The Ro Hotel

Winter deal was fantastic value. Ro suite and Tower suite both beautiful. Family room very good too.

Only issue was restricted pool times for kids. Understand fully why they are in place but they are the same time as breakfast.

Shame restaurant was not open at night time.

The staff were extremely helpful, friendly and courteous. A particular thank you to Fred in reception.
The location is ideal for Bowness-on-Windermere, shops and restaurants.
The room was much better than we had expected from one or two mixed reviews. The bathroom was spotless and toiletries were provided.
Expect to pay for an upgrade for a lake view.
Tea and coffee was provided and also a complimentary bottle of Prosecco.

I have stayed at The Ro twice now. First time Nov 2025 and for the 2nd time Feb 2026. I have to say, I really like this hotel. Its very well located in Bowness to get out to all the bars and restaurants, as well as a very short walk to the Lake.

I have stayed in both suites - The Ro and the Tower. I would 100% say its worth pushing the boat out and experiencing the suites! I cant decide which I prefer. The Ro Suite definitely feels newer/fresher and can not be faulted at all. The Tower suite feels older/more worn/ has a couple of issues with it (which I will go into) but for me the quirkiness of this room makes up for its minor floors. Its quite novel/romantic. Really tall ceilings. I felt like I was in Rapunzels Tower in the bathroom. Beautiful views over to the lake etc. The couple of issues are just heating and lack of good ventilation for steam in the bathroom (resulting in wobbly floor tiles). It is such a big space, it could do with maybe a decent plug in oil radiator in the room. Something a little better quality than the little plug in radiator thats currently there. The other issue (which is such a shame) the bathroom doesn't have great ventilation. Its a cracking bathroom but the steam builds up in there so bad when you have a shower and literally soaks the floor through. These issues wouldnt stop me from staying in the room though, as there is something quite special about it. If you like a more well finished/ modern room than stay in the Ro Suite... if u like quirky/romantic/rustic go for the Tower Suite.

The staff are friendly and the bar is modern and comfortable. We booked treatments at the spa which were great.

Breakfast was very good for a buffet style breakfast.

We had a fab stay and will be back.

😀

Went to The Ro Hotel on Valentines Weekend 💝 to celebrate our commitment ceremony there.
With being regular visitors, we couldn't think of a more perfect venue or spot to have it and we we were not disappointed.
It was superb in every sense!!!
The hotel, the views from every angle (we had the Tower Suite) and the service we received.
Tilly, our wedding coordinator was excellent, so was Manoj and all their staff. Thankyou for making it such a memorable weekend for us and our guests.
We will be back again next year and hopefully try out the Spa.
Jo and Jay

Hotel was pleasant on arrival however when we got upto our room we were met by a horrible smell like mould in the bathroom. We opened the window to try and get some air in but this meant the smell spread into the bedroom. We had parked our car in the hotel car park and when we went down to our car it had been badly damaged, someone had hit it and not let anyone know. We reported this to reception and were basically snubbed! The receptionist told me to contact the manager and when I asked for his email she gave me it and this voice who had been standing there the whole time piped up that’s me and to be honest we don’t have cameras.. no I’m sorry this has happened, how bad is it or any smypathy.. very uncaring. Then the next morning we went to the health spa and were met by a disgusting smell coming from the hot tub. It was so bad it made us feel sick so we had to leave. I reported my concerns re how dirty the water was and again this was dismissed. I reported this to the manager and he said he’d pass it on but wasn’t really bothered. Such a shame as it has potential to be a lovely hotel.

If the restaurant is open in the evening this would be a lovely hotel. They do need to sort this out if restaurant is closed the bar is empty what a waste!! Though you have to climb a hill to get to the hotel, thankfully The Angel is open half way which serves food and drink. Apart from that the hotel is comfortable and does a very good breakfast.

Me and my husband stayed here for a night and we probably wouldn’t return.

Room was basic, and we were kept awake most the night with an annoying clicking noise, couldn’t open the blind so room was in darkness.

Also the “spa” was rubbish, just a basic pool and a room you could sit in to “relax”

Breakfast was nice, but overall wouldn’t stay again.

The Ro hotel is a great little hidden away hotel, it’s 2 mins walk up a hill from Lake Road. Location is great for staying in Bowness.

I found an “off peak” deal which was £99 per night for any room, including breakfast and use of the spa. Only downside is that we came mid week so the restaurant was closed on an evening. I didn’t realise this until after I booked and tried to book an evening meal. There is plenty of lovely eateries on the doorstep, like Jintana (who do an early evening special) and Rastelli pizzeria.

My other downside to the hotel was the heat, but I’m not a person who loves to sleep in a warm room and we could lower the temperature with the room control panel.

The rooms were very well equipped, we stayed our first night in a suite which was lovely, very spacious, gorgeous bath tub… and the second night in a balcony room, also had all the good additions, like a Nespresso machine, kettle, fan, hairdryer, iron and board. The hotel and rooms were very clean and well maintained. Views of the lake are gorgeous and I imagine ever better in the summer.

