ONE of Windermere's most prominent hotels, Ellerthwaite Lodge, changed hands this week upon the retirement of Leslie and Pauline Holmes.

The sale of the 16-bedroom hotel was handled by the Manchester office of Robert Barry and Co, which agreed a sale to partners Roger Mitchell, Ann Gee, Phillipa Smith and Dorothy Blower, who move from Shiptonthorpe, near York. Haydn Spedding, of Robert Barry and Co, said: "2003 has continued as 2002 left off with substantial and continuous interest in both lifestyle and larger, quality hotels in the Lake District National Park and Cumbria."

The hotel was sold from an asking price of £785,000.The Holmes have acquired a new home in Bowness.

May 9, 2003 11:00