One of the Lake District’s most iconic hotels, with breathtaking views of Lake Windermere itself, recently went through a £1.7m refurbishment – so we went to see what the new-look The Ro Hotel is like.
The national park is just a hop, skip and a jump from Manchester, making for a great bank holiday getaway in one of the world’s most outstandingly beautiful destinations.
The Ro Hotel itself sits high on a hill in Bowness-on-Windermere, just a stone’s throw away from the bustling town centre.
Once known as The Hydro, dating back to 1881, this grand Victorian building has been welcoming visitors for 142 years and is one of Windermere’s oldest hotels. It was purchased by Lake Merritt Hospitality in April 2019 and has since undergone a £1.7 million refurbishment.
The welcome is warm and friendly, with the Ro Hotel known for its inclusive hospitality and care. Our room is grand, with high ceilings and an outdoor balcony space overlooking the lake. It’s a gloomy day when we visit, making the view moody and dramatic, the sprawling hills looking like sleeping giants in the clouds.
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The refurbished hotel has been decorated with a sophisticated elegance that is both comforting and luxurious. The beds are large and adorned with cloud-like pillows and snuggly duvets.
We had used the opportunity to visit one of Windermere’s local spas, an additional treat for my Mum on her birthday, and one of several fantastic options for things to do in the local town.
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After settling into our hotel and a quick change, we headed to the colourful hotel restaurant, The Lacu. A small but grand space, beautifully decorated and home to a cherry blossom tree to dine next to.
The bar at The Ro HotelCauliflower cheese at The Ro HotelInside The Ro Hotel’s restaurant spaceThe Ro Hotel recently underwent a huge refurbishment
The menu is simple and relaxed, with local ingredients being at the heart of each dish. They have a three course set menu for £35 per person in the evening, alongside the a la carte. There’s something for everyone, with Muncaster crab and smoked salmon salad, fluffy and indulgent twice baked cheese souffle and Cumbrian chicken breast with pancetta on a bed of buttery smooth mash. We opted for a bit of everything, including a scrumptious cauli cheese with a stretchy cheese pull to die for.
The Ro Bar has a number of classic cocktails to enjoy, or if you fancy stretching your legs, the town is just a few minutes walk down the hill with a number of great bars and pubs to choose from. We weren’t up for partying, so went back to our room for an early night.
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There was a large family group on our floor at the time of visiting, but we wouldn’t have known as our space was so peaceful. We woke to another moody morning outside, but to be able to step out of our room onto our private balcony and look at that view was priceless.
Breakfast is an all you can eat buffet afair, with both hot and cold options to suit every taste. They even provided me with my own veggie sausages, which is always a plus in my books. I recommend getting to breakfast early though – the restaurant isn’t huge and most people’s stays include breakfast, so some found it tricky to find somewhere to sit. If you don’t mind waiting though, then enjoy that lie-in in your big, plush bed that you probably wouldn’t want to leave anyway.
The Ro Hotel really is open to everyone, with families and four legged friends all welcome here. So if you are looking for your next break with your partner, your family, or even just for yourself, make sure you put Ro Hotel on your list.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Travel & Tourism
Medlock Square: Manchester’s new £300 million entertainment destination on the Etihad Campus
Danny Jones
Manchester’s newest entertainment destination, located over at the ever-growing Etihad Campus, has finally been given a name ahead of its launch later this year.
Alongside the recently announced and Radisson-run hotel, Medlock Square will see the Manchester City-partnered mini leisure district aim to become a new must-visit part of the city.
Hoping to draw in crowds beyond just matchdays and those heading to concerts across the way, approximately £300 million is being pumped into the project.
With Co-op Live having already brought huge revenues into Greater Manchester, it isn’t just set to be a pricey development, but one that will look to serve as yet another money spinner for the wider City Football Group (CFG) and the City Region.
Credit: CFG (supplied)
Unveiling the first CGIs of the square this week, this new area will essentially see attractions and activities spill out of the Etihad Stadium, Co-op Live and the soon-to-open Medlock hotel and on to the campus as a whole.