We used the Hyrdo spa, which was on the small side but we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. I do think they are missing a trick, could have some outdoor huts with a steam room or sauna in…

Breakfast was nice, a lot of choice and the vegetarian sausages were nice, not fake meat!

We stayed at the Ro Hotel for a night for my birthday , pool was closed so couldn’t use it which was disappointing overall hotel was nice breakfast not amazing.

Lovely two night stay at The Ro, couldn’t have asked for much more. Lovely atmosphere and wonderful, friendly staff. Access to the pool and jacuzzi just added to the overall relaxing experience that was needed.
The Ro also offer a free drink per person on selected drinks at the bar for those staying more than one night who do not require their room to be cleaned as part of their Eco friendly aim - can’t argue with that. To note a car parking charge is required for anyone staying at the hotel which can be sorted inside the hotel. Once again, thanks to all at The Ro!

We took our grandson hoping to use the pool when we arrived but he wasn't allowed to use it as the private members complain about children . Unfortunately the TV wasn't working and we couldn't get a reliable signal either . We were told that it would be fixed but it never was. There was no apology. However the room was really clean, nice and had a great view The staff were lovely, especially Paul.

Just spent 4 nights at the Ro Hotel Bowness on Windermere. What wonderful hotel. Staff are so friendly professional and helpful. Special mention to Paul Fred and Persia who went beyond our expectations and are a credit to the hotel. Breakfast was excellent with hot and cold choices . Lovely ambience and feel to the hotel and so relaxing. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will definitely return. Paul and Christina

We stayed at The Ro Hotel on a work trip with colleagues and also made use of the boardroom, which was well set up and ideal for our meetings. Overall, we had a fantastic experience. The hotel is modern, clean, and very comfortable, making it a great place to relax after a busy day. The staff were professional, welcoming, and extremely helpful throughout our stay. The rooms were well equipped, and breakfast was excellent with a great selection. The location and views over Lake Windermere were an added bonus. I would highly recommend this hotel for both business and leisure stays.

We had a fantastic stay at this hotel. The rooms were spotless, and the staff were genuinely friendly and welcoming throughout our visit.

Making the reservation was straightforward thanks to the clear instructions, and after speaking with Marsha, the reservationist, everything became even easier. She took the time to explain all the booking options, and it was clear that booking directly was the best choice.

The hotel offers are excellent value for money. We also made use of the wellness club facilities and even treated ourselves to a cheeky spa treatment, which was absolutely worth it.

We have seen comments on various platforms regarding parking charge but the information was stated on our email confirmation, so I believe everyone receives the same emails therefore it was not a shock to us that parking was chargeable like everywhere else in The Lake District

Overall, a wonderful experience—we will definitely be back.

We stayed at the Ro from 29th Dec - 2nd Jan and have found it a really difficult hotel to review. It really isn’t a bad hotel but for a number of reasons, we wouldn’t return.

On the surface The Ro looks nice - it’s a lovely old building just up from Bowness with great views of lake Windermere and on site parking; sounds idyllic when you put it like that. Beyond reception though; the corridors are battered, the decor is a bit tatty and the lifts have seen better days, some very jittery and felt a bit precarious to use.

Our trip was last min so we ended up in a Snug room. It was very small but well appointed and had a modern en suite with hot, powerful shower. We’d have been happy with this room for the duration of our stay if the walls hadn’t been paper thin.

We were woken by the cleaning staff between 7-8am the first two mornings as they accessed storage in the hallway. As other reviews mention, we could hear neighbours on all sides and for us that meant being woken up by people returning late at night and overhearing a couple on our floor having sex morning and night for the first two nights - all things considered, we had no sleep for the first two nights of our trip.

We appreciate noisy guests aren’t the hotels fault and the night porters did try to help by coming up to speak to the neighbours. Sadly even in their attempts to be quiet, we could still overhear every noise coming from their room. We weren’t prepared for another two sleepless nights so asked for an alternative room - we were offered a tiny, tatty room which wouldn’t even fit our two suitcases (not exaggerating). We declined and were then upgraded to a suite; we were very thankful for the room as a solution to our noisy neighbour problem and it hugely improved the rest of our stay.

That doesn’t mean the room was without its problems and if we were paying full price for the Tower Suite we wouldn’t have felt it was worth the money. There was condensation dripping down every window in the room, pooling on the window sills. By evening the room (bathroom especially) was freezing - there is a portable heater in the room so we moved that around with us but it didn’t help a whole lot as it’s a tiny heater in a very big space. We couldn’t figure out how to turn my bedside light off - turns out the light switch is hidden behind the headboard? Only one of the switches on my side of the bed was accessible as the second one was also blocked by the headboard. The shower was really hot and powerful which we loved - but it flooded the floor and had to use almost all our towels to mop up water. The price for the Tower Suite is comparable to the prices at Low Wood Bay but the quality is miles apart.

The biggest drawback for us is the parking. On site parking was a major factor in our decision to book the Ro, but there just isn’t enough for the hotel. When we arrived all spaces were taken so I drove round Bowness twice to find somewhere safe to leave the car - to no avail. As I was about to drive back down for the third time the FOH kindly offered to move the no parking sign out front and allowed us to park there overnight. Some people made their own spaces, blocking the ramp between the upper and lower car park, or blocking eachother in at the narrow end of the car park. We weren’t able to access a designated space for the duration of our stay and had to squeeze in where we could. It’s residents parking or double yellows on the roads surrounding the hotel so if you can’t squeeze in like we did, you’re a bit stuck.

