Hayward’s at the Grasmere

We had an afternoon club get-together yesterday. The staff were excellent, but most of us felt it wasn’t as good as last year. Of the 21 plates, most had only half a sprout or one sprout, and mine had only half a sprout and no swede at all. There was just one coffee machine, so some people were leaving before others had even had theirs. I think the chef needs to see a Christmas lunch. Who serves ice cream on top of Christmas pudding? We thought there might be a choice. Brandy cream, double cream or even custard would be better, just a thought.

Afternoon tea at Haywards was such a treat. The flavours, presentation and service were spectacular. One of our party couldn’t eat gluten, and we were a little nervous about what her tea would be like, but there was no need. It looked almost the same as ours, and she said everything was delicious. Thank you all for a lovely afternoon.

The food was delicious and the portions were good at Sunday lunch, though service could be better. When we arrived, nobody greeted us and we couldn’t tell where the restaurant was, so we stood around looking lost for a few minutes. The waitress said she’d be back in a second with something we didn’t catch. We assumed it was the cauliflower and leek gratin we’d seen on the menu, but nobody checked in during the meal, so we couldn’t ask. When we paid, we were told it wasn’t available that day. I’m vegetarian, and while the Wellington was delicious, I couldn’t eat the extra gravy because it was meat-based. We were seated by the bar in the front room and heard waitresses behind the bar complaining about one of their tables as we waited. The food took a while, but it was busy that day, so that was fine. We live locally and had been looking forward to eating here.

The room was quiet, the bed comfortable, breakfast was lovely and the service was very friendly. I hadn’t realised in advance that the hotel would be unmanned, or maybe I missed that when booking through Nectar Hotels. The restaurant and bar were closed, though there are plenty of places nearby, so I can’t comment on them. I’m not sure how many rooms there are, but parking seems to fit about eight vehicles. It was full when I arrived at 6, so I parked on the roadside around the corner.