Outside
We eventually found L’Enclume (french for the Anvil – it’s situated in a former Blacksmiths which operated there from 1600’s right up to 1960!) in the quaint village of Cartmel and on arriving at the “reception” we were given an efficient, if somewhat frosty, welcome! We were shown our room which was through a narrow doorway next to the restaurant, upstairs directly above the restaurant.
The room was quaint, and in general clean but I was horrified to note as we walked through the door big, black stains and marks on the room carpet, and then noted that there was a huge rip in the carpet at the bathroom entrance! (M&S do a good carpet stain remover for £1.99 – it’s not that complicated!!) Not at all what I was expecting from a Michelin starred restaurant with rooms! On closer inspection, despite the few lovely antiques in the room you realise that they have gone for cheap furnishings and fabrics which initially give a pleasant look, but on the touch the reality kicks in and you feel that they have cheated a bit.
Our room was lacking in any sort of sound proofing to the extent that I could hear a conversation taking place downstairs in the lounge area of the restaurant between two men. We were glad that we were also to be dining down there that night (a Sunday) and that the following evening the restaurant would be closed as we probably would have to wait until the last diner left the room before we would get some peace!!
With breakfast at £18 we decided not to bother – dinner was enough!
Really, the focus of L’Enclume is the restaurant, and the rooms seem an afterthought and almost a slight inconvenience which makes me wonder why they bother – is it purely to rake in some more money from the building since the space is there? That’s what it feels like.
In fairness to the rather cool yet efficient lady who dealt with us, when my husband on settling up made comment about the builders (they are extending the conservatory in the restaurant at the moment) and no chance of a lie-in she immediately deducted the tariff of the room so L’Enclume deserve points for customer service in that regard.
If you want a pleasant room in a good location then I guess this does the job, but i wouldn’t rule out other places in the area to rush to L’Enclume, especially when you could probably feel more welcome and get value for money elsewhere!
our room
Visited: June 2008