As some others mention, when booking we thought we were getting a good price but when you add the £7.50 per night parking on top it adds up- especially when we weren’t even parked in a safe designated space.

The “spa” fee also feels a bit cheeky - the £15pp “pass” only gets you two hours access to one swimming pool and hot tub. The gym is a chargeable facility as well - in all other hotels we’ve always had the gym included in room rate and spa charged as an extra.

Note also the website says Smart TVs in all rooms - they aren’t. No apps, the cast feature didn’t work in either of our rooms and the signal on the linear channels is very poor/intermittent so can’t watch a full programme without signal issues.

The breakfast was a highlight - very good value and quality; plentiful and quickly replenished. Also need to mention that the staff are all very friendly and they do try their best to help with the parking where they can. We love the little towel bears the cleaners left on our bed too, such a cute little touch.

Overall not a bad hotel, just not the hotel for us and wouldn’t say it was worth the price.

We got married in The Ro Hotel in July 2025 and we couldn’t imagine it to be any better than it was. Our suits were really spacious and clean. The staff was great! We would like to say thank you to Adam and all of the staff that served us, thanks to them everything went really smooth and with no stress. Our wedding coordinator Tilly was brilliant, she listened to every request that we had and worked very hard to make our day special. Big compliments to the chefs, as food served on our wedding breakfast was delicious. Definitely I would recommend this venue to anyone planning their wedding!

The Hotel is quite central to Bowness-on-Windermere where we stayed for 2 nights and is situated up a quite steep hill approximately 100 yards from the main road.
We were welcomed very warmly and found everything to be more than satisfactory. Everywhere was spotlessly clean, our room was very spacious with a 6' bed that was too comfortable to get out of and had a large ensuite which was very modern, the room which was an upgrade did have a view of the lake and surrounding countryside. The Breakfast was cooked to perfection and the serving was generously portioned too. The staff, without exception, were all very professional and had a warm friendly manner that made the stay very pleasant. We would stay here again without question and would recommend.

Excellent location in Bowness in Windermere(except for the steep hill not recommended if you have walking difficulties) the front is very modern as is the bar & dining area. Bedroom was nice & clean & a good size but the floor had very squeaky floor boards even though the room had carpet( would of felt sorry if anyone was below us) to get to some of the rooms is quite confusing as some of the lifts don’t go to the floor you want, my son his partner & young son had to get one lift up to one floor then another lift up to the floor they were on, they all couldn’t get in the one lift(with pram & suitcase) as the lift was so small, they had a lovely big family room but unfortunately the cot that was put in for my Grandson was too small for him to sleep in also my daughter & son-in-law were in a room that was extremely small it looked more like a single room with a small double bed & the view out of their window was awful a brick wall. Breakfast was ok but not very quick on replenishing the food, staff on front desk were pleasant. Now the two things that let the hotel down was you have to pay for the car park even though you are staying at the hotel(not good) & very disappointing that the hotel was not decorated for Christmas, no lights up no Christmas trees inside or out, surely for a hotel in the Lake District you should all decorated especially when the shops, restaurants & pubs are all decorated & other hotels were all decorated. Is there any reason why your hotel was not decorated at this time of year, surely it would make a lot of difference to your guests.

Lovely building from outside however this is about where it stops. When we arrived no parking spaces available so ended up
parking in a non parking space which really isn’t ideal. Lady on reception was helpful and pleasant but I was shocked at the £7.50 parking charge for all residents. Parking eye operate the carpark which again I was shocked at. Took £50 deposit from my card on arrival not quite sure why but ok. Then told to use the spa was £25, again shocked but ok so booked our 2 hour slot for later in the afternoon. Bar area is quite nice and modern but that’s where it ends. Our room was tired, dated and though not dirty as such there was marks on walls, carpet and lamps. The bed was comfortable though. Corridorsand rest of hotel other than the bar was very dated and battered in need of some investment to bring standards up. Spa is not a spa it has a freezing cold small pool and a small hot tub no sauna no or steam room etc and very minimal seating around the pool 2 beds 2 chairs so no where to sit. The relaxation area was cold and again only 3 beds. Absolutely not worth £25. Breakfast in the morning was poorly managed we were given a table then after got our self serve breakfast went to sit down and someone else had got our table we were told to go in to the bar area but the tables in there were unsuitable for eating at and every other table in there had dogs at it. I’m not a dog hater but I dont like eating around animals. When I booked it I thought we were getting a good price but by the time added on the extras it was equal in price to other hotels in the area that are of a much higher standard

Excellent place. Check in to room and all the rest of the usual bits you'd want were on point.

After our jaunt into the town and back we had a drink at the bar. Salvatore was bloody excellent at that point. Genuinely lovely with non sycophantic chat. A real cherry on the cake.

Oh, and they aren't just dog friendly, they're dog positive.