Riverside Hotel

Great hotel, right on the river. The restaurant Tanners and Terrace and this area has been modernised and we really enjoyed our evening meal in here. There is a small terrace area, which we enjoyed even in the hail, as it was partially covered. A great place to watch the world go by. Breakfast was in the Riverside View, with amazing views over the river and looking onto one of the many bridges that crosses over the river.
We had a huge room which was good, nothing special, but clean.
There is a gym and pool, but we did not use those whilst we stayed here.
Kendal is a lovely little town, with lots of walks along the river and a centre with shops and plenty of places to eat and drink. We had a fab time.

Prior to our stay, I had emailed regarding unclear billing email saying our booking had outstanding costs, when we'd fully paid, no reply for FOUR DAYS, emailed again and replied promptly but no apology for ignoring first email. Awful start to our stay. Firstly, the second carpark has zero signage, majority were reserved by other companies, and has a really tight entrance, no instructions on website inc FAQs, and very limited on email confirmation. Stressful start became more so when getting to the hotel. The person checking us in couldn't care less that we were there. Insisted that we decide what time we want breakfast, faqs on site say nothing about having to know in advance when you might be up and hungry, and the letter we received after checking in said they only need to know by 10pm, yet we were told she needed to know immediately, and rushed us along as though she had a qeueu behind with no one waiting. Just felt really unwelcome. Getting to the room meant dragging case up 7/8 steps, they had a lift but you had to go up or down stairs to get to it. Got to the room, there were wine stains and crumbs on tables, what we were hoping was just spilt sugar on a bedside table and stains on the lampshades above the beds. Nice relaxing bath after a stressful start? Nope, no bath plug, asked for one the next day when we could face the poor customer service again. Beds were comfy enough, if not smaller than we are used to in a hotel, and pillows felt a bit flat.
Bit of carpet missing in the room, dirty around the edges in bathroom. Asked to speak to manager about all of the above the next day, she apologised but didn't empathise or agree that those things were not acceptable, just sat, nodded, then apologised before going on with her day.
The positives? The location is alright, the view from the window over the river was lovely, the food at the restaurant was great (as were the staff). If there were sufficient instructions, or at least signage for parking, and we were checked in by someone who cared, and made us feel welcome, then we'd have accepted the rest, and would have rated the hotel much higher. The pool and sauna/steam room were appreciated to try and unwind after a bad start. Would stay in the area again, but not the hotel.

Positive - great location looking onto river. Great to be able to walk easily to town.
Restaurant very good food and service.
Room a good size and warm.
Very easy friendly reception
Negative - black mould around the bath very off putting. Seal at bottom of shower screen broken so water leaked out.
Extractor fan very noisy.
I stripped the bed on departure to help and found no pillow protector and stained mattress. I would not stay again

Just returned from an overnight stay and have no issues or concerns to raise.
All the staff, Reception, Bar and Breakfast gave a very good example of customer service.
Our room was clean, the bed comfortable and bathroom facilities good.
Would return without hesitation.

Really enjoyed our stay, the staff are very friendly and welcoming. The hotel itself is very clean, inviting and comfortable. We spent some time in the bar area for drinks, very chilled atmosphere, the strawberry daiquiri was exceptional. We didn’t eat in the restaurant but the food did look very good.
The room had a lovely river view, great size, no worries around space, had everything you needed. Beds very comfortable and cosy.The cleanliness was 100%, very impressed for the price paid.
Leisure facilities looked amazing, quality equipment in the gym, pool looked very inviting, we didn’t get chance to use the facilities.
Breakfast was again excellent, lots of choice both hot and cold, lovely area to sit and see the world go by.
All in all a great hotel, definitely would return without hesitation. 👌

The first room we were given was next to a fire door which banged constantly as people went through. We were given another room which looked ok. I used the shower early evening which was lukewarm but freezing cold by the morning so we couldn't shower.

