I rather liked the Prince of Wales in Grasmere, where I stayed a night last week on biz. (It's not a business hotel though--not that there'd be many in the lakes!) There were loads of parents with kids, I noticed. This is unimportant, but I loved the breakfast buffet. . .one of the most yummy full English breakfasts I've ever had despite being warmed in those buffet pans. The hotel's not high high luxury, but quite lovely. Comfy rooms, nice views of grazing sheep or, I suppose, the lake, depending on where your window's located. Hotel website here . And lots of eccentric poet-y types across the road at the Wordsworth Trust.