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Home Latest

Serving the stars: How one Cumbrian spa and hotel has become a celebrity hotspot

by Lucy Edwards
17/05/2024
in Latest, News
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TV Presenter Helen Skelton at The Falls Spa. Picture: Helen Skelton Instagram

The Lake District has always been a bit of a celeb hotspot.

Whether they’re out filming for Hollywood or taking a break from city life – stars are always visiting the national park.

But there’s one place in particular where celebs and influencers are starting to become a more frequent sight.

Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa, based in Borrowdale, near Keswick, has been regularly welcoming Hollywood celebrities, TV stars, influencers, musicians and football players over recent years.

If they’re not dining at Mizu, the site’s award winning pan-Asian restaurant, they’re relaxing in the spa or staying over with family in the hotel.

So – what is it that gives the hotel and spa that star quality?

Cumbria Crack caught up with director Dani Hope to find out what makes the hotel so popular and what it’s like running a site that’s a hit with celebs.

Creating a showstopping hotel and spa

Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa is a site that is full of history – with the main hotel building dating back to 1870.

It’s also had several owners over the years before Dani’s mum and dad Kit and Charles Graves – who run Lake District Hotels – took over the site in 2004.

Dani became a director and joined the family business in 2011 and the trio now look after a total of six hotels across the county.

Lodore has long been considered the company’s flagship hotel, but when Dani and her parents took over the site, she said it was clear that renovations were needed to modernise the space.

Dani Hope and her mum Kit Graves outside The Falls Spa. Picture: Phil Rigby

Dani said: “I think the potential for expanding on Lodore was always there. But in the first 10 years we didn’t do anything to update it.

“It was quite 60s style and previously there was an outdoor pool there which had been built in about the 60s I think and there used to be an indoor leisure centre as well which is where we now have Mizu.

“That leisure centre was added in the 80s I think. So it was getting to the point where we needed to do something.”

Dani said at first the trio thought about refurbishing what was already at the site – but instead, they decided to start from scratch.

She added: “We ended up thinking there was no point in refurbishing what was already there. It just wasn’t good enough with what was happening in the area and at other places.

“My dad owns Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa with his sister Carolyn and they added the spa there in 2008 and saw that was really popular, so from that we decided we would totally redevelop Lodore.

“We’re always coming up with new ideas and running them by each other and making sure we have right ideas for the future of the business.”

The Falls Spa was officially unveiled in October 2018 after Dani and her family went through a lengthy process to choose a design for the site and have it built.

She said: “We started off with the idea that we would make it a walkers retreat. So we wanted it to be a place where after being on the fells you could come and relax your feet and we wanted it to be quite rustic.

“But when we started working with different designers on plans for the spa, it developed into what it is today and we’ve now got our contemporary Scandi-style spa.”

The Falls Spa garden

The spa now boasts a thermal suite, where guests can choose between several different wellness experiences – including a laconium heat room, herbal sauna, salt steam room and ice fountain as well as rainfall inspired showers and heated stone relaxation loungers.

Outside, guests are able to indulge in a Finnish sauna, complete with a floor-to-ceiling window and a 16m infinity edge hydrotherapy pool that is fitted with jets and heated to the same temperature as a hot tub.

Several treatment and relaxation rooms are also on site, alongside spa suites that guests can stay in for a more full luxury spa getaway experience.

The spa also opened around the same time as Mizu – one of Cumbria’s first pan-Asian restaurants and renovations were made to the hotel’s ground floor with the addition of a function room and conservatory.

Overall – the site saw an initial investment of around £10 million and the family have just completed more renovations on the hotel this year.

Mizu

Dani added: “We closed for eight weeks at the start of the year and we refurbished the bar, hotel restaurant, lounges, public areas and the main kitchen.

“It was quite an undertaking but we had some really good feedback. It is quite different now and the style is quite in-keeping with Mizu and the spa.

“They both originally felt more modern, so we’re trying to bring everything more in line for the flow.

“We’ve also moved the entrance doors to restaurant and it is quite drastically different. I think people are getting a nice surprise coming along and seeing it all different.

“We also redid the front of hotel entrance driveway and terrace, which all looks really nice and landscaped . It just all adds to the welcome of hotel and finalises the whole project really, until we have to start again on something else!”

So, what’s really making Lodore such a hit with celebs?

Dani said she believes it’s a mixture of different elements working together that have made the spa so popular with locals, visitors and stars alike.

