There is a particular moment that regular guests recognise immediately.
The hills soften. The sky lowers. Rain begins to trace quiet lines down the windows. Inside, the drinks are ready, the spa is steaming, and the world feels suddenly less urgent.
At Losehill House, rain isn’t something to endure or apologise for. It is part of the rhythm of the place - and, often, the reason a stay becomes truly memorable.
When the weather changes, so do we
Rain changes behaviour in ways we rarely acknowledge.
Plans loosen. Expectations soften. Guests arrive with fewer tick lists and less pressure to ‘make the most’ of every hour. Walks become shorter but more attentive. Lunch lingers. Conversations deepen. Time stretches.
“Some of our most loved stays happen when the weather turns,” says co-owner Paul Roden.
“Rain slows people down. Guests stay closer to the building, talk more, eat better and genuinely relax.”
In a world that prizes optimisation and constant motion, rain offers something rare: permission to take your time.
A building made for shelter, not spectacle
Losehill House has been offering refuge for over a century. Built 111 years ago in the Arts and Crafts tradition, it sits nestled among the hills of the Hope Valley, set well back from the road and completely secluded.
There is no traffic noise here. No sense of passing through. Just birdsong, weather moving across the landscape, and the occasional baa from neighbouring sheep.
Despite feeling wonderfully remote, Losehill is unusually well-connected. Guests can arrive by rail and step straight into the hills, a reminder that true escape doesn’t have to mean inconvenience.
When rain rolls in, the hotel becomes more cocooned. More intimate. More itself.
The romance of staying in
Rainy days reveal whether a hotel is designed for living in, not just sleeping in.
At Losehill, spaces invite lingering. Quiet corners. Comfortable bedrooms. Expansive sash windows that run the length of the fine dining restaurant, offering some of the most beautiful views in the Peak District - especially when mist drifts across the hills and light shifts with the weather.
This is a place where watching the rain can feel like an activity in itself.
Why spas are better in bad weather
There is a reason guests gravitate towards water when the weather turns.
Warmth, steam and hot water are amplified when the air outside is cold and wet. Losehill is the only hotel within the Peak District National Park boundary with a full-service spa, and on rainy days it becomes the heart of the experience.
Moving between the pool, sauna, and outdoor hot tub, guests feel cocooned rather than confined. Rain becomes part of the ritual, not something to escape from.
It is restoration, not distraction.
Walking, but without the pressure
Losehill was built for people who walk, pause and notice the landscape. When the rain eases, guests can step straight onto one of the largest selections of walks in the Peak District, including routes to Ladybower Reservoir and the iconic Mam Tor.
In wet weather, these places take on a quieter, more contemplative beauty. Fewer people. Softer views. A sense of having the hills briefly to yourself.
And if the rain doesn’t stop? That’s fine too.
A quieter kind of romance
Sunshine is lovely. But it can bring expectation with it.
Rain removes the performance from a break. There is nothing to chase, nothing to maximise. Just time, warmth, good food and the simple pleasure of being somewhere that asks very little of you.
“Rain gives people permission to stop striving,” says co-owner Kathryn Roden. “It creates a different kind of romance - quieter, slower and often more meaningful.”
In a country where the weather is famously unpredictable, perhaps the most romantic thing a hotel can offer is not a guarantee of sunshine, but the reassurance that whatever the forecast, you’ll be looked after.
At Losehill, rain doesn’t ruin the stay.
It completes it.