Cumbrian B&B among best in world

A bed and breakfast hotel in Cumbria has been named among the top 10 best guest houses in the world, according to TripAdvisor’s 2017 Traveller’s Choice awards – which was dominated by English properties.

The humble English guest house triumphed over its international counterparts, claiming five of the world’s best ten B&Bs, of which family-run Thornleigh Guest House was one.  

Visit England said: “This continues the upward trend we’ve seen in recent years demonstrating that our tourism, accommodation and service is not only exceeding customer expectations but up there competing with the world’s very best.”

Rated above popular B&Bs in Cornwall and Belgium, the Keswick bed and breakfast ranked 8th in the world having received an abundance of positive TripAdvisor reviews, which largely described the owners, David and Clare Petty as enthusiastic, friendly and kind hosts.

David said: “We were obviously very surprised to get the award, but I was aware that last year on TripAdvisor that we were doing fairly well, but we don’t think we’re anything special.”

“We’ve put it down to the fact Keswick is a fantastic location to have a guest house, it’s got great views, is one of those places people visit multiple times a year and it attracts all sorts of people from families to walking groups.

“People want to be made to feel special and welcome, and that’s what we try and do as well. It’s all about the extra little touches,” he added.