She said: “When we were designing the spa, one of the things we wanted was that you could see the lake from everywhere while you’re in the spa.

“So in the thermal area or in the hydrotherapy pool or the Finnish sauna it’s all glass and you can see the gardens, Derwentwater and Catbells. I think that’s something that sets us apart.

“You can go to a lot of spas, but there’s not that outlook from the thermal area. I do think that’s why it’s so popular, I think we’ve made the most of our location, which we’re very lucky to have.

“But it could have been designed in many different ways. We had a lot of designers put forward different ideas and they didn’t all come up with what we chose in the end, so it could well have been a completely different look.

“That lake view everywhere and the huge outdoor hydrotherapy is probably the most popular part of the spa, because people can sit and enjoy it and it’s great for pictures.

Maisie Smith and her partner Max George. Picture: Maisie Smith Instagram

“Because it’s quite a popular spot it sort of sells itself. We get some fantastic customer pictures on Instagram and people want to be there to get their photo in the spa and we can re-share them on social media.

“That kind of business model has worked well for us, but at the start there was a little resistance with going down that route.

“When you’re in a spa most people don’t like the idea of having phones out. But that hasn’t been a problem for us. I think it’s actually worked more as we’ve had lots of influencers come for pictures.”

Celebrities and influencers who have visited the spa in the past include Molly Mae and Tommy Fury, Maisie Smith and Max George, Adam Thomas, Helen Skelton, Kady McDermott, Bernardo Carvalho E Silva and more.

But Dani said that having stars visit the site was not something they had intended to happen and instead, is just a positive indicator that the site is doing well.

She added: “We’re not chasing for celebrities to visit, it’s just something that happens. The location and the way we’ve built the spa gives you those amazing pictures and I think a lot of people are looking for that.

Simon Pegg with Mizu staff

“But it is really positive and reassuring that they think we’re a great place to go, and I think the staff do quite like it! But they’re not our bread and butter.

“We do share pictures when they visit, but we try to be quite discreet and only share pictures if they’ve shared them themselves on social media.

“I think we try to be a place where they can come and won’t have the paparazzi coming after them or anything like that.

“We want them to relax and enjoy it just the same as any of our other guests would and we try to make sure their experience is the same as other guests, so they’re not getting pestered by us.

“The same standard of service applies to everyone and we do also try to avoid too many staff pictures with them unless we know they’re happy to have them taken. It’s all about being discreet.”

Colin Firth CBE with Mizu staff

Dani added that Mizu has also become a huge draw for celebrities – with the likes of Colin Firth CBE, Simon Pegg, Bill Bailey, Ronan Keating and Lisa Snowdon all dining at the top restaurant.

She said: “Mizu is a huge draw. It’s definitely a destination restaurant as we get a lot of non-residents coming to visit. But we were first in the area to do pan-Asian style food, as when we launched back in 2018 there wasn’t really anything else like it in the area.

“But I think everyone wants that full package of spa, food and hotel and because we have the spa suites, I think we tick all the boxes for a luxury spa getaway.”

Staying accessible and down to earth

The hotel and spa has also scooped several accolades over the years including best countryside getaway and best garden spa in the Good Spa Guide.

This year, the site has been shortlisted in the Good Spa Guide for best destination spa – and it has previously won boutique spa of the year and Midlands and North West spa of the year in the North West Beauty Awards.

The professional beauty awards also shortlisted the site for spa of the year and spa tea of the year.

But Dani said with all the praise and popularity to one side – that making sure everyone felt welcome at the spa was most important.

Dani said: “I think some people do worry that they’re not dressed smart or fine enough to visit and don’t feel they can come because of that, but it is definitely not like that here.

“We have people visit with their dogs, walkers, people with brand new babies – everyone is welcome, we don’t turn anyone away.

Dani Hope and her mum Kit Graves in the newly refurbished hotel. Picture: Phil Rigby

“We’re very open to everyone, you can walk through the door and have a cuppa and a sandwich in the hotel and you don’t have to have a booking or be special.

“I do feel there’s people who love the celebs and people who really don’t and think we’re too fancy or expensive. But it’s about balance and getting that right for our guests.”

Dani said plans are also in the works to update customer changing rooms in the spa and the team are also looking to eventually expand the spa when the time is right.

All of the hotel’s 86 bedrooms in the main hotel will also undergo rolling renovations in the future to keep them up-to-date.

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