Last night I stayed at the Crown and Mitre Hotel in Carlisle.
This was wholly an indulgence as Carlisle is only an hour from me. However it is usually regarded as the City's best hotel and I had a short notice winter deal of £55 bed and breakfast.
So far too good an opportunity to miss.
It was built in 1905 so is a grand hotel of it's era.
Of particular note as you walk into the lobby in winter is a real coal fire, a bit of a rarity.
The extra price for breakfast was £9.50- less than a Premier Inn. As the hotel was quiet it was a served and freshly cooked breakfast with quality produce. Being on the Scottish Border it was nice to have a potato scone on the menu- and a good one too. A rarity for a hotel breakfast.
Niggles for some people - no bedside light in my room and no bedside power point, but really no concern at all to me.
Oh and you get a real room key, not a piece of plastic.
They also have an indoor swimming pool for guests, but anyone can pay for monthly or annual access.
Now the history- President Woodrow Wilson stayed there in 1918. His mother was born in Carlisle and his grandfather was Minister of what is now Lowther Street Congregational Church. Apart from on a Sunday it's hard to get in there, but well worth it if you get the chance.
One of the Wetherspoons pubs in the City is also named after him.
More history - the previous building on the site was a Coffee House. The then landlords supported the Jacobite cause, and sheltered some. Not an easy thing to do in Carlisle.