Review of The Windermere Suites, by Caroline Major

Just far enough along the Windermere High Street to be out of the brouhaha yet close enough to a smaller, quieter street for a quick walk for a coffee and the papers, the funky and romantic Windermere Suites is the kind of get-away that might be just a bit too comfortable to leave.

If a private and discrete romance is what you're looking for, ask to stay on the ground floor where the rooms have direct access from the car-park; some with tiny courtyards that double as breakfast terraces in warmer weather. This boutique bed-n-breakfast is a very modern, very funky and a well-located place to stay on a tour of one of the best value, increasingly gourmet counties in the UK.

With just eight rooms, mostly spacious, The Windermere Suites are a stylish palette of platinum, plastic, mirror and silver. It's all a little bit disco and a whole lot glamour, offering eight lucky couples well-designed, high-tech and comfortable rooms. Expect high thread-count linen, cushioned comfort and just-right lighting while being satisfied with best of the Lakeland mini bar items and thrilled by the bathrooms.

In designing the ultimate couples' retreat, the design-savvy owners bet the farm on bathroom intimacy. Fabulous and luxurious tiles and fittings make sure that the water is perfect, but it's the mood lighting that makes you the Mistress of the Moment. Set the scene alive with a slowly-changing rainbow of light or a purple haze. It's easily within your control and a surprisingly addictive feature that would keep up your demand for piles of fluffy white towels - if only your eco-conscience would let you!