Craglands Guest House

Things started badly at Craglands when we arrived and found the front door locked with a sign saying if we hadn’t advised ETA we may have to wait an hour for the room to be made up. We telephoned Eldon and he said he had emailed us requesting our ETA.. we had been driving all day so I thought I must have missed it, but no.. it had been sent 3 months earlier! We let ourselves in with his instructions to a dark hallway. On the desk were numerous laminated notices giving various orders… so many orders: where to leave car keys, how to order breakfast, the need to checkout on time because cleaners had been upset etc! At first we found this all very funny it was so bad, then became annoyed.. where was the hospitality? We found our room ourselves, a small twin with not enough room to fit our suitcases and garishly fitted out. Breakfast was OK, mainly self-serve with hot options cooked by Eldon. When we went to checkout Eldon demanded cash despite having taken credit card details with the booking. This was the first time I had heard this was expected.. and meant us going out in the rain to find a working ATM. We were incredibly happy to leave. One of the worst places I’ve ever stayed.

Let down. I came here years ago and it was lovely. New owner insisted on an ETA, wanted to know my plans to arrange parking, insisted I leave my key somewhere if needed, said I had to pay cash, had to say if I wanted more than 1 sausage or 1 bacon… just intense … it just wasn’t a nice feeling. Breakfast was poor. Frozen bread I had to toast, cold bacon, defrosted fruit … old sauces and cereal. I couldn’t stomach it the last day and left early. Room was tired, different colour walls (!) and old fashioned. Beds were clean. Told room would be ‘serviced’ but only emptied the bin and our biscuits were out of date. It cost me £330 for 3 nights… I will never be back. Keswick is beautiful, this is not.

Eldon is rude & lazy. He's scolding people if people is not following his rules. I stayed in his place for more than 5 nigths, he didn't cleaned up the room until the last night we stayed. He didn't change towels until i remind him before last night. He's so rude as he found that shared toilet are not as clean as he expected. Due to serious hygiene issues, therea are buds inside bed. We fond that skin start itchy as wearing the clothes after few days staying. Its most terrible place we stay and we won't come back again.

I would like to thank Eldon for his Hospitality, The room was very comfortable and cozy and kept us warm. The breakfast was lovely, one of the best English breakfast we've tried. We enjoyed it all and the view from the room and the breakfast area was 'wow'. Love how the place is kept, so clean and tidy. Thank you for making our holiday a memorable one. Eldon has been so helpful, provided us with all the relevant info about the area, taxi numbers, weather reports, and also provided us with an umbrella on a rainy day, and he got loads of books and puzzles too. Also, Lake District has got so much to offer, it has my heart and I would love to return. I recommend Craglands as it is located in the heart of Keswick, not too far from the market town, 10-15 mins walk to Derwent water & few minutes away from the beautiful Castlerigg. Also, easy access to public transport.

Depressing place and owners, the animals are treated like dirt, they should be ashamed of themselves people like this shouldn’t be allowed animals and birds to abuse it was awful to see an completely ruined our stay.

We stayed for two nights using this guest house as a base, stopping in the Scafell Room. The room had a fantastic view out over the mountains, was clean and comfortable and featured an en-suite. It was also reasonably priced at £90 per night in high season. Guest house was easily accessible to Keswick town centre via a flat pathway meaning the location was ideal. Payment was in cash only which was slightly unusual and the parking can be tight. We were fortunate to have one of the two spaces at the side of the house. Eldon - the owner - was helpful but could also be abrupt and showed limited interest in getting to know guests. This made interactions awkward. Additionally, breakfast was average. Although a range was offered, sausages and eggs were not cooked well and cereal was not stocked daily meaning that what was there was often soft. Additionally, there was no yoghurt option. All in all, a decent, reasonably priced stop over for those wanting to explore the wonderful town of Keswick.