Langdale Chase, the restored luxury hotel on Lake Windermere, has received the AA Inspectors’ Choice 5 Red Stars for 2026–2027.
The award was presented at the AA Hospitality Awards on Monday 21 September at JW Marriott Grosvenor House London. Around 1,000 hospitality professionals attended the ceremony.
Set within six acres of gardens on the shores of England’s largest natural lake, the Grade II-listed Victorian house reopened in November 2023 after a 12-month, multimillion-pound restoration. It received the standard AA five-star rating in 2024, so the Red Stars add a distinction to its existing five-star classification.
“The word pleased doesn’t quite do this feeling justice,” Rick Bailey, executive chairman of owner Thwaites, said. “We have worked incredibly hard over the past three years carefully and sensitively bringing Langdale Chase back to life, and that hard work has now been recognised by one of the highest distinctions a hotel can possibly attain.”
What the AA’s 5 Red Stars mean
The AA awards Red Stars to hotels that perform at the top end of their existing classification. They are a special recognition within the rating system, alongside the hotel’s five-star status rather than a sixth star.
Its published guidance says the annual awards draw on a series of positive, high-scoring inspections and a review from the AA Hospitality Awards Panel. That panel comprises AA Hotel Services management and independent representatives from the hospitality industry.
Inspectors assess the guest experience as a whole, awarding Red Stars to properties distinguished by excellent quality and strong hospitality and service. Hotels across different star ratings can receive the recognition, which is not based on a property’s size or architectural style.
Langdale Chase is one of four new 5 Red Star recipients listed by the AA for 2026. The group also includes Ashford Castle, a historic luxury hotel in County Mayo, and two London properties, The Chancery Rosewood and The Emory in Belgravia.
It is also the second hotel in Cumbria to hold five Red Stars, joining Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, a country hotel and spa near Windermere.
A Victorian hotel restored for modern stays
Thwaites, the family-run hospitality company founded in 1807, acquired Langdale Chase in 2017. The hotel closed in 2022 before beginning the most extensive refurbishment in its 80-year history as a hotel.
The restoration retained the identity of the Victorian country house while drawing on the Lake District’s fashionable 1920s and 1930s period. Traditional joinery, patterned textiles and warm colours now sit alongside modern bathrooms and contemporary comforts, preserving the atmosphere of an intimate lakeside residence.
The hotel has only 30 bedrooms and suites, despite its spacious grounds. Seven are suites with reading nooks positioned to make the most of the lake views, while five rooms welcome dogs.
One of the most distinctive places to stay is the historic boathouse, which stands directly beside the water and has its own private jetty. The boathouse brings Windermere directly into the stay, with its private jetty at the water’s edge.
“We wanted to create somewhere that could only exist here, on this particular stretch of Lake Windermere,” Bailey said.
That emphasis extends to the landscaped gardens designed by Thomas Mawson, the influential Arts and Crafts landscape architect. Lawns and planted paths descend towards the shoreline, giving guests direct access to the water and framing views across the lake throughout the property.
Dining and interiors shaped by the Lake District
Inside Langdale Chase, the mood moves between country-house warmth and restrained Art Deco glamour. The bar takes its cues from the interwar period, while a private cinema offers a quiet alternative after days spent walking or sailing.
The hotel’s restaurant holds two AA Rosettes and serves beside the lake, with the water and surrounding fells forming part of the dining experience. Food and wine were among the elements Bailey credited with helping the property earn its new recognition, alongside the building, gardens and service from the hotel team.
Afternoon tea takes inspiration from Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome’s 1930 children’s novel about summer adventures in the Lake District. The theme fits the hotel’s wider approach, using local history and landscape to give familiar luxury-hotel rituals a clear sense of place.
The hotel is designed for travellers who want the comfort of a five-star country house alongside close access to the surrounding landscape. Lake-facing reading corners, fireside spaces and waterside dining allow quieter stays, while the hotel’s outdoor programme makes fuller use of Windermere and the surrounding fells.
Sailing Windermere aboard Albatros
Langdale Chase offers paddleboarding, guided hiking, guided wild swimming and sailing directly from the property. These experiences make its waterfront position a practical part of the stay.
The signature experience is a cruise aboard Albatros, the hotel’s restored 1928 wooden motor yacht. Operating from the private jetty, the mahogany vessel makes three sailings each day and gives guests a water-level view of Windermere’s wooded shoreline, boathouses and distant hills.
The yacht also reflects the period that informed the hotel’s restoration. Its polished timber and low profile feel closely connected to the interwar aesthetic found inside the house, creating a natural transition from the Art Deco-style bar to the lake.
A day at Langdale Chase can begin in a suite overlooking the water, continue through the Mawson gardens and finish with dinner beside the lake. Guests seeking a more active itinerary can move from a guided walk in the fells to an afternoon sailing from the hotel’s jetty.
The Red Star award follows further recognition for the reopened property, including a place in The Times’ 50 Best Places to Stay in the UK and selection as one of The Telegraph’s 18 Regional Star properties within its 250 Best Hotels in the UK awards.
For Langdale Chase, the AA accolade arrives less than three years after the restored house reopened. Albatros continues to depart from its private jetty three times a day, weather and operating conditions permitting.
