The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow - Bakewell

704charles

We stayed for two nights. Loved our room which had a four poster bed and a view out onto the fields with sheep. It was magical. The room and bathroom was very well decorated and the hotel has a sort of “shabby chic” feel to it - but in immaculate condition. What really stands out is the art collection all through it - fantastic prints by English artists, ceramics and photographs of the family. It was almost like visiting a small provincial museum. The staff were lovely and helpful. We had a kitchen dinner the first night which is well worth doing. The next night was in the main restaurant. The food is good, perhaps a little heavy and saucy for our taste and could have been more refined. One thing that the hotel could have is some bikes to hire to cycle in the estate and ….better designed maps! They are amusing but topsy turvy.

James D.

We recently celebrated my daughter’s 18th birthday here.

We had use of a private dining room just beside the gallery restaurant.

The whole team were exceptionally attentive.

We were made to feel like very special guests.

Nothing was too much trouble.

The food was delicious, beautifully presented and prompt to arrive.

A truly memorable experience.

Thank you so much to all of the staff who looked after us so professionally.

Neil J.

Apart from lunch in the Orangery, we’ve not been to the Cavendish Hotel for a long time, in fact it was Valentine's 2012, we were the only customers!

Since then the establishment has taken on a new lease of life to the point it is currently The Times “hotel of the year”, so we decided to revisit, and here we are for dinner.

We arrive early to sit out on the patio for a glass of house champagne, enjoying the view and crisp bubbles. The menus arrive and make our choices for three courses that are variable, the other three are set in this six-course tasting menu.

Once seated, bread and other things take nearly 30 minutes to arrive, but the pace improves after that.

Each course is exquisitely presented and tastes fabulous, without exception. Poached cod on a wonderful cream sauce; tomato tartare with rich basil granita; trout expertly sous-vide; beef - tasting more like rib-eye than fillet - with a medley of onions had an incredibly rich trio of sauces.

Pre-desert was a sharp explosion of tastes, grapefruit, basil and lycee, finally either mille-feuille or chocolate marquise, the latter a complex and delightful end to our dinner.

We loved the matched wines, very well paired with each course, the beautiful presentation of each course, the acompanying sauces each a gourmet experience themsleves. We felt the service was not quite there, and why oh why should we have to set our own cutlery? (Towards the end of the dinner there was a complete staff change and it is set for the last course.)

With the matched wines it is £129 a head, quite modest compared to some places, and certainly worth every penny.

Michael M.

The bones are there for The Cavendish to be terrific - it’s a beautiful, meticulously designed countryside hotel that was just named The Times’s Best UK Stay for 2025. Our experience left us desiring more, and at £300 per night I can’t recommend it.

The biggest drawback is that the level of service just isn’t quite there - most of the staff are lovely and very friendly, but when we were checking out I mentioned to the receptionist that we were getting the bus to Sheffield and asked if she knew how we paid for it. She didn’t know and she made absolutely no effort to try and find us an answer - there were two other members of staff next to her and when I gently asked if perhaps someone else might know, she said ‘no one takes the bus to work’ and made zero effort to ask them. This just isn’t the level of service I expect for £300 a night and even less from a place with so many accolades. Politeness goes a long way, and a ‘I’m not sure, but let me see if I can find out’ was all it needed. Instead, it felt somewhat frowned upon that we were getting the bus to Sheffield in the first place.

The rooms are nice and comfortable - other than a few cobwebs around the ceiling, I cannot fault them. The decor in and around the common areas is beautiful as well.

Breakfast on both mornings was delicious, although I wasn’t sure why they sat us in The Garden Room instead of The Gallery for our second breakfast. Why leave the nicest dining room in the building empty?

We ate in The Garden Room one night. My wife who is gluten free and vegetarian didn’t have many options - she ended up ordering the £19 broccoli and carrot main which in my opinion should be placed on the sides menu as it is incredibly overpriced for what amounts to essentially a plate of nothing but seasoned vegetables. A vegetarian risotto or the option of ordering gluten free pasta would be a welcome addition to the menu - there is so much wonderful produce from the estate to choose from that I hope they improve this. I had the steak, which was nice.

On the plus side, the lounge area is lovely and the cocktails are phenomenal - they made the best espresso martini I’ve ever had. Staff wasn’t sure if the bar snacks contained gluten and had no way of checking either.

It’s a shame to write this review as we were so ready to love The Cavendish and recommend it to friends and family. We made some lovely memories at Chatsworth during our stay, and the access-anytime-you-want tickets are great, but we feel no rush to return at £300 a night.

456alanf

The Gallery Restaurant was very busy when I visited. The food was cooked to a high standard, and staff were polite and courteous. Although my order was accurately fulfilled, as the evening progressed I noticed that other orders were mixed up, much to the frustration of staff. The staff were working under extreme pressure, and were trying their best. I nearly had a glass of champagne delivered to my table which I hadn’t ordered.

Joseph P.

A truly wonderful evening. Some of the best food I’ve ever had! Well presented beautifully cooked and delicious flavours. The staff are very attentive and the lad who described the dishes as they came out made the meal delicious before we even started. Thanks so much thoroughly enjoyed!

chrisgilbane

Family Sunday lunch today. Food was average to not great. Some of the servers were great, some less so. Drinks took a long time to arrive || Chicken liver parfait starter was bland on soggy bread. Lamb roast wasn't great. On the positive side a good portion, but the lamb was tough and hard to cut. Roast potatoes where hard and broccoli undercooked. Cutlery was tarnished,.table was wobbly.|| If it was a run of the mill pub this would have been annoying but one of those things, but given the price point and how the hotel positions itself I expect a lot better. I toyed with giving this a two out of five but that felt a bit harsh. So consider this a 2.5 out of three. Won't be going back, plenty of other places to try on the local area

K1815YVjanh

My husband and 1 stayed at the hotel for 3 nights with our small aged cavalier King Charles spaniel. We stayed in the coachhouse (number 25). This is ideal accommodation with a dog, we had the ground floor room with easy access. It is beautifully presented with a huge bathroom, tastefully decorated as is the hall entrance. The dog was provided with a bed, bowl and treats. The coachhouse is separate from the hotel and is in somewhat of a car parking area but this did not detract from our stay at all, it was surprisingly very quiet and peaceful with just a bit of noise from people coming and going to the hotel but this was infrequent and short lived. There was a wedding at the hotel during our stay but this did not disturb us at all. Their hotel itself is classy and the main feature is the terrace with views to die for, we enjoyed drinks here several times throughout our stay. This adjoins the garden restaurant so the views can be enjoyed from here too. Their food is good with a varied menu, although the fish of the day (mackerel) was the same for the duration of our stay. Their staff are efficient and friendly. We strolled to the little village of Baslow for an evening walk with the dog, not much there but it was pleasant. We couldn’t quite manage the walk to Chatsworth but so enjoyed the bit we could do, it’s so picturesque, with the deer roaming free. Dogs have to kept on a lead to enable this, not a problem for us. The hotel affords such easy access to Chatsworth via a field path, a gate and a bridge, a pretty walk too. The buildings are beautifully maintained and very clean. Overall loved this hotel, will return!