Lancaster House Hotel: Have you been yet?

It’s a familiar site for all Lancaster students, but the four-star Lancaster House Hotel — sitting in plum position on campus for graduation and moving weekends — might have seemed like an extravagance allowed only for our visiting parents in the past.

But with all the hard work you’ve been doing in the run up to the final term of the year (because you have, yes?) we think you deserve a little bit of pampering.

So, in the interests of full disclosure — did you know, students of Lancaster University, that there’s an outdoor hot tub on campus?

No, you’re not being deceived — that image above really is an outdoor hot tub, in Lancaster, on your campus, in the sun.

We were at Lancaster for three years, and now we’re kicking ourselves that we didn’t discover this earlier. We think it might have come in pretty useful during tightly-wound exam time (which is when, annoyingly, the rain seemed to subside and the sun reminded us how pretty Lancaster can be.)

There’s more to Lancaster House Hotel than its outdoor hot tub, of course, but it is a definite draw.

The hotel’s Sandpiper Leisure Club also hosts a gym, pool, sauna, stream room and Jacuzzi, as well as a beauty salon that offers various types of massage, facials, nail treatments and male grooming options.

(Final years: send your mother in here during graduation weekend for a Hot Stone Massage and she’ll come out practically walking on air. We know from experience. Also, go ahead and book one in for yourself.)

Outside the spa, there are other touches that make a stay at Lancaster House just that little bit more lovely than what students might be used to. When you enter your room, there will be a stuffed dog (his collar informed us that ours was called Sam) sat atop your big comfy bed to greet you. If you want to “take him for a walk” — steal him, we think this means — you’re very welcome. 50% of the £15 that will be charged to your bill to pay for Sam will be donated to North West children’s charity Children Today.

The bed on which Sam (or whatever your dog happens to be named) is sat is one of those that you find yourself sinking luxuriously (and gratefully) into after a long day boating in Windermere or traversing Lancaster’s windy cobbles.

When you wake up and manage to remove yourself from your bed (it took us a while; we felt like we were waking up on a cloud) breakfast is served in the Foodworks restaurant downstairs. You can expect a decent selection of hot (eggs, sausages, bacon, mushrooms, etc) and cold (fruit, cereal, ham, cheese, croissants) — all self service from the extensive buffet.

When you check out, you’re still free to use the pool, gym, hot tub etc for the rest of the day — a service that shows Lancaster House’s extremely friendly staff are happy offering their guests more than they are obligated to.

So, if you’re celebrating handing in your dissertation, or the end of exams in a few weeks time, or if you just need to get away from your overcrowded flat for the evening to fully unwind, we’d recommend checking in at Lancaster House. Let’s stop thinking of the hotel in the middle of campus as a venue reserved only for our parents, and start taking advantage of the little bit of luxury that’s right on our doorsteps.

Classic Rooms at Lancaster House Hotel start from £44 per person per night, and are inclusive of bed and a full English breakfast.

For reservations call 08458 509 508 or visit http://englishlakes.co.uk/hotels/lancashire-hotels/lancaster-house-hotel/

Originally published at https://www.thenationalstudent.com.