this Sunday.

Judges said the 40-bedroom Another Place, The Lake was chosen for its amenities for children, big style and comfort for the whole family.

With the rugged outline of Helvellyn filling most of the skyline, the children are treated as guests as much as their parents, the judges said.

They added: "At Another Place, the day’s activities are chalked up on a blackboard at reception: stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, coasteering, biking, wild swimming, hiking, trekking, fishing and skiing. There’s an Ofsted-registered club for under-eights to experience arts and crafts, puppet shows and storytelling. Kids need to be between eight and 12 to get their hands on the electronics at the cool safari-style den. When you’re all exercised out, there’s a wonderful slate-tiled indoor pool, a glass-fronted sauna and a hot tub.

"There’s also a more formal restaurant for the adults, with russet and green leather upholstery, and warming lamb hotpot or whole sea bass on the menu."

Will Ashworth, of the hugely popular Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall, brought his brand of cool to the Lake District with a £7.7m investment in the former Rampsbeck hotel.

He said: “The whole ID, the whole framework, everything is about creating a really relaxed atmosphere.

“Imagine staying in a really good friend’s holiday home and that’s the sort of atmosphere we’re trying to create.”

Mr Ashworth and his family have a successful track record in tapping into what the middle-classes want on their holidays.

His parents, John and Mary, bought Watergate Bay, a beach hotel near Newquay in north Cornwall in 1967 and it’s now a successful year-round ski resort-on-a-beach destination, popular with couples and families in search of a sun-kissed, surfing, dining and relaxing break.

Mr Ashworth is now attempting to repeat that success with Another Place, The Lake.

It was the location of what was then the Rampsbeck that won Will over. The hotel is set in 18 acres of parkland but what lies beyond was the clincher: “The day that I came to see the hotel for the first time was the day I visited the Lake District for the first time.

“It absolutely blew me away. That view down Ullswater is so unspoiled, there’s so little development. It feels like the raw Lake District that must have been here 200 years ago.”

In total 10 hotels from the North West are included in this year’s list. The Forest Side, named Foodie Hotel of the year in 2016, is again included. Other notable North West inclusions are Oddfellows on the Park in Chester, nominated within the romantic category, and The Malabar in the Lake District which has been listed as one of the best B&Bs in the UK.

Stephen Bleach, Travel Editor, The Sunday Times, said: "The Lake District's hotels are finally getting an injection of style to match their Unesco-protected scenery. Another Place is the Lakes' first hotel for the 21st-century family, Forest Side and Moor Hall have two of the country's finest young chefs and its big cities Liverpool and Manchester are enjoying a renaissance too. It's a great time to visit."