News of the World May 2011

60
May 22, 2011
BOOK a July 4 Nile cruise for
£1,399 and the second person
goes for £699. See www.discover
egypt.co.uk or call 0844 880 0461.
LATE
DEALS
GRAN
CANARIA—£429,
seven nights all-inclusive at
the 4T Hotel Orquidea, Bahia
Feliz, from Newcastle, May
30. See www.thomson.co.uk
or call 0871 231 5595.
TURKEY—£216,
seven
nights self-catering at the
4-diamond Faber Apartments, from Gatwick, May
24. See www.cosmos.co.uk
or call 0844 573 4261.
IBIZA—£170, seven nights
self-catering at the 3diamond Miami Hotel, from
Birmingham, June 3. See
www.monarch.co.uk or call
0871 423 8642.
LAS VEGAS—£585, four
nights room-only at the 3V
Stratosphere, from Gatwick,
June 5-12. See www.virgin
holidays.co.uk or call 0844
557 3870.
n HERE’S wine-tasting
with
a
difference . . . soaring over
London. The London
Eye offers an hour-long
trip with an expert from
Vinopolis
guiding
guests through five
wines from around the
world.
Individual
Pimm’s
Experiences are also
back. Enjoy a glass as
you take in panoramic
views of the city. See
www.londoneye.com
JAMAICA
½PRICE
FAMILIES can save more than
£2,000 on a luxury Caribbean
holiday this summer.
The Half Moon in Montego
Bay, Jamaica, has launched
packages of 14 nights for the
price of seven.
The resort sits on a
gorgeous half-moon-shaped
bay with fantastic facilities—
including watersports, basketball, tennis and its very own
dolphin lagoon.
Room-only price based on
two adults and two children
sharing a junior suite costs
from £1,864 per adult and
£588 per child. Includes
flights from the UK.
Visit www.caribtours.co.uk
or call 020 7751 0660.
Beautiful . . .
the Lakeside
fronts on to
Windermere
By MATTHEW ACTON
I’LL let you in to a little
secret . . . if you want
to get away from it all
then I’ve found the
perfect hideaway in
the Lake District.
It’s not too far off the beaten
track, has two top-class restaurants, a pub and all the
trimmings.
The four-star Lakeside Hotel &
Spa on the edge of Windermere
has 75 rooms, many with views of
the tranquil water and fells
beyond. There are also several
suites and family rooms plus a
fantastic spa, pool for the kids
and a gym to burn off the calories
after the amazing breakfasts.
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QUIET
Set at the southern tip of
Windermere near Newby Bridge
and just a few miles from the
M6, visitors avoid the usual
honeypots of Bowness and
Ambleside for the peace and
quiet of the lakeside setting.
It even has its own rowing
boat if you want to take a jaunt
on Windermere, which at
10½ miles is Britain’s longest
lake.
We found the hotel the ideal
base for exploring the Lakes.
Just seven miles up the road is
the village of Hawkshead.
Cars are banned from the
centre so it is still the same tiny
village of higgledy-piggledy
houses, archways, and squares
loved by poet William Wordsworth and author Beatrix Potter.
Tranquil . . . pool,
gardens and suite
with lake views
From there we made our way to
tackle the Old Man of Coniston.
At 2,276ft it is a small mountain,
but a challenging enough climb
for an average walker to master.
If you’ve got the kids in tow
(we’d left our four behind with
grandma) then the Lakes Aquarium is a family-friendly outing.
It’s just yards from the hotel’s
front door and a great way to
find out what lies beneath the
waters of the Lakes and the river
systems leading into Morecambe
Bay without even getting your
feet wet. It also includes
creatures from all over the world.
The aquarium is next to the had a fine dining dinner in the could have chosen to eat in the
station for the Lakeside and hotel’s sumptuous Lakeview hotel’s less formal John Ruskin’s
Haverthwaite steam railway and Restaurant—awarded two AA Brasserie where bangers and
there’s a jetty where you can rosettes.
mash and fish and chips done
catch a steamer for a lake
Afterwards, we retired to the with restaurant skill are on the
cruise.
hotel’s oak-panelled pub with menu.
We hopped on a vessel for the log-burning fires and tasty
Breakfast is a serious affair at
45-minute trip to Bowness—and Hawkshead bitters on tap. We the Lakeside too. The finest local
it was great to be able visit the
produce is served up for a
popular town without the hassle
traditional English. And it’s
of parking.
served until 11am, great if you
It also meant we could get
want a lie-in.
stuck into a pub lunch, washed
We’ll definitely be beatdown with a few pints of local
ing a path back to the
LAKESIDE Hotel
& Spa is part of Fine
brew Jennings bitter before
Lakeside soon—and next
Individual Hotels (www. fihotels.com),
making the return journey.
time we might even
a collection of privately-owned luxury UK
Back at the Lakeside, we
bring the kids!
hotels. B&B from £179 per room and spa
treatments from £30. Visit www.
lakesidehotel.co.uk, 01539 530001.
ING THER
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