With other parts of Sportcity already revolving around the footballing epicentre, such as the Manchester Regional Arena and National Squash Centre, this will not only see even more sporting events and supporters brought to the roughly 80-acre plot, but also fans of various other forms of entertainment.
For instance, within the plans that already include the food and drink offerings you would expect – with Radisson Blu backing more of the relaxation and indulgent side of things – other activities include everything from “an adrenaline-fuelled sky walk experience”, as well as zip-wire and abseiling.
We already knew about some of these from the details in Man City’s stadium expansion plans (including the likes of The Medlock and rooftop bar), and glimpses of the impending hotel opening gave us a better idea of the overall look, but there looks to be plenty more in the pipeline.
You can see a trailer for what they have in mind for Medlock Square down below.
Welcome to Medlock Square. Manchester’s newest entertainment destination. A place where mouthwatering cuisine and world class entertainment, experiences and events converge. Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/4bC7NQbMHT
As per an official press release by the fledgling team, more information on further business and employment opportunities has also now been confirmed, centring around the new ‘One Medlock Square’ structure that will be built on the campus.
“Designed to accommodate up to 300 employees, the state-of-the-art workspace will offer high-quality, modern office facilities alongside access to shared event spaces and wellness amenities, uniquely positioned within Manchester’s most exciting new destination”, the statement reads.
There’s certainly some ambitious stuff in the works, put it that way.
And, of course, these will also slot into a renovated club shop turned meagstore, an all-new Man City museum, the Co-op arena, live music and other open-air events, just to name a few. A specific opening date is yet to be scheduled, but you can guarantee it’ll be a big deal when it does launch.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via City Football Group)
Travel & Tourism
TfGM unveils ‘significant’ programme of Metrolink engineering works to run throughout 2026
Emily Sergeant
A ‘significant’ programme of works are set to be carried out across Greater Manchester’s tram network this year.
As part of a wider £150m plan to ‘maintain, upgrade, and improve’ tram infrastructure across the region and make sure the Bee Network continues to deliver reliable and accessible services for millions more people into the future, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced that it’ll be undertaking various works throughout 2026.
And just as you’d expect, there is expected to be some ‘temporary periods of disruption’ for passengers while they are carried out.
Work is set to begin from this spring through to the autumn at a number of locations across the Greater Manchester network – including near Trafford Bar, Deansgate-Castlefield, Monsall, Newton Heath & Moston, Eccles, Derker and Piccadilly Gardens.
This does mean trams will have to stop on some lines while the work is done, but TfGM will reveal more information on this in due course, and promises ‘plenty of notice’ too, so keep your eyes peeled.
A ‘significant’ programme of Metrolink engineering works are set to run throughout 2026 / Credit: TfGM
The first major works will take place during the Easter Weekend at Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield, which are ‘preparatory works’ ahead of full track replacement later in the year, set to be carried out over four days from 3 to 6 April.
During this closure, rail replacement work will also take place on the Altrincham line, meaning there will be no trams on the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines all weekend, while the East Didsbury and Manchester Airport lines will run to Firswood only.
Aside from plans for engineering works, there will also be somewhat reduced services for a different reason for a large chunk of the year.
From Monday 30 March until autumn, a revised timetable will be introduced across the tram network while a significant recruitment drive gets underway to ‘take on and train up’ new tram drivers in a bid to build extra capacity and resilience in the workforce.
TfGM has indicated that some disruption will be caused for passengers / Credit: Janus Boye
During this time though, TfGM promises there will still be ‘reliable and frequent’ tram services running every 15 minutes and every 7.5 minutes at the busiest times on the most popular lines.
“Keeping our network safe, reliable, and ready for the future is our absolute priority,” explained Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM.
“This year’s programme is one of the most significant we’ve ever undertaken and will strengthen the whole network. Whilst we complete this work, we will introduce a temporary timetable change that will run between spring and autumn.
“We know that some of this work will mean temporary disruption, and I want to thank passengers for their patience while we get it done.
“But by investing now, we can reduce faults, improve day to day reliability and make sure Metrolink can keep pace with the growing number of people who depend on it every day now and for the future.”
You can find everything you need to know about this year’s tram improvement works on TfGM’s dedicated page here.
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston -
26th May 2023 
