"Ding"......

POPULAR four-star hotel, the Lodore near Keswick, is likely to be the latest addition to a local family’s business.

Owned by international chain Hilton, West Cumbria’s Graves family are planning to take over the hotel.

Negotiations are still underway but Carolyn Graves, a director of family-owned company Lake District Hotels Ltd, hoped the deal would be finalised by the end of the month.

The Graves family also owns Armathwaite Hall at Bassenthwaite where its hotels business is based.

The 70-bedroom Lodore is about three miles from Keswick, down the Borrowdale Valley and is famous for the nearby waterfalls.

Set in its own wooded grounds, the hotel is well-known for its spectacular views across Derwentwater.

Facilities at the hotel include tennis and squash courts, a swimming pool and nursery area and has been visited by the great and the good including John Major, who visited while he was Prime Minister ! and Sir Cliff Richard, who played tennis with locals during his stay.

More recently Hollywood starlet Jennifer Love Hewitt and former Eastenders heart-throb Paul Nicholls stayed there while filming scenes for If Only in Borrowdale and Buttermere.

The Lodore was formerly owned by the England family, who built up a well-regarded reputation for first class personal service and fine foods. It was later bought by international chain Stakis, followed by Hilton.

The family also owns the Skiddaw Hotel and the Kings Arms at Keswick, The George Hotel at Penrith and the Inn on the Lake at Ullswater.  

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