Was looking forward to a 3 night birthday break for 2 people, £356, so not super cheep

Hotel in fabulous location, parking a bonus. Pool, gym sauna and jacuzzi. All well used by guest and members. Room number 003 a little tired. However lovely large room with riverside view. Great to just watch the wildlife. On entering the room smelt old fashioned Cedar I think. So was not surprised when a small moth flew out of the wardrobe. Large bathroom with emergency call system and a perching stool. Bathroom looked fine but flooring looked worn. After hanging swimwer to dry noticed that the flooring was fine, just filthy. The water dripping creted tide marks. I was not happy to walk on it without footwear (slept in socks just in case I had to spend a penny during the night). Put down the white bathmat which showed the scale of the problem. On Monday went to reception asked to speak to the manager and invited them to view our room. 45 minutes later went back to reception to check if anyone was available. I was told manager in a meeting. So I was encouraged to speak to the bar manager instead. Both the receptionist and bar manager looked at the filth and apologised. We were offered a free drink at the bar, we declined. Went out for the day hoping something would have improved, but no. Same filth and dirty bathmat. Having worked in hospitals since 1995 as qualified nurses and having taught for 4 years on aseptice and infection prevention: I can safely say the bathroom is unhygienic. I am sure the bathroom has not seen a mop for months. Cleaned a spot with the hotel provided hand soap and a babywipe, 100% improvement.
This incident lead to us noticing a general lack of maintenance. Large cracks in reception and at the pool. Damp leaking into a recently renovated bar. Architrave around a doorway lifting and splitting.
Staff were polite and handled situations well. For example at check in we were ask what time we wanted breakfast. We said 9.30 on Sunday and the same time everyday. On Monday we found Breakfast had been cleared (it finished earlier on weekdays). We explained to a lovely young man who sorted a full cooked breakfast and apologised for miss communication.
Checked out this morning. Having not had any communication fron the manager. Lady on reception assured me my comments had been passed on. Sat at home writing this full of disappointment. Washer is on again because I saw a second moth in the room this morning. Hoping I have not brought any wildlife home.

Rude and ignorant staff that are tatty dressed. Very overpriced poor quality food, dated very small rooms with mouldy bathrooms and door handles falling off.
If you are visiting this area stay at any hotel but this place. Worst hotel I have stayed at in over 30 years. Worse than Fawlty Towers on a good day, with its own Basil Fawlty.
Staff need yo
understand how to communicate, welcome guests, and make them feel valued. Your staff make it feel like you are running a prison. Your decor, standards, and food further affirm.

Beautiful location and exterior but unfortunately a terrible experience overall.

Breakfast average, worth booking with stay if you need convenience, decent food and friendly staff in bar downstairs.

Cleaning: room never cleaned. 2 days we had 'do not disturb' sign on in late morning and missed cleaning, so completely understand for those days. Bags of supplies left on door, however contained mostly sachets of coffee/tea. 1st day only 1 towel (2 of us in room), shower gel and toilet roll, but 2nd day only tea/coffee, had to ask reception for towels and toilet paper. A shame as the bags are a good idea but not when they only contain tea/coffee. On days we never used DND sign, only once were old towels removed and replaced so again had to go ask for towels/toilet rolls, while building up a big pile of used towels in bathroom. Bins changed only on 2/5 days, bed made once, toilet & bath never cleaned, bathroom floor never cleaned, carpet never vacuumed. Cleaner charging vape on corridor flood, tripping hazard and unhygienic.

Rooms: beds ok but hottest duvet we've ever used, too hot to sleep even in January. Very run-down rooms, dirty walls in desperate need of fresh paint, cobwebs hanging from light fixture and ceilings, bedding stained, dried moth husks on mattress under sheets and dead moths left squashed on walls. Didn't feel comfortable touching anything in room (grimy light switches etc.).

Biggest problem: carpet moths. Upon entering room, around 5 moths dotted around, internet search pointed towards carpet moths. Issue seems hotel-wide, dozens of moths over walls and ceilings of corridor, going through upstairs to breakfast area. Worst experience of any stay in countless hotels we have stayed in all over the world. Getting ready for bed and trying to sleep on first night they were flying into our faces, so freaked out we only slept a couple of hours, told reception in the morning. They did not apologise or seem concerned, told us cleaning team would 'spray' the room. Not sure if this ever happened, no change in numbers in corridors, and we were removing any moths we found in our room ourselves. Didn't unpack to try and protect our clothes from eggs, although main source of moths seemed to be corridor. Again told reception when we checked out, asked if manager was aware of the carpet moths, we were told by friendly member of staff that the manager was not aware but that they would pass on a message. However upon reading reviews we noticed a previous traveller had noted and reported carpet moths in August 2025.

