Often with the lap of luxury, there is something missing - a personal service from a guest-house which often becomes lost with too many staff and rooms to cover.
But The Cranleigh Guest House Hotel, in Bowness-on-Windermere, has the best of both worlds.
It has gorgeous, spacious rooms, allowing visitors a comfortable and indulgent time, but it is able to offer a warm and personable stay that is impossible to maintain with a larger hotel.
As we entered the guest house, we were met with a homely reception area, which looked like someone's living room, with a roaring fire creating the cosy ambience of the place.
The woman on reception - Mickaela - was very friendly and offered to take our bags to our room. There were no obligatory directions to the room; instead, she walked with us and showed us into our place of stay, talking through the facilities on offer.
We just loved our room. It was obvious much care and effort has been spent on design, layout, decoration and furnishings in all rooms.
The large king-size bed was so comfy and easy to sleep in. And we had the pleasure of a special guest - a large fluffy bear which we could temporarily cuddle for the night, or take home to adopt for an extra charge - how sweet!
Most rooms have a TV these days, but all rooms at The Cranleigh have a built in DVD player, with a large library of films to watch - free of charge! Perfect!
And the pleasure didn't stop there. The designer Ben de Lisi bathroom provided its own source of fun, as there was a TV attached to the wall, so guests could watch a programme in the bath, whilst experiencing the air spa jets. And the rude shock of a cold tiled floor was removed thanks to the marvels of under floor heating.
There was no restaurant in the hotel, but there were plenty of eateries within the village to choose from. We had plenty of menus to sift through at reception and Mickaela was willing to offer her recommendations too. We opted to spoil ourselves and tried an Italian restaurant - Porto Italiano, which was lovely.
There was a nice little pub within a stone's throw of the place, but as we loved the cosy setting of the hotel, we decided to head back to the room and take advantage of the facilities on offer there.
We ordered two DVDs and relaxed, making the most of room service. There was a menu in the room, with a variety of drunks, including champagne, and luxurious chocolates. Again it was Mickaela who brought drinks up to our room in a flash.
We stayed in one of the eight luxury rooms, which was priced from £120 to £185 per night, with breakfast included. There are also standard rooms, from £75 to £95, and superior rooms, from £110 to £155, which are just as delightful.
And then for those who really want a treat, there are two exclusive hotel suites. The most luxurious - The Sanctuary - is separate from the main hotel and offers private accommodation with its own private hot tub and remote control log effect fire.
Each room is uniquely designed to offer an individual and homely experience and prices start from £250 to £400.
The next day we were able to use the newly refurbished spa facilities at The Old England - a much bigger Macdonald hotel. The indoor swimming pool offered a lovely view of the lake, and was the perfect setting for a relaxing dip. There was also a sauna, steam room and even an ice room, the latter I found rather amusing, yet cold!