It's a shame to give a 1/5 review but no way we can score higher when there were so many moths around, affecting our sleep and posing a risk of being transmitted back to our home. We rarely write reviews but felt it was important to leave our honest review as we would not have booked if we had known. Without moths we would have given overall stay 3/5, no more given how run-down rooms were and no room cleaning during stay. We really enjoyed staying in Kendal, lovely town especially along river, but relieved to checkout. Huge shame to see what could be a beautiful hotel in a brilliant river-side location so neglected, could be a real gem.

Stayed here to meet up with sister and brother in law as Central for both of us to meet up. I felt the room was a bit dated and didnt appreciate a double bed as sister had a king size. A beautiful view from the room and Tanners bar was lovely Pity it was freezing as there is a beautiful patio area facing the river. What let it down for us was the barking dogs next door who barked from 8am till their owners came back from breakfast. Very inconsiderate and spoilt our stay

Smart, warm hotel with very friendly staff. Very clean. Overlooks the River Kent. Has its own car park and is a short walk from the town centre.

Stayed for 2 nights,hotel contacted us to say room was ready from 12.30 fab parked up ,free parking at hotel easy ,speedy check in, reception really friendly and informative,room good size and very clean,warm and cozy, riverside view, breakfast good choice and freshly cooked, lovely friendly staff and lovely riverside view while eating breakfast.Used the gym and sauna good mix of free weights and machines,pool a little small if you like to swim lengths but managed ok .Overall had a great 2 night stay ,good value considering we had breakfast ,car parking and use of gym and spa would definitely rebook

We had another wonderful stay at the Riverside. We have stayed at this hotel a number of times over the last few years and always have a comfortable, enjoyable stay.
The location is great for Kendal centre and proximity to an abundance of walks in the lakes.
The hotel has recently refurbished its bar area and this was a lovely place to grab a drink before heading out to dinner. Thanks to Sandro and Jenn for looking after us and the extra special touches in our suite - flowers and pumpkin decoration for Halloween!
Overall another great stay and we hope to return soon.

Booked the Tanners Bar for my mum's funeral tea. Jenn was so helpful and friendly. Made the experience so much easier. Food was good, they provided nice gluten free options.

The hotel advertises itself as three-star and although this is a fair assessment, it does have some additional benefits that you wouldn't normally expect for a budget to mid-range establishment. The hotel has a swimming pool, spa pool, steam room and sauna in addition to a well-equipped gym which hotel residents have free access to throughout their stay. The hotel is centrally-placed in Kendal with good road access and within walking distance of the town centre. Perhaps the only negative comment I could make is that the hotel is a little tired-looking inside and could certainly benefit from re-decoration and an upgrade of the bathrooms. That said, the hotel was clean, staff were friendly and the breakfast was acceptable. Parking was easy with a car park just a couple of hundred metres from the entrance door and was free for residents. Will certainly be back.

Excellent location, parking onsite, friendly staff and clean rooms, good shower. Meals were good at the hotel.

Parking was very safe and just next door, the hotel was dog friendly - some treats in the room would have been appreciated.

We stayed 4 nights with our dog. Rooms are a little tired but this did not detract from our stay where the staff were all excellent and they couldn’t do enough for you , special mention to Jan in the restaurant. The food was very good and the facilities were also excellent with a newly refurbished gym and an indoor pool. There’s a lovely terrace overlooking the river.
There’s also free covered car parking and the hotel is very central to Kendal and easy access to the Lakes. We have already booked to stay again.

The food choice in the restaurant was very limited.

Pet friendly hotel whose public areas and amenities are very good with a recently refurbished gym and a pool . The rooms are a little dated but All the staff were friendly and helpful and we thought the hotel was good value for money as it’s very centrally located in Kendal and only a of minutes walk from the shopping area . It also has its own covered parking which is included. We